2009 Lecture Series

(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.