Events

Among the diversity of exoplanets discovered in the last few decades are a particularly intriguing type called lava worlds. In this month's KPL astronomy talk, Dr. Lisa Dang will share how we find these scorching hot rocky planets, and discuss how we can study them and what you could experience if you were to visit a lava world.

At Astronomy on Tap this month, we'll be hearing all about the science of black holes from two experts studying these structures. Everett Patterson will tell us how astronomers and cosmologists reached our modern understanding of black holes from their theoretical origins, and Kiana Salehi, a member of the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration, will discuss what we can learn about our Universe from photographing a black hole.

Black holes are massive objects from which even light cannot escape -- so how can we "see" them? In this month's KPL astronomy talk, Lucy Pothier-Bogoslowski  will discuss several observational techniques and properties of black holes that allow us to observe them and their impact on their environments from small to large scales.

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.