Aug 16th: Europa In Our Sights

 Andy Shaner from Lunar Planetary Institute

Dr. Tracy Becker is a Planetary Scientist at the Southwest Research Institute located in San Antonio, TX. She earned her B.S. in astrophysics at Lehigh University in 2010 and her Ph.D. in physics at the University of Central Florida in 2016. Dr. Becker specializes in the study of Solar System objects using ultraviolet (UV) telescopes; she uses the UV instrument on the Cassini spacecraft to study the icy particles that make up Saturn’s rings and she uses the UV instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope to study asteroids and the moons of Jupiter. Additionally, Dr. Becker is involved in the development of the UV instrument that will be onboard the upcoming NASA mission to Jupiter’s icy moon Europa. She is also involved in community outreach, serving as the science advisor for NASA’s Center for Lunar and Asteroid Surface Science’s education material for public engagement and has coordinated numerous hands-on science events for schools, telescope nights for the public, and professional training courses for teachers.