Astronomy

Nothing compares to the exquisite pleasure of observing the grand universe for yourself. Whether through binoculars, telescopes, cameras or your naked eyes, the view is always breathtaking.

Cosmology

The deepest mysteries of the cosmos can be found in the further places we can see. How did the universe begin? How did it evolve? What is gravity? Cosmology answers the biggest questions.

Astrophysics

The great workings of the celestial objects are a fascination to us all. The birth and death of stars and planets present astronomers with myriad puzzles to be investigated and marvelled at.

Talk date: Saturday
Talk Time: 4:35 pm

Rachael Hamp

Enceladus: A journey from the centre of a habitable world

Biography

Dr Rachael Hamp is a postdoctoral researcher at The Open University, investigating the geochemistry of icy moons, such as Enceladus and Europa.

She has a background in chemistry and obtained her PhD in planetary science from The Open University in 2022. Most of her research has focused on the different geochemical processes on icy worlds, with a specific focus on Enceladus, a moon of Saturn. Her work has helped to provide an understanding of the different chemical environments present on these icy bodies and what this means for their potential to host life.

Since 2022 Rachael has been a member of a European Space Agency Expert Committee for the next Large-class mission, which is set to go to an icy moon in the outer Solar System.

Synopsis

Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, is a front runner in the race for where we could find extraterrestrial life within our Solar System. It was discovered to have icy plumes atits surface, ejecting material from its internal ocean out into space.

NASAs Cassini spacecraft even dived through the plumes to discover the rich complex chemistry that is likely occurring below the moon’s icy exterior.

Rachael will take a journey through Enceladus, from the rocky interior, through the global ocean, to the icy volcanoes on its surface. Discover all there is to know about this one tiny moon and the secrets it keeps hidden within its icy shell.