Formal Talk by Samuel Cabot – Uncommunicative Worlds in our Solar System
Hybrid meeting via Zoom and at the BPS
Samuel’s talk will cover two outstanding mysteries of our Solar System and how my work at Cambridge aims to solve them:
The first mystery centres on Venus, which may have once had an Earth-like climate, complete with a habitable atmosphere and possibly oceans of liquid water. Today, Venus is a planet of extreme geological turmoil and hostile conditions, making it difficult to piece together its ancient climate. I will discuss how ancient Venusian rocks could have been transported to the Moon, and why upcoming lunar missions might hold the key to uncovering Venus’ distant past.
The second mystery surrounds ‘Oumuamua, the first known interstellar object. Since its brief passage through our Solar System in 2017, scientists have yet to reach a consensus on its nature or origin. The limited data we have challenges our current understanding of how asteroids, comets, and planets form. I will share my contributions to the latest theories about ‘Oumuamua and explain how impact craters and X-ray observations may help illuminate the nature of this enigmatic class of objects.
Samuel Cabot is Junior Research Fellow at Peterhouse, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. He obtained his PhD from Yale University in 2023, which followed a master’s degree from University of Cambridge and undergraduate degree from Princeton University. Sam studies planetary science topics spanning Solar System impact cratering and planetary dynamics, with particular interest in opportunities arising from lunar exploration and regolith characterization. He also researches exoplanet detection methods for radial velocity surveys, as well as high-resolution spectroscopy of exoplanet atmospheres.
Location
Bristol Photographic Society