One of Cassini's Saturn images (top); Carolyn Porco (bottom)
Photographs courtesy CICLOPS

Since the invention of the telescope, no heavenly phenomenon has so iconically represented the mystery and beauty of our solar system as the planet Saturn. Carolyn Porco has made it her life’s work to bring the planets in the solar system closer to Earth. She directs the Cassini Imaging Central Laboratory for Operations (CICLOPS), the team responsible for imaging Saturn and its moons from the Cassini Orbiter, which has given us groundbreaking knowledge and breathtaking images of the Saturn system. She is an inspiring speaker who has established an international reputation for her skill at explaining science to the layperson, and she was selected by the London Sunday Times as one of the top scientific leaders of the 21st century.

Images produced under her direction appear in the December 2006 National Geographic, and at this presentation, she will share insights on the creation and meaning of previously unimaginable views from space.

The Grosvenor Auditorium National Geographic Society Headquarters 1600 M Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20036 +1 202 857 7700

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