The 11th Annual Baldwin Frontiers in Geology Lecture to be presented by Dr. Richard W. Carlson, Staff Scientist, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution Member, National Academy of Sciences. The lecture is entitled, "History of Earth Formation".

Abstract: Likely starting with a "kick" from a nearby exploding star, Earth formed in a series of steps that took a dispersed cloud of frozen dust grains, stuck them together into mountain-sized plantesimals that then accumulated into planets through collisions violent enough to melt entire planets and eject enough debris into orbit to form Earth's moon. This talk will explore the astronomical observations, theory, and studies of meteorites and rocks from Earth, Moon and Mars that provide a history and timeline of the steps involved in transforming Earth from frozen dust in the Milky Way into a planet with surface conditions conducive to life.