Lecture & Stargazing: Why Stars Shine

Our lecture topic this evening covered the seemingly-simple question of "Why do Stars Shine?"  Our speaker, Dr. Robyn Sanderson, was able to effectively explain the history of our knowledge about stars and how they work to a wide audience made up of people of all ages.  She even incorporated a music video from They Might Be Giants on Why Stars Shine, as well as an activity where children from the audience acted like atomic nuclei in the Sun's core, bouncing into each other until they fused.  Check out this video capturing their activity:

There's also the They Might Be Giants video on youtube here.  As well as the applet she used to showcase the change in color of stars with their increased temperature (and mass) here.

Overall, the talk was well-attended and well-appreciated by our large audience.  Great job, Robyn!

Afterwards, we had both stargazing (not pictured) as well as a Q&A panel to answer audience members questions on a variety of topics.  This discussion got into a lot of non-astronomical topics including climate change, and chemical bonding in plants.  Well done, team!

--Cameron

Lecture & Stargazing: Hot Jupiters

We hosted famed Professor Konstantin Batygin tonight for a lecture on his theory for the potential origin of Hot Jupiters, a class of massive exoplanets found near their host stars.  Professor Batygin is famous for his work with Mike Brown on Planet 9, that there is an undiscovered planet in the outer solar system influencing the dynamics of massive Kuiper-belt objects, but tonight he talked about exoplanets instead.  Professor Batygin gave a really engaging, but pretty advanced talk on how Hot Jupiters, *could* form in situ without the need for migrating inward as the popular paradigm currently dictates.  It was thought-provoking and well-delivered--thank you, Konstantin!

Afterwards, we were able to observe on the newly renovated athletic fields near Cahill, and the athletics department even turned off some of their stadium lights for us.  Great views of the heavens tonight!

Finally, we had a Q&A panel that covered a large number of question topics ranging from exoplanets to the origins of the cosmos.  Thanks to everyone who stuck around for a question!

--Cameron

Lecture & Stargazing: The Science of Star Trek

   Tonight was a unique talk topic targeting the science of the fictional Star Trek universe given by Mike Wong, a planetary science superstar graduate student.  He even created his own poster for our event, which is without a doubt better than the one I produced for it!

   Mike touched on all sorts of Star Trek lore and its basis in our own understanding of science and astrophysics throughout the show's history.  He described the Drake Equation, the principle governing how many intelligent civilizations may exist in our Universe today, and what it meant for the premise of having a Federation of Planets by Gene Roddenberry.  Mike discussed the premise that in the future our society won't be driven by the acquisition of wealth, but on more altruistic goals.  He touched on the twin planets of Remus and Romulus and how realistic these worlds are, now that we have some understanding of planetary evolution.  Overall, this was one of the best talks we've ever had, and it was a pleasure working with Mike.

Photos courtesy of Bob Paz (http://www.bobpaz.com/)

Afterwards, we hosted a Panel Q&A made up of not just scientists, but scientists knowledgeable (and fans) of Star Trek.  So there were a variety of questions regarding the Star Trek Universe in addition to our normal scientific questions.  Our panel was made up of current and former graduate students in the Planetary Sciences department, who were able to handle all of the questions well, in addition to injecting humor.  It made for a very entertaining evening!  Thanks everyone for coming!

Lecture & Stargazing: The Universe in X-ray Eyes

We started off the year back in Cahill, the astronomy and astrophysics department, after spending the last four months holding our events in Baxter Lecture Hall.  Cahill is a bit smaller, but more accessible and adjacent to the athletic fields for telescope observing. 

Tonight we were joined by Dr. Fiona Harrison, the Division Head of Physics, Math, and Astronomy here at Caltech, who is also the principle investigator of the NuSTAR x-ray telescope.  Dr. Harrison gave a riveting talk describing what sorts of astrophysical phenomena we can view in the universe when we look in the x-ray part of the electromagnetic spectrum.  She also took us through the process by which you build and launch a space telescope into space, and what happens to it over time.  A unique talk from someone at the top of her field, we were glad to have her share her stories and lessons.

The weather was somewhat cooperative, so we had some telescope observing despite not having full access to the athletic fields due to construction.  In addition to observing, we offered a panel Q&A on a variety of astrophysical topics.  We addressed a plethora of questions on topics related to cosmology, the evolution of stars, the x-ray universe, and how we became scientists.  Thanks for coming, everyone!

--Cameron

Lecture & Stargazing: ALMA

Professor Nick Scoville, esteemed professor and principle investigator of the COSMOS survey, gave a lecture tonight on the revolutionary new telescope ALMA.  ALMA is an NSF-funded telescope, operating in the radio part of the electromagnetic spectrum, consisting of 66 individual radio dishes. It was built in the high mountains of the Andes in Northern Chile above 5,000 meters of elevation. 

All photographs were taken by Christophe Marcade.

We got started a little late due to some technical difficulties with the equipment in the lecture hall, but Professor Scoville regaled us with a broad discussion as to how both optical and radio telescopes work.  He showed us photos from his visit to the ALMA site, and taught us how scientists use data from the various telescopes combined as an interferometer to get very high resolution images back of gas and molecular cloud structures where stars are being born.  It was really an excellent talk!

After Professor Scoville's lecture, we hosted an expert Q&A panel answering questions on a variety of topics across astronomy, physics, and planetary science.  Simultaneously, audience members were given the opportunity to spy the heavens with our telescopes set up on Beckman Lawn.

Thanks to everyone who attended, and again I'm sorry about the technical difficulties with the A/V setup.  It won't happen again.

--Cameron

Lecture & Stargazing: Great American Eclipse Preparation

Tonight we hosted a lecture by Dr. Erika Hamden, who described how to prepare for the Great American Eclipse.  The Great American Eclipse is a total solar eclipse set to occur next August, where the center line (the strip where the total eclipse will be visible) will stretch across the continental United States.  Erika gave some background on eclipses, what causes them, and what you can see when they happen.  She detailed her experiences having seen one in China in 2008, and pressured everyone to get to somewhere on the center line next summer to catch this one-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

All photographs were taken by Christophe Marcade.

After her lecture, we had a Q&A panel with our local experts answering questions on all sorts of topics ranging from future rocket engine drives to the most interesting and underrated discoveries in the field of astronomy in the last year.

Due to the proximity to Halloween, we invited guests and volunteers alike to show up in their costumes.  I brought Oscar the Grouch along, and several of the attendees showed up in costumes.

Observations went well, and we saw several targets including the first-quarter moon, Mars, and the Double Cluster before the end of the night.  See you again next month!

--Cameron

Lecture & Stargazing: Cosmic Explosions through the Ages

Graduate student Jake Jencson taught us about the catastrophic deaths of stars, and the brilliant explosions associated with them: supernovae. After the lecture, IPAC post docs Rahul Patel and Calen Henderson held a Q&A and answered questions on exoplanets, other solar systems in our galaxy, and science fiction.

Outside, we were partially clouded out by drifting clouds. Even so, the over 80 visitors who came to the telescopes got to see the Moon, Mars, and the double star Albireo.

Thank you to the volunteers who helped make the evening such a success, and thank you to the over 120 visitors who attended — we hope to see you all back in a month for Erika's talk on how to prepare for the Great American Eclipse of 2017!

--Anna

Lecture & Stargazing: The Invisible Universe Revealed

All photographs were taken by Christophe Marcade.

Tonight was our first night in a new location for our lecture series.  Due to some construction issues, we've now moved our lectures to Baxter Lecture Hall and our stargazing to Beckman Lawn (see our directions page for more info).  After some logistical issues we got started a few minutes late.  Anna Ho, our speaker for the night, gave a tremendous talk on the invisible universe, the universe we cannot directly perceive with our eyes.  

Anna described the various wavelengths of light in the electromagnetic spectrum, and how our eyes are only capable of viewing a very small fraction of them.  She described what sort of devices you have to create in order to "see" these other wavelengths of light, and what sort of objects you can then "see" like distance galaxies or the dust in between stars.  It was riveting!

After Anna's talk, the audience was welcome to stargaze out on the Beckman Lawn with our telescopes, or remain for a panel Q&A with our panel of experts.  Our panel consisted of Dr. Katherine Deck, Graduate Student Mike Wong, Dr. Anders Thygesen, and Dr. Cameron Hummels.  We had a great time talking with each other and our small audience.  

Stargazing out on the lawn was also pretty successful, and it looks like our new spot has less light pollution than the North Field.  We observed Albireo, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon.  Thanks to all 70 people who showed up at our new location!  We hope to see you again next month.

--Cameron