As humans searched for planets in our solar system, we made a surprising discovery between Mars and Jupiter - asteroids.
Samples of asteroids come to us as meteorites, while three recent space missions have returned samples from near-Earth asteroids providing us with pristine samples.
University of Queensland planetary scientist Professor Trevor Ireland has spent his career working on meteorites, analysing samples from the very earliest solar system some 4,567 million years ago.
Join us at our next BrisScience to learn what asteroids are made of and hear about the many different views of the origins of the solar system, before our Sun came to be.
Meet the presenter: Prof. Trevor Ireland
Professor Trevor Ireland is based at The University of Queensland and has research interests that span geochronology, isotope geochemistry and cosmochemistry. His work focuses on the use of in situ microanalysis of geological and extraterrestrial samples by focused ion beam methodologies. He has current research topics aligned with the asteroid sample return missions to Ryugu and Bennu by the JAXA Hayabusa2 and NASA Osiris REx missions.
About BrisScience
BrisScience is a monthly lecture series that brings science out of the labs and to the people, making it accessible to all – from scientists, to scientists-at-heart.
Run by The University of Queensland, BrisScience has been delivering engaging lectures on diverse topics from local and international scientists for over a decade.
BrisScience speakers are leaders in their given fields and deliver dynamic presentations based on cutting-edge research.
The University of Queensland has been running BrisScience since 2005, bringing the best and brightest scientific minds to the people of Brisbane – from early career researchers to Nobel Laureates!
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