Next Cafe Scientifique
Laboratory scientist Joyce Guzik will talk about the Sun at a Cafe Scientifique talk Wednesday evening at the Bradbury Science Museum.
Guzik's talk, "Inside the Sun," begins at 7 p.m. at the museum.
"We often take the sun for granted. We expect it to rise and set every day and generate a constant amount of energy to provide light and heat for the foreseeable future," said Guzik. "But how do we know anything about the Sun? Is the Sun's luminosity constant? What was the Sun like when it formed 4.5 billion years ago, and what is the ultimate fate of the Sun and the Earth?"
Guzik said that presently, scientists can't predict solar activity well enough to know whether changes in the Sun will occur in the near future, but that scientists have been able use computer modeling to learn about its interior. She will explore these questions and provide information about what scientists do know about the Sun in her talk.
Cafe Scientifique is designed to present interesting science topics to high school-age students.
A Laboratory Fellow, Guzik has been at Los Alamos since 1988 and has a doctoral degree in astrophysics from Iowa State University and bachelor's degrees in physics, math and Russian studies from Cornell College (Iowa).
Guzik has a sustained record of high-quality contributions to the nuclear weapons program. She also conducts astrophysics research, modeling the interiors and pulsation of the sun and other variable stars, working with many collaborators and students.
The museum is located at 15th Street and Central Avenue in downtown Los Alamos and is part of the Community Programs Office (CPO).
