We come from stardust, says HKU's Professor Sun Kwok
Hong Kong professor to share his stellar views on the universe at a conference that will delve deep into the mysteries of the emergence of life
When astronomers, scientists and geologists from around the world meet in Japan next month to discuss the emergence of life on earth and in the universe, Hong Kong's Professor Sun Kwok will give the opening address.
"There are lots of new and unexpected things happening in this field, probably more so than in other scientific fields," says Kwok, chair professor of physics and dean of science at the University of Hong Kong.
Origins 2014 will bring together scientists from the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life and the International Astrobiology Society and Bio-astronomy (Commission 51) in Nara from July 6-11.
Astrobiology is still a fairly new field and is all about the search for life on solar system bodies (think Mars, Europa and Titan) and the search for planets, especially potentially habitable ones. And the International Astronomical Union's Commission 51 is at the cutting edge. Kwok has been the commission's vice-president since 2012.
"We are interested in the study of comets, asteroids, meteoroids, planetary satellites in the solar system that may have implications on life," Kwok says.
While the bio-astronomers are largely astrologers and planetary scientists, the Origin of Life folk are mostly chemists and biologists. Not so long ago these two groups barely acknowledged each other, let alone met to share findings. But such is the pace of discovery that there is much that they can learn from each other about how life began on our planet. This is the second conference in three years.
Kwok's own research is focused on the area where the two disciplines overlap. His opening address - Organic Compounds in Circumstellar and Interstellar Environments - will outline the discoveries that have earned him a solid reputation.