Tuesday 10 April, 6:00 Refreshments, 6:30 Lecture
The St. John's Centre, corner of Willis and Dixon (CBD) - see map
Modern telescopes enable breathtaking discoveries scarcely imaginable by earlier generations, including black holes, dark matter, and thousands of planets beyond our Solar System. This sheds light on a universe apparently has been growing more mature, complex, and hospitable for life for nearly 14 billion years. But these discoveries also cast doubts on traditional biblical and theological understandings of human uniqueness. What is our sense of human identity and significance in a universe that may be teeming with life? How do new images of the heavens inspire renewed philosophical, theological, and artistic reflection on the meaning of human life in the cosmos?
Join Dr. Jennifer Wiseman as she reflects on the relationship between religion and science through the lens of her research with advanced space telescopes. 
Dr Wiseman is an astronomer, and a Fellow and former President of the American Scientific Affiliation. Dr Wiseman discovered periodic comet 114P/Wiseman-Skiff while working as a research assistant in 1987. After research fellowships at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Johns Hopkins University, she joined NASA in 2003. She is currently a senior astrophysicist at the Goddard Space Flight Center, where she previously headed the Laboratory for Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics.
Dr Wiseman's New Zealand trip is made possible by generous support from the Stuart Residence Halls Council.
For more information contact ctpi-wellington@otago.ac.nz
Location