Astronomers today have access to telescopes that orbit Earth, or that have extremely large mirrors, allowing us to study the furthest corners of the Universe. In this month's KPL astronomy talk, Dr. Ana Ennis will discuss the foundational optics that led to the invention of the telescope, and in particular, the stories of the people that contributed to it. From ancient civilizations to the current era, we will see how the designs and functionalities of telescopes have evolved, and how exactly we came to have the amazing instruments that are available today.
Dr. Ana Ennis is a postdoctoral fellow at the Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics who uses extragalactic globular clusters to understand the evolution of galaxies. She enjoys walks in nature, a good book and spending time with her son.