6:00 p.m. Special theater presentation in the Lockheed Martin Imax Theater:
Produced, written and directed by Frank Capra (It’s A Wonderful Life), this 1956 film entertains while teaching fascinating facts about science and the Sun.  With the help of an animated Sun and spectacular footage of the Sun’s surface, the movie explains solar flares and sun spots, as well as many other amazing facts.  It’s a great vintage feature that contains information and science that is still relevant today. 

7:00 p.m. Meet the Lecturer

7:30 p.m. Lecture

In 1859, worldwide electrical disturbances convinced astronomers that the Sun had direct influence on Earth in ways more than the eye can see. Today, we have confirmed that realization. Dr. Alan M. Title, senior fellow at the Lockheed Martin Space Systems Advanced Technology Center, will help us get to know the Sun a bit better and to appreciate that it is a more unpredictable creature than ever thought possible.

Dr. Title has an  A.B. in Mathematics from UCLA and a Ph.D in Physics from Caltech.  His major research interest is the evolution of the Sun’s magnetic fields from their origins in the convection zone to their connection to the heliosphere. At Lockheed, Dr. Title heads a team that collects and analyzes space solar imagery and then disseminates it to improve space weather prediction capabilities. He was the recipient of the Hale Prize from the American Astronomical Society.

The Exploring Space Lectures are made possible by the generous support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Aerojet.