The Institute for Planets and Exoplanets (iPLEX)

iPLEX is interested in sharing the fascinating world of planetary science with local and national communities and schools. Our education and public outreach program includes private and public events during which UCLA scientists and students demonstrate...

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As we learned more about our solar system in relation to how it fares amongst the many exoplanetary systems discovered to date, ‘Hot Jupiters’ seemed to be the most common type of exoplanet. With the story unfolding as technology has been getting better, it seems that Hot Jupiters have been easy to detect and have strange and exotic atmospheres we are still learning more about. Strangely enough, our own solar system seems quite different to the many exoplanetary systems found thus far. As our final UCLA Planet Lunch Talk this quarter at @ucla , please join us with our speaker Elizabeth Bailey from Caltech (@caltechedu)! Addressing the issue of Hot Jupiters, her talk is entitled ‘Forming Hot Jupiters Near and Far’. By learning more about how #exoplanets form, we may learn more about how our own solar system (with Jupiter being the biggest planet) fits into the large scope for planetary science! Image Credit: ESO #nasa #astro #astronomy #atmosphere #California #Caltech #CIT #DTLA #education #EPSS #exoplanet #Jupiter #LosAngeles #Pasadena #planet #physics #pizza #SoCal #STEM #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByayZW5Aj2m/?igshid=f9u6i15qpx1b

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In our solar system, the largest planets are dominated by the gas giants located in the outer solar system. And in exoplanetary systems, large planets seem to be the norm based on our improving detection capabilities. One reason may be due to the fact that the larger planets have more mass and can accrete gas in disks which ultimately form planetary systems. This week, we welcome Sivan Ginzburg, a Postdoctoral Researcher and 51 Pegasi b Fellow working in theoretical #astrophysics from the Department of Astronomy at #Berkeley (@ucberkeley). He also has research interests in planetary formation and evolution. Please join us TODAY, Friday 31 May 2019, from 12-1 PM in @UCLA ’s Geology Building for his talk titled: ‘Accretion and Final Mass of Gas Giants’. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/UniverseToday #nasa #astro #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #exoplanets #explore #GasGiants #Jupiter #LosAngeles #Neptune #origins #outreach #pizza #planet #physics #SantaMonica #Saturn #sky #solarsystem #space #UCBerkeley #UCLA #universe #universetoday #Uranus (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByInWFWgq_J/?igshid=oxzyyj84yadi

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Join us for this week’s Planet Lunch seminar TODAY from 12-1PM in @ucla ’s Geology Building by UCLA EPSS Graduate Student Ashna Aggarwal with talk title: ‘Paraboloids are the New Spheres: a Novel Set Up for Simulating Core Convection’ about laboratory simulations on what may be going on at Earth’s Core-Mantle Boundary. Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! Image Credit: Phys.org; Kay Lancaster #nasa #astro #California #dynamo #Earth #education #EPSS #geology #geophysics #interior #LosAngeles #magnetism #magnets #planet #physics #pizza #shapes #SoCal #spheres #STEM #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bx2omanAYXd/?igshid=pgsdd6ylveo9

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Volatiles are left over materials from the early formation of the early solar system and are contained in comets. Some craters on the Moon exist at brutally extreme temperatures that range from -396F to -413F as we have learned from ongoing research by NASA’s Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter using the Diviner instrument. This week, we welcome Paul Hayne from the University of Colorado (@cuboulder) with his talk titled ‘Cometary Volatiles In Inner Solar System’ to discuss how comets may have delivered volatiles to the Moon. Join us TODAY from 12-1PM for this week’s Planet Lunch talk in @ucla ‘s Geology Building! Image Credit: NASA/LPI/David A. Kring #nasa #astro #bruins #cold #Colorado #comet #cosmos #craters #CUBoulder #DTLA #education #EPSS #explore #freezing #LosAngeles #LRO_NASA #Moon #origins #outreach #pizza #PlanetaryScience #SolarSystem #space #UCLA #universe #universetoday #water (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxkorengZVb/?igshid=13fqzgeumyrdn

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The Mars Science Laboratory rover is roughly the size of an SUV and successfully landed on the surface of Mars in 2012. It is currently @nasa ‘s prime Mars rover currently exploring the surface and origins of water, as well as places where life may have existed. Fast forward to the Vera Rubin Ridge, a mysterious place where large concentrations of the mineral hematite were identified even from high above using the Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter. Now, on the ground, The Mars Science Laboratory has analyzed rock samples at the site. This week, we welcome Dr. Abigail Fraeman from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (@nasajpl) with her talk titled: “Curiosity Results from Vera Rubin Ridge”. Please join us TODAY from 12-1PM in @ucla ’s Geology Building to hear the exciting results of the mission and her research! Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech #nasa #astro #bruins #Caltech #clay #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #explore #geology #JPL #life #LosAngeles #Mars #Mars2020 #MSL #origins #outreach #Pasadena #pizza #planet #PlanetaryScience #RedPlanet #space #UCLA #universe #universetoday #water #weather (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxSjxNMnDeV/?igshid=19ovpuvt73pat

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Some estimates mention that only just ~5% of the Earth’s #oceans have been explored. Known to host live in the extreme cold and dark environment where the light of the Sun cannot penetrate, the Abyssopelagic zone, extending 4000-6000 meters (e.g. ~2.5-3.7 miles) below the surface of the Earth’s oceans contains bizarre, yet unique lifeforms. In the years to come with advances in technology, some planetary science goals include sending spacecraft and probes to explore oceans on other worlds, and determine if #life does exist beneath the subsurface oceans of outer Solar System icy satellites. We now introduce Dr. Mike Malaska, a scientist at NASA’s (@nasa) Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (@nasajpl) Planetary Ices Group who has a keen interest in studying astrobiology and outer Solar System ocean worlds. Just as interestingly, he converted his career from higher degrees in #chemistry to studying planetary science. His talk is titled: “Life in Deep Ice: The Earth and the Ocean Worlds of the Solar System”. Please join us TODAY, 03 May 2019 from 12-1PM in @ucla ‘s Geology Building! Image Credit: The Planetary Society (@planetarysociety) #nasa #asteroids #astro #bruins #Caltech #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #explore #interstellar #JacquesCosteau #JPL #LosAngeles #origins #outreach #Pasadena #pizza #planet #PlanetaryScience #physics #Sea #sky #space #UCLA #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxAkqQsHH1s/?igshid=v9zrsg3a2hfh

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An important goal for continuing efforts to expand our knowledge of space is in the detection of asteroids which may pose a threat to the Earth and its living creatures. While the @nasa WISE (later reactivated as NEOWISE) Mission has detected many Near Earth Objects (NEOs) such as asteroids, the search is still on for those that elude detection. The successor mission, NEOCam (Near Earth Object Camera) plans to do just that. The mission would further refine the detection of smaller asteroids, and is a part of NASA’s strategic goal in Planetary Defense to find at least 90% of asteroids larger than 140 meters. TODAY, Friday 19 April 2019 (12-1PM), we proudly welcome Dr. Joseph Masiero from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (@nasajpl), the Deputy P.I. of the NEOWISE Mission (and the Deputy P.I. of the upcoming NEOCam Mission) for his talk titled: “The NEOCam Mission: Goals, Design, and Status”. Join us for another exciting Planet Lunch Talk in the @ucla Geology Building! Image Credit: University of Rochester #nasa #A2017U1 #asteroids #astro #bruins #comets #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #explore #interstellar #JPL #LosAngeles #origins #Oumuamua #outreach #Pasadena #planet #physics #sky #space #UCLA #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwcfbVfHzAq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1cmbu5ou95wpm

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The bright spots on Ceres still pose a mystery on how they may have formed and what this implies for the formation of geologically interesting locations in the Solar System such as the largest asteroid; (1) #Ceres. Join us TODAY from 12-1PM for our @UCLA EPSS Planet Lunch Seminar talk on how the bright spots may have formed with a talk by Nathan Stein from Caltech (@Caltechedu) with his talk title: "The formation and timing of near-subsurface Na-carbonate deposits on Ceres". Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA #nasa #asteroid #Caltech #cosmos #education #interstellar #JPL #LA #Pasadena #physics #pizza #science #sky #solarsystem #space #STEM #UCLA #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwKk4__HvTT/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4wezlnzdrfws

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CONGRATULATIONS to #UCLA Graduate Student (now DR.) Man-To Hui on his successful Ph. D Thesis Dissertation Defense entitled: “Studies of Comets and Active Asteroids: From Dynamics to Physical Properties”. He was formally knighted for his Ph. D by his advisor Professor David Jewitt! #astro #astronomy #asteroids #china #comets #Earth #education #EPSS #geophysics #LA #LosAngeles #planet #planets #phdlife #physics #rocks #science #sky #space #SantaMonica #science #SoCal #UCLAiPLEX #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs1Z-riHR-X/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vvi3hz3gpj18

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Meteorites are primitive remnants from the formation of the solar system. Contained within them are magnetic properties that help us in our understanding of the early solar system and perhaps how planets formed from the protoplanetary nebula. This week, we welcome Dr. Benjamin Weiss, a Professor and Chair of the Program in Planetary Sciences from MIT. His interests include the formation of terrestrial planets, geomagnetism, and paleomagnetism. Join us today, Friday 30 November 2018 from 12-1PM in @UCLA's Geology Building for his exciting talk titled: History of the Solar Nebula and Planet Formation from Paleomagnetic Measurements of Meteorites. Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! Image Credit: Hernán Cañellas; Solar Magnetic Fields, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT for the Scientific American Magazine #nasa #astro #asteroids #California #cosmos #education #EPSS #explore #geology #LosAngeles #magnetism #magnets #Massachusetts #meteor #meteorites #meteors #MIT #outreach #Pasadena #planet #physics #sky #space #SoCal #STEM #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq0Mstun24B/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1bz6hh057hzxt

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Successfully landing on the surface of Mars is no easy feat as roughly 2/3 of missions to Mars have failed to complete their science objectives. In the first attempt by @NASA since 06 August 2012, The NASA InSight Mission (@insightnasa), launched on 05 May 2018, successfully landed on the #Martian surface on 26 November 2018 and sent signals and this image back to the Earth. Several scientists from @ucla and @nasaJPL contributed to the science payload including Drs. Christopher Russell, Caroline Beghein, and Peter Chi, all from UCLA's Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Department. InSight will reveal more information on the interior and magnetic field of #Mars with a fluxgate magnetometer provided by #UCLA. UCLA has also provided magnetometers for the Galileo mission to #Jupiter and the Space Technology 5 mission. And just as interesting, a recent iPLEX Guest Speaker Tilman Spohn from the German Aerospace Center (#DLR) is also the Principal Investigator of the HP3 experiment on board InSight! Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech #nasa #aliens #Caltech #cosmos #DTLA #education #geophysics #Germany #JPL #LosAngeles #outreach #Pasadena #planet #physics #RedPlanet #sky #SoCal #space #STEM #tectonics #universe #universetoday https://www.instagram.com/p/BqsmFAYHgCM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=kc6vcsxoneiz

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Now at the end of its life, the #Kepler K2 mission has discovered over 2300 exoplanets, moreso than any other space mission thus far. Though hypothesized to exist in previous decades, the first exoplanet(s) were discovered in 1992 and to this day, we are learning more and more about them. Gaia is another survey that will help in the detection and add this number. This week, we welcome BJ Fulton from the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute as well as Caltech and IPAC to discuss Exoplanet Demographics in the Era of Gaia. You can read his paper about the California-Kepler Survey (CKS) HERE: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1805.01453.pdf Join us this Friday from 12-1PM in UCLA's Geology Building for his exciting talk! Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! Image Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech #nasa #astro #California #Caltech #cosmos #education #EPSS #exoplanets #explore #Gaia #IPAC #JPL #K2 #LosAngeles #outreach #Pasadena #planet #physics #sky #space #spaceweather #SoCal #STEM #telescope #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BqN-G72BM9W/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1h7cyw0h2aabj

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Meteor showers are produced from the debris of asteroids and comets. Now, with more spacecraft and telescopes monitoring the skies than ever, we’re learning more about these bodies and sometimes, even the meteorites they produce that land on the Earth such as asteroid 2018 LA that landed over Botswana in June 2018. Join us this Friday at 12PM from this week’s iPLEX talk given by Peter Jenniskens from the SETI Institute and NASA Ames Research Center! Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! #nasa #astro #asteroids #California #comets #cosmos #education #EPSS #explore #LosAngeles #meteor #meteorites #meteorshower #orionids #outreach #Pasadena #planet #physics #sky #space #spaceweather #SoCal #STEM #telescope #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp967LZnTPw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kextiyvdjglc

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This week, we welcome the newest addition to our Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences family, Assistant Professor Mackenzie Day at @ucla! Join us for this week’s iPLEX Lunch at 12PM given by Mackenzie, discussing strange and unique features of the Martian landscape highlighted in recent ground missions to Mars! Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Caltech #nasa #aliens #astro #astronomy #Caltech #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #explore #geology #JPL #LosAngeles #Mars #outreach #pizza #planet #physics #sky #space #stars #UCLA #UCLAEPSS #UCLAiPLEX #UTAustin #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpZkDntHN7L/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rrqw86wu917c

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Due to popular demand, International Observe The Moon Night 2018 (This event is FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, and FUN FOR ALL AGES!) will be back at #UCLA atop the Mathematical Sciences Building from 7-9PM featuring: -The famous @UCLA 14” Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope along with several telescopes aimed at the Moon, Mars, and night #sky -Moon dust recovered from Apollo missions -A "Step-And-Repeat" for pictures you can take with The #Moon, your friends, and family -#Meteorites from #Mars and the Moon -The Meteorite Gallery will be open special hours (6-8PM) -A LIMITED number of free 'space swag’ giveaways -Space-themed videos -A “laser radio” -A 1:1 scale mass model of the ELFIN Satellite built at UCLA (@elfinucla) and currently in orbit -Space experts from several departments at UCLA, @NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (@nasajpl) and some of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team! There will be plenty of surprises as well and the event will be swarming with #space enthusiasts! Be sure to join us for an event that is OUT OF THIS WORLD and the largest International Observe The Moon Night 2018 Event held by a university on the West Coast of the United States. Be sure to use the hashtags #UCLAiPLEX and #observethemoon as well as tag @UCLAiPLEX in your photos! Our event 2018 has also been featured in the @latimes as well! More information with maps, address, directions, and parking HERE: planets.ucla.edu/outreach/iotmn2018 also via our @UCLAiPLEX social media accounts #nasa #apollo50 #astro #California #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #explore #JPL #LosAngeles #luna #outreach #Pasadena #planet #physics #SoCal #STEM #telescopes #universe #universetoday (at UCLA Math Sciences Building) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpIR3Kdn1pw/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=jvof5ybin3c4

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After a long hiatus, iPLEX talks are BACK for Fall 2018 at @ucla! Join us for this week’s iPLEX Lunch at 12PM given by Vikram Dwarkadas, a research professor from the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at The University of Chicago (@uchicago). Dr. Dwarkadas will be discussing the possibility that the solar system formed within the shell of an incredibly hot and super luminous Wolf-Rayet star bubble. You can read his paper here: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1712.10053.pdf Be sure to follow @UCLAiPLEX on #Instagram, Twitter, and our other social media outlets as we seek to share the fascinating world of planetary #science and #astronomy with everyone! Image Credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA #nasa #astro #astronomy #chicago #cosmos #DTLA #education #EPSS #ESA #explore #Hubble #HST #LosAngeles #meteorites #outreach #planet #physics #sky #space #stars #uchicago #UCLA #UCLAiPLEX #universe #universetoday (at Institute for Planets & Exoplanets - IPLEX) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpGd61snbGD/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12asgs4k0jly5

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Be sure to join us TONIGHT for a rare celestial event that has not been seen in more than 150 years! A Super Blue Blood Moon Event! Free viewing for the public on the roof of UCLA Geology from 4:30AM to 6:00AM! It's fun, FREE and telescopes will be set up for you to view this spectacular event. Be sure to bring a camera and jacket as it will take place on the morning of Wednesday 31-Jan-2018 so you may have to stay up late tonight! Image Credit: NASA #nasa #astro #BlueMoon #Eclipse #Education #EPO #LA #outreach #Research #SuperBlueBloodMoon #Science #STEM #UCLA #UCLAeclipse #UCLAEPSS #UCLAiPLEX #universetoday (at UCLA Geology building)