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Cosmic Videos
Keck’s Eyes on our Solar System
(February 15, 2011) Our perception of the solar system continues to evolve in dramatic ways and Keck Observatory plays a leading role in building our understanding of its origin, evolution and structure. A pioneering planetary scientist who counts among his discoveries the Kuiper belt beyond Neptune, Professor Jewitt’s talk will offer us the latest clues […]
Read More >The Cosmic Web
(February 10, 2011) Dr. Jason Prochaska, from the University of California at Santa Cruz, presents “The Cosmic Web.” He describes how modern observational techniques are allowing astronomers to define the clumps, voids, walls and tendrils of matter that make up the Universe’s vast cosmic web.
Read More >Focusing in on the Galactic Center
(January 25, 2011) Three of the most massive star clusters in our Milky Way Galaxy are found near the Galaxy’s center and their formation dynamics produce a startling display of pyrotechnics. Alongside these young compact star groups, the Galactic Center also harbors the Milky Way’s massive black hole putting forth many fascinating mysteries; for one, […]
Read More >International Year of Astronomy
The year 2009 marked the International Year of Astronomy, or IYA 2009, celebrating astronomy around the world and commemorating 400 years of the telescope. To showcase the occasion, W. M. Keck Observatory and the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai’i presented the Maunakea Directors Lectures Series, a distinctive collection of talks given by the individuals who […]
Read More >Evenings with Astronomers
In this awesome age of cosmic exploration, the W. M. Keck Observatory has set the highest standards of excellence in scientific achievement. The twin 10-meter telescopes on Mauna Kea are the most powerful tools we have to study the Universe. Sponsored by the Rob and Terry Ryan Foundation, “Evenings with Astronomers” is an annual by-invitation […]
Read More >Extrasolar Planets: The Last Decade, and the Next
(July 24, 2008) Dr. Paul Butler from the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism presents “Extrasolar Planets: The Last Decade, and the Next.” Before 1995 planets outside our Solar System were the stuff of science fiction, Star Wars and Star Trek. Now with nearly 300 exo-planets known, many of them discovered at Keck, […]
Read More >Searching for Other Habitable Worlds
(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 […]
Read More >Planet Forming Disks: What We Can Learn by Combining the World’s Largest T
(May 22, 2008) Dr. Rafael Millan-Gabet from the California Institute of Technology presents “Planet Forming Disks – What We Can Learn by Combining the World’s Largest Telescopes.” His research examines physical conditions in the inner parts of disks around young stars, where planets like Earth are believed to form. Combining the largest existing telescopes so […]
Read More >Planetary Debris Disks
(April 24, 2008) Dr. James Graham from the University of California at Berkeley presents “Planetary Debris Disks”. Planetary debris disks are circumstellar clouds of dust detected in young planetary systems. This dust is believed to be released by collisions between larger bodies such as comets, asteroids and even planets. Although this dust was discovered in […]
Read More >Recycling and Synthesis in the Cosmos
(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 […]
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