Stargazing Lecture

This is back to occurring in-person, so if the weather allows, we will host our telescope-aided stargazing. Event will be hybrid, so we'll stream the lecture and the panel Q&A over YouTube livestream. In-person audience members will be required to prove full vaccination status at the door and wear a mask while in indoor spaces as per Caltech policy.

In addition, the event will be live-streamed here: https://youtu.be/GpLRAlaRLRU

8:00–8:30 p.m. - Public Lecture
8:30–10:00 p.m. - Panel Q&A and Guided Stargazing

The dense centers of globular clusters are home to a whole zoo of exotic astrophysical phenomena. In this talk I will describe some of the unexpected events experienced by compact objects — black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs — within these dense stellar populations. Over the past few years, the groundbreaking detections of gravitational wave signals from merging compact object binaries by LIGO/Virgo have opened a new window to the cosmos. I argue that some of these gravitational wave events very likely originated in globular clusters, made possible by the unique dynamics of compact objects in these systems.

About the Series

Stargazing Lectures are free lectures at a public level followed by a Q&A panel and guided stargazing with telescopes (weather permitting). All events are held at the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics at Caltech. No reservations are needed. Lectures are 30 minutes; stargazing and panel Q&A last 90 minutes. Stay only as long as you want.

Stargazing is only possible with clear skies, but the lecture and panel Q&A takes place regardless of weather.

For directions, weather updates, and more information, please visit: http://outreach.astro.caltech.edu.