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A Planet Not Our Own
05:00 pm - 06:00 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Elizabeth Tasker, Associate Professor, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences (ISAS) VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK: We thought we understood the planets of our solar system until we discovered new worlds beyond our own Sun – planets the size of Jupiter with orbits completed in an Earth day, planets with […]
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Keck Observatory and the Ongoing Exoplanet Revolution
05:00 pm - 06:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Chas Beichman, Executive Director, NASA Exoplanet Science Institute (NExScI) VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK: The exoplanet revolution began in 1995 with the Nobel-Prize winning discovery of a “Hot Jupiter” orbiting the sun-like star 51 Pegasi. Thousands of planets have since been detected in the succeeding two decades, many of them either found by or validated […]
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Illuminating the Origins of the Universe’s Fastest Explosions
05:00 pm - 06:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Wen-fai Fong, Assistant Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK: Join us as Wen-fai Fong describes the universe’s fastest explosions. When we look at the night sky, we see a static universe. However, astronomical observational surveys have revealed that our universe is, in fact, ever-changing. This “transient” sky […]
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Modern Astronomy on Maunakea: A 60-Year Story (1960-2020)
05:00 pm - 06:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Robert McLaren, Interim Director, University of Hawaiʻi, Institute for Astronomy VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK | Astronomy on Maunakea originated in community efforts to revive the Hawaiʻi Island economy following the 1960 tsunami that devastated Hilo. It quickly acquired governmental support, especially from Governor John Burns. The University of Hawaiʻi took a leading role, commissioning […]
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The NIRSPEC Upgrade for Keck Observatory: Enhancing observations from the solar system to exoplanets and beyond
05:00 pm - 06:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Emily Martin, National Science Foundation Astronomy and Astrophysics Fellow, University of California, Santa Cruz VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK | The NIRSPEC instrument upgrade was completed in December 2018, just in time to observe the fly-by of a near-Earth comet. Dr. Martin will discuss details of the NIRSPEC upgrade, from the new detectors and optics, […]
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When Machines Take Over: Astronomy in the 21st Century
05:00 pm - 06:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: J. Xavier Prochaska, Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California, Santa Cruz Astronomer, University of California Observatories VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK | Join us as Professor X describes the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its many influences on modern astronomy. These range from automating analysis of billions of galaxies to detecting the […]
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Spectroscopy: How Astronomy Really Gets Done
05:00 pm - 06:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: John O’Meara, Chief Scientist, W. M. Keck Observatory VIRTUAL ASTRONOMY TALK | Everyone knows a picture is worth a thousand words, but a spectrum is worth at least a thousand pictures. The history of spectroscopy is intricately linked with every major discovery in astronomy and astrophysics in the last 120 years. In this […]
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The Darkest Secrets of the Universe
07:00 pm - 08:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Raja GuhaThakurta, Co-Chair, Professor, and Astronomer, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of California Santa Cruz ASTRONOMY TALK | From dark matter to galaxy cannibalism, black holes, time machines, gravitational waves, Schrödinger’s cat, theory of inflation, and the Big Bang, Dr. GuhaThakurta will weave these cosmic secrets into the story about the origin […]
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Large Space Observatories: The Missions and Designs of Chandra and James Webb Space Telescope
07:00 pm - 08:30 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Jonathan Arenberg, Chief Engineer, Space Science Missions, Northrup Grumman Aerospace Systems ASTRONOMY TALK | Large space observatories are a foundation for scientific advancement. This talk will explore the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. Their missions, designs, construction, and testing will be explained and discussed. Some of the unique challenges […]
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Exoplanet Imaginarium: Where Imagination and Science Meet
07:00 pm - 08:00 pm
GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Carlos Alvarez, W. M. Keck Observatory Astronomer MAUNAKEA SKIES ASTRONOMY TALK | The Exoplanet Imaginarium is the result of a collaboration between the W. M. Keck Observatory and award-winning exoplanet artist Adam Makarenko. Together, we have created a science-based artistic rendering of a variety of exoplanet scenes. Through this project, we bring […]
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