Events

Rachel Bezanson is Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. She is an observational astronomer interested in empirical studies of massive galaxies, both today and in the early Universe. Her research aims to disentangle and interpret the morphological, structural, and dynamical evolution of massive galaxies through cosmic time. She is interested in understanding how and when galaxies form, how star-forming galaxies turn off - or “quench” - their star-formation, and the physical processes that drive the evolution of early galaxies into the bimodal and well-behaved galaxy populations observed in the local Universe.

The Universe is vast and ever expanding in its range, so how do we measure large cosmic distances accurately? In this month's KPL astronomy talk, Ethan Smith will discuss the cosmic distance ladder, and how a series of overlapping methods and astronomical objects can be used to measure cosmic distances from local stars to deep space.