Stargazing Lecture

Stargazing is dependent on clear weather, but lecture and Q&A happen regardless. Event will occur in-person, with lecture and Q&A additionally live-streamed on YouTube.

For remote viewers, the event will be live-streamed here:
https://www.youtube.com/live/A0pFhjQ3XWE

8:00–8:45 p.m. - Public Lecture
8:45–9:45 p.m. - Panel Q&A and Guided Stargazing

Since the discovery of 51 Pegasi b in 1995, we have found over 5,000 planets beyond our Solar System, orbiting other stars in our Milky Way galaxy. Most of these planetary systems are quite different from our own Solar System in their masses, sizes, and orbits. As we catalog these many different planetary systems, we can identify how planets form and change over time, which may help us understand the processes at play in our own Solar System. I will discuss how we currently believe our Solar System formed, from a humble cloud of dust in the Milky Way nearly 5 billion years ago into the Sun and planets we know and love today.

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 and are free and open to all. No reservations are needed. Lectures are 30 minutes; stargazing and panel Q&A last 60 minutes. Stay only as long as you want.

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

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