(February 9, 2010) Dr. Sandra Faber of the University of California, Santa Cruz presents “Probing Galaxy Evolution with Keck” as part of the 2010 Evenings with Astronomers lecture series held at the Fairmont Orchid. Listen as Dr. Faber describes the important role the Keck telescopes and their world leading adaptive optics systems play in exploring galaxies and how these objects grow and evolve over cosmic time.

(January 12, 2010) Dr. Michael Liu, of the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Hawai’i, presents “Seeing the Invisible: A Clearer Look at Cool, Failed Stars” as part of the 2010 Evenings with Astronomers lecture series held at the Fairmont Orchid. Listen as Dr. Liu describes the important role the Keck telescopes and their world leading adaptive optics systems play in studying brown dwarfs, the Sun’s tiny, “hidden neighbors” and other celestial mysteries.

(March 26, 2009) Listen as recently named MacArthur Genius Dr. Andrea Ghez of the University of California, Los Angeles presents “Illuminating Black Holes.” Working in the field of high precision infrared imaging and spectroscopy, Dr. Ghez’s research has revealed the existence of a supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy. In this edition of “Evenings with Astronomers”, learn how Dr. Ghez uses Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics on the Keck II telescope to sharpen her focus on the unseen mass lying at the center of the Milky Way.

(March 5, 2009) Dr. Raja Guhathakurta of the University of California, Santa Cruz presents “M31 – The Galaxy Next Door” as part of the 2009 “Evenings with Astronomers” lecture series. Watch as Dr. Raja delves into the nature and evolution of our sister galaxy, M31, and discusses how studying this neighboring spiral helps us to understand the structure and growth of our own Milky Way galaxy. 

(February 19, 2009) Dr. George Blumenthal, Chancellor of UC Santa Cruz, presents “100 Years of Paradigm Shifts”. Listen now as in this edition of “Evenings with Astronomers” Dr. Blumenthal reviews a century’s worth of thinking about the Universe. He begins with the early 1900s, before there was a self-consistent model for the large-scale Universe, and then touches on scientific greats such Einstein and Hubble and on revolutionary ideas such as the hot big bang model and cold dark matter. Finally, he looks ahead into the 21st century and explains how plenty of room remains for a paradigm shift or two still to come in the ever-expanding Universe.

(February 5, 2009) Dr. Chuck Steidel of the California Institute of Technology is a leader in the field of observational cosmology, the science of understanding the Universe in its totality and humanity’s place in it.  In this edition of “Evenings with Astronomers”, Steidel presents “Galaxy Evolution in the Cosmos” and discusses his state-of-the art research that aims to connect galaxy formation with the development of large-scale structure of the Universe.  Listen now as Steidel describes how he relies on the finite speed of light and uses the Keck telescopes like time machines to study evolution in the largest possible laboratory we can imagine.   

(January 8, 2009) Accomplished author and documentary film maker, Timothy Ferris shares his gift for communicating the aesthetics of astronomical study in both human and cosmic terms. Hear how the University of California, Berkeley emeritus professor’s prose and fascination with the night sky link time, music and the stars in this 2009 winter “Evenings with Astronomers” lecture.

(June 18, 2008) Dr. Gregory Laughlin from the University of California at Santa Cruz and his colleagues have been leading the way in the search for exoplanets, discovering about 60% of known planets around other nearby stars. For more than a decade, most of the planets that were identified are gas giant planets like our Jupiter. Now, the Keck Planet Hunters are driving the world’s largest telescope to find small rocky planets at distances that could harbor liquid water, a prerequisite for habitable worlds.

(February 10, 2008) Dr. Mike Bolte from the University of California Observatories discusses the enormous advances being made in the study of stellar evolution and the genesis of elements from the simple to the complex. Bolte and his collaborators make observations of the oldest stars and star clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy to better understand the first epoch of star formation. Catch a glimpse of the complex methodology and modeling required to measure the chemistry of the cosmos using the Keck telescopes.

(January 16, 2008) Dr. Richard Ellis discusses how using a pioneering technique called “gravitational lensing” allows an international team of astronomers to measure traces of the very first galaxies formed after the Big Bang. Richard, the Steele Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, and his colleagues have made remarkable progress uncovering the evolution of the early Universe – the light they measure began its journey to the Keck telescopes more than 13 billion years ago.

(December 19, 2007) In 1977 Jerry Nelson was physicist at UC’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, and he was asked to join a group to vision the future of US astronomy. For Nelson it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to design a major apparatus with “cosmic implications.” His work translated into the revolutionary twin 10-meter Keck telescopes. Decades later, Nelson’s gift for devising solutions to large technical challenges continues to make its mark in astronomical innovation.
Science Standards: How Information is Collected and Analyzed; How a Telescope Works

(June 22, 2007) From the “Evenings with Astronomers” series. Dr. Edward C. Stone, the David Morrisroe Professor of Physics at Caltech and one of the leading scientists of our time, has been the project scientist for the Voyager mission since 1972. As the two Voyager spacecraft flew by Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, they revealed a Solar System with worlds of unimagined diversity. The Voyagers are now exploring the Solar System’s final frontier, its outermost region called the heliosphere, which, like a bubble, envelops our Sun and all the planets.

Science Standards: Describe the nature of our solar system; discuss current scientific views about our solar system; describe how technology is being used to conduct scientific investigations.

(May 22, 2007) From the “Evenings with Astronomers” Series. Dr. Charles Beichman of the Michelson Science Center at Caltech talks about the 21st century tools being used to answer one of the most ancient questions: “Are there other worlds like our own?” How are astronomers probing the birthplace of stars and planets? How will scientists know if a planet supports life? Dr. Beichman explains the modern search for answers.

Science Standards: Design and conduct investigations to answer questions; Use the problem-solving process to address current issues; Describe what constitutes the universe.

(March 27, 2007) From the “Evenings with Astronomers” series. In 2005, Dr. Michael Brown and his colleagues discovered 2003 UB313, now officially known as “Eris.” The discovery marked the first time in 75 years that an object larger than Pluto had been found in our Solar System. The discovery turned the astronomical world on its head. Scientists had to consider if size was the only metric by which to define a planet. The debate unleashed an avalanche of questions concerning planetary science and the role scientists play in defining the word “planet” for local and global communities.

Science Standards: Earth in the Solar System; Forces that Shape the Earth; Scientific Views of the Universe.

(February 27, 2007) Dr. Taft Armandroff of the W. M. Keck Observatory kicks off the second annual “Evenings with Astronomers” lecture series. In this talk, Dr. Armandroff charts the significant technological milestones in astronomical research and describes how new technology is being applied to answer profound questions about the cosmos.

Science Standards: Scientific Inquiry; Technological Impacts; Relating the Nature of Technology to Science.