Description
Venus, the second planet from the Sun, is perpetually veiled behind
opaque clouds of sulfuric acid droplets atop a hot, heavy, carbon
dioxide atmosphere. In size and apparent composition, however, it is a
near twin-sister of the Earth. Why is it do different? In this lecture
I review the basic properties of Venus, and examine the similarties and
differences with the Earth. Recorded 2007 Nov 8 in 1000 McPherson Lab on
the Columbus campus of The Ohio State University.
A new podcast, Astronomy 141, Life in the Universe, is available
for those interested in continuing an exploration of topics in
modern astronomy.
Published 12/06/09
Are we alone in the Universe? This lecture explores the question of how
we might go about finding life on planets around other stars. Rather
than talking about speculative ideas, like the Drake Equation or SETI, I
am instead taking the approach of posing it as a problem of what to look
for...
Published 11/30/07