I ❤️ Pluto Festival 2026: Special Science Talks at Lowell

1pm | Fantastic Worlds and How to Find Them — Dr. Alex Polanski
How did we go from knowing about eight planets in the entire universe to more than 6,000 other worlds in just a couple decades? Learn how astronomers working at the cutting edge of technology have been able to discover the dizzying array of planets around other stars and how we might find other planets like our own.

2pm | Tour of the Solar System from the Sun to Pluto and Beyond — Dean Regas
Explore the solar system – planets, moons, asteroids, and of course Pluto. Your tour guide is astronomer, author, and host of the Looking Up podcast, Dean Regas. He’ll take you to the edge of the solar system and back on this adventurous talk for all ages.

3pm | Planetary Defense — Dr. Nick Moskovitz
Details TBA

4pm | How Low Temperature Materials Enable Pluto’s Exotic Geology — Dr. Will Grundy
Planets are built from a variety of materials that enable diverse geological processes. Among the least understood are those that only exist at the extremely cold temperatures at the edge of the solar system. This talk will explore how Pluto’s exotic frozen materials enable its distinctive geology.

5pm | Iron Rain to Supersonic Winds: Our View of Exo-Jupiters — Dr. James Sikora
Thirty years ago, astronomers discovered the first planet outside the Solar System — a Jupiter-sized gas giant dubbed 51 Pegasi b — that was soon followed by hundreds of similar discoveries. These exoplanets are remarkable for their extremely high temperatures that can cause thousand mile-per-hour wind speeds and raindrops made of liquid iron. In this talk, Dr. Sikora will discuss how astronomers study exo-Jupiters, what we’ve learned about these strange worlds, and what this can tell us about the role Jupiter plays in shaping our own Solar System.

Part of I ❤️ Pluto Festival 2026 , an event celebrating the 96th anniversary of Pluto’s discovery on February 18, 1930. It is organized by Lowell Observatory.