Hugues Lacombe, president of the Club d’astronomie de Charlevoix, will give a lecture on the Trojan asteroids, in orbit around Jupiter, and the Lucy mission, which aims to explore them. Those curious about astronomy can attend on March 8 at the Baie-Saint-Paul library.
“Asteroids are small celestial bodies that orbit the Sun. These are the remnants of the formation of the solar system. They can teach us about the conditions that prevailed when the Earth took shape 4.6 billion years ago,” explains Hugues Lacombe.
The “Lucy” mission is currently on its way to explore the universe of “Trojan” asteroids, a special group of asteroids that are in the same orbit as the planet Jupiter. The purpose of this mission is to better understand the conditions that prevailed during the formation of the solar system and the planets.
The mission was named for the fossil nicknamed “Lucy”, which dates back 3.2 million years and is the oldest remnant of a human being moving about in an upright position. “As ‘Lucy’ taught us about the origins of human beings, we hope that the study of the Trojan asteroids will teach us about the origins of the solar system and the Earth”, also comments the speaker.
This conference is offered free of charge by the City of Baie-Saint-Paul and the Club d’astronomie de Charlevoix. See you on March 8 at 7 p.m. at the René-Richard Library.