RCA General Meeting — Uranus: Exploring the Magnetosphere of an Ice Giant

Monday's speaker is Professor Carol Paty. Dr Paty is a co-investigator on NASA's Europa Clipper mission, which launched in October last year and is on its way to Jupiter. She is also part of the team planning a mission to send a spacecraft to Uranus. In February 2024, she gave us an overview of the Europa Clipper mission and gave us a brief preview of a possible mission to Uranus. On Monday, she'll give us a deeper dive into a Uranus mission and fill us in on exciting recent discoveries about this mysterious planet. Her description of her presentation is below. It will be a lot of fun and it would be great to have you join us!

𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴, 𝘜𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴𝘺𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘈𝘭𝘧𝘷é𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴. 𝘜𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 98° 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘹𝘪𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘶 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘜𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘝𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘳 2 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘵 𝘪𝘯 1986, 𝘢 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘺𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘴, 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘢, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘵𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘢 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘮𝘢 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘥. 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴’ 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥.

𝘐'𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘜𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘬𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘨𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘴.

𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐭𝐲

Dr. Paty is a planetary and space physicist specializing in studying magnetospheres of giant planets, moon-magnetosphere interactions, and icy moon interiors using a combination of simulations and spacecraft observations. She received her BA in Physics and Astronomy from Bryn Mawr College, and her PhD from the University of Washington in Earth and Space Science. She is a co-investigator on NASA’s Europa Clipper mission and the JUICE mission and is actively developing new mission strategies to explore the Uranus system. Previously she worked on developing mission strategies to the Neptune-Triton system as part of the Trident Discovery mission team and the Neptune Odyssey Planetary Mission Concept Study. She is the current co-chair of the steering committee of the Outer Planets Assessment Group and recently worked on the Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey.


𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬
Social time from 7 to 7:30
Main meeting starts at 7:30
Location: OMSI Auditorium
Parking instructions: See below

𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐌𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬
Meeting from 6:30 to 7:30
Location: OMSI Planetarium
Topic: Moon, Stars, & Night Sky: Beginner Observations in Fall
Speakers: Angele Mott Nickerson

𝐁𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠
Meeting from 6:30 to 7:30
Location: OMSI Classroom 1 or Online
Topics: AP-SIG and Available Resources; Smart-Scope Demo
Hosts: Jeff Eriksen, Robert Nelson, Steven Miller


𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐎𝐌𝐒𝐈
OMSI is partnered with Parking Kitty, the city of Portland's official mobile parking app. Parking rates are $5 + fees for 2 hours, $8 + fees for all-day parking, or $2 + fees for parking after 5 p.m. Members can pay for parking via the Parking Kitty app (parkingkitty.com), or mobile kiosks on the front plaza (credit card only). Strongly encourage you to download the app in advance. The North Lot code is ZONE 72000 and South Lot ZONE 72001.