On Saturday, June 8, the Director of the Carl Sagan Institute and Associate Professor at Cornell University, Lisa Kaltenegger, shared a meal and gave a tour of the Carl Sagan Institute to Tom Cannavino of Endicott, N.Y. Cannavino was one of the highest bidders for Tioga United Way’s Celebrity Adventures auction, as part of the Annual Adult Spelling Bee.
After a delicious lunch at Banfi’s, located in the Statler Hotel on the Cornell campus, Dr. Kaltenegger shared her expertise and love of the world beyond. She shared a great detail about her research on exploring new worlds orbiting other stars, especially rocky planets and super-Earths and their atmospheres in the habitable zone.
The discussion also covered atmospheric spectral signatures (the light fingerprint of a planet or moon), including bio-signatures as well as the exploration of hypothetical habitable planets. After lunch, Dr. Kaltenegger gave a tour of the Carl Sagan Institute and of Cornell’s Space Science Department and they even got to see the chair where Carl Sagan once sat, which is now part of Dr. Kaltenegger’s office.
Tioga United Way would like to express their gratitude to Dr. Kaltenegger for participating in this year’s Celebrity Adventures and heartfelt thanks to Tom Cannavino, for being the highest bidder. Proceeds of the Celebrity Adventures go to the 34 agencies of the Tioga United Way.
For more information, contact the Tioga United Way office at (607) 687-4028.
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