Magnetic Fields: A Window to a Planet's Interior and Habitability

The Keck Institute for Space Studies invites all interested researchers and students to attend the following short course: Magnetic Fields: A Window to a Planet's Interior and Habitability.

For millennia the Earth's magnetic field has been crucial for navigation across both land and sea, with even some animals apparently using it to navigate during migrations. The Earth's magnetic field is generated deep within its interior, and it may have played a role in ensuring that life could survive and evolve on this planet. The Earth is not the only planet in the solar system with a magnetic field---Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, and even Jupiter's moon Ganymede produce magnetic fields in their interiors. These planetary-scale magnetic fields extend well into interplanetary space, forming essentially the largest structures in the solar system. The study of the magnetic fields from solar system planets has helped inform models of their interior composition.

With the discovery of many extrasolar planets---including planets with masses approaching those of Earth and Venus---it is natural to ask whether extrasolar planetary magnetic fields can be detected and whether they can provide a similar window into the interiors and potential habitability of other planets.

An informal lunch will be provided to all short course attendees. There is no fee to attend, and no registration is required. A list of speakers, and more detailed schedule information for the short course may be found here:
http://www.kiss.caltech.edu/workshops/magnetic2013/schedule.html