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We have a new inperson location, “OCC Lecture Halls 1&2” of the “Orange Coast College,” next to the planetarium. Click here for parking instructions and more information.

The main speaker at this meeting will be joining us inperson.

The Science of Rocks that Get Hot

In the solar system, comets are classically thought of as clumps of rock and ice that outgas under solar heating, while asteroids are rocks or piles of rock that generally stay inert. That distinction becomes blurred in the innermost part of the solar system interior to Mercury, where even rocky materials break down into vapor. This talk will discuss the potential origins and physical nature of comets and asteroids, what they look like as they undergo increasing levels of heating as they approach the Sun, how we study these objects near the Sun, what they tell us about the solar system, and how they affect us down on Earth.

Qicheng Zhang is a postdoctoral fellow at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona where he studies comets and asteroids near the Sun. He previously studied at and received a Ph.D. in planetary science from Caltech in 2024.

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