TPS at DPS: A Screening of Desert Moon, Advocacy with Casey Dreier, and a Sagan Lecture

Next week, the Division for Planetary Sciences of the American Astronomical Society will convene in Tucson, Ariz. for its 46th annual meeting. This is normally the reporting territory of our senior editor, Emily Lakdawalla, but she’ll be in Darmstadt, Germany covering the Wednesday landing of Philae on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Since I'm a local, I'll be filling in for Emily as the Society’s on-the-ground reporter. The week-long meeting takes place at the JW Marriott Starr Pass on the west side of Tucson.

The Planetary Society will be well-represented at DPS. This year's chair is Heidi Hammel, the vice president of our board of directors. On Monday, Nov. 10 at 11:30 a.m., my documentary film, Desert Moon, will be screened at the end of the history session (106) in room Tucson G . This 35-minute film on the origins of planetary science was part of my journalism master’s project at the University of Arizona. A few of the film’s interviewees are presenting during the history session, which lasts from 10:30 to 11:30. 

Here’s the flyer for the event. Thanks to DPS and the University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory for sponsoring the screening!

Next up is our director of advocacy, Casey Dreier. On Wednesday, Nov. 12—just after Philae (hopefully) lands on its comet—Casey will speak at a lunch hosted by the DPS Federal Relations Subcommittee. The lunch lasts from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. in Arizona Ballrooms 1-4. More information can be found here. Stop in to hear Casey talk about what's been going on inside the beltway, and how it affects planetary science.

Finally, on Thursday, Nov. 13, don’t miss the Sagan Lecture, a public talk from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Centennial Hall on the University of Arizona campus. The lecture will be given by Guy Consolmagno, this year’s recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science. Consolmagno is an astronomer and planetary scientist for the Vatican Observatory. The Planetary Society is a sponsor for the event. Casey and I will be staffing a TPS table, so make sure you stop by to say hello and pick up some free swag.

It should be a fun week at DPS—perfectly timed for the landing of Philae. We hope to see you around!