Mar 20
Project Hail Mary— Defending Earth: Our Planet's Magnetic Shield
Program Description
We will discuss the premise of the movie and the potential impacts of a dying Sun on our solar system, then explain the Sun-Earth connection and how our natural magnetic shield could defend us from a solar disaster!
Film Synopsis
Science teacher Ryland Grace is on a mission to save Earth. An unexpected friendship may be the key.
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory slowly returns, he soon discovers he must solve the riddle behind a mysterious substance that's causing the sun to die out. As details of the mission unravel, he calls on his scientific training and sheer ingenuity—but he may not have to do it alone.
Photo credit: Amazon MGM Studios
About the Speaker
Dr. Shannon Hill earned her PhD in Space Physics, with a specialty in aurora science, from the University of Michigan in 2024. Her love for science fiction is reemerging, and Project Hail Mary was one of the best books she read last year — recommended to her by Dr. Kat Davidson!
Dr. Kat Davidson earned her PhD in Space Science from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2024. Project Hail Mary is her favorite book because of both its exploration of space and its exploration of humanity! *jazz hands*