Dear All,
The Science Discovery Club will be screening the fifth and final episode "Aliens" of the five part series "Wonders of the Solar System" on Sep 21, 2018 in the Vikram Sarabhai Hall, Convention Centre, from 7 to 8 PM. All members of the Science Explorers Club of AECS and Staff Club of RRCAT are invited to the screening.
Episode Brief: The fifth and final episode covers life surviving in extreme environments, and how the search for life on other worlds follows the search for water. Prof. Brian Cox begins by travelling to the deep ocean to draw comparisons between life in the hostile conditions of the deep seabed (on the submersible DSV Alvin) and the parallel potential of non-Earth life. The absence of life-sustaining water in the Atacama Desert in South America is also viewed, which is cited to explain the lack of even basic microbial life there. A trip to the Scablands in North-West America is also made, with an explanation of the Missoula Floods that once occurred there, and how the tell-tale signature of water shaped the landscape geologically. The exploration of Mars has revealed possible evidence of its subterranean hydrology, and a visit to the Cueva de Villa Luz in Mexico shows how simple life-forms (such as archaea and snottites) survive in hostile conditions beneath the Earth. Conversely, the hostile frozen topography of Jupiter's moon Europa also reveals the presence and effects of sub-surface water, and Prof. Cox visits a cave in Vatnajökull to find microbial signs of life beneath the ice. Prof. Brian Cox concludes by stating that Europa represents the "most fascinating and important alien world we know. A true wonder of the Solar system because it's our best hope of finding extraterrestrial life." (Source-Wikipedia)
Regards,
Secretary, RRCAT Staff Club
