BY KAREN BOSSICK

Are we alone in the universe? Or, is there life out there?

Those are some of the questions Lauren Osburn will address when she presents a free talk called “The Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Europa” tonight at Ketchum’s Community Library.

The talk will start at 5:30 p.m. tonight—Tuesday, Aug. 6. You can save yourself a seat at https://thecommunitylibrary.libcal.com/event/12521306. Or watch the program as it’s livestreamed or on recorded video at https://vimeo.com/event/4439124.

Osburn, is a 2024 Astronomer in Residence with the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve STEM Network, a NASA-funded program from Boise State University. She is a recent graduate of Embry-Riddel Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. Where she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

There, she became interested in the possibility of extraterrestrial life within the solar system even as she completed a research project estimating the age of one of the oldest known globular clusters.

Osburn says we can see microbial life on Europa, one of Jupiter’s numerous moons. NASA hopes to begin the journey to Europa in October 2024 to investigate.