Adult Religious Exploration
Sunday, December 3, at noon in the Annex

Planetary System Formation and the Search for Life
Jonathan Lunine, David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences, and Chair of the Department of Astronomy
Cornell University

As a planetary scientist and physicist, Dr. Lunine studies how planets form and evolve, what processes maintain and establish habitability, and what kinds of exotic environments (methane lakes, etc.) might host a kind of chemistry sophisticated enough to be called “life.”  He has helped to develop and analyze data from planetary missions and space telescopes for 35 years, first at the University of Arizona, and for the past 12 years, at Cornell.

Many of us may remember Jonathan from a sermon he gave at FUSIT in May 2022 about his intellectual development as a scientist and his religious transition from Judaism to Catholicism.  Now, we will hear about his work in greater detail and how it continues to connect to his spiritual life.  He is a founding member of the Society of Catholic Scientists and has given much thought to the relationship between science and faith.