Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series - Video

Apr. 16, 2014 Michael Bicay (NASA Ames Research Center) As the infrared cousin to Hubble, the Spitzer Space Telescope was launched in 2003 to study the cool universe with waves that are invisible to the human eye. It can probe the birth and youth of stars and planetary disks, and study of planets orbiting other stars. Dr. Bicay describes the long and road leading to Spitzer's launch, and presents highlights from the mission's first decade of discovery.

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2015. Dr. Mark Showalter (SETI Institute) The more we learn about Pluto, the more interesting it becomes. In the last decade, four tiny moons have been discovered orbiting the central "binary planet," which consists of Pluto and its large moon Charon. Pluto itself has a thin atmosphere and shows signs of seasonal changes. On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft will fly past Pluto and provide our first close-up look at these distant worlds. Dr. Showalter, a co-investigator on the mission, describes how he discovered two of the moons of Pluto, explains what we currently know about the Pluto system, and sets the scene for the exploration that is in store.

Feb. 26, 2014 Dr. Alex Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley) Lick Observatory, the first mountain-top telescope facility in the world, was founded in 1888, but continues to be a vibrant research facility and an important site for student and public education. Dr. Filippenko discusses some of the most exciting research being pursued at Lick -- including supernovae, exoplanets, and supermassive black holes. He also explains the funding crisis facing Lick, what is being done by local citizens, and how you can help.

Jan. 22, 2014 Dr. Roger Romani (Stanford University) NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has revealed a violent high-energy universe full of stellar explosions, black hole jets, and pulsing stars. These cosmic objects are often faint when observed with visible light, but glow bright with gamma rays. Dr. Romani describes the quest to discover the true nature of the most puzzling of these gamma-ray sources. Several turn out to be a kind of bizarre star corpse called a 'black widow' pulsar.

Apr. 17, 2013 Dr. Gibor Basri (University of California, Berkeley) The least massive star is six times heavier than the most massive known planet. In between is the realm of the mysterious "brown dwarfs." The first of these was discovered only in 1995, the same year astronomers found the first planet beyond our solar system. Since then we have found hundreds of each, and new techniques are giving us even more power to probe the properties of these enigmatic bodies. Dr. Basri, one of the discoverers of brown dwarfs, summarizes the progress we have made in understanding the domain of cosmic objects that don't qualify as stars.

The story begins in the infant universe, which we now know was remarkably smooth compared to what we see around us today, with only tiny differences in its properties from one part to another. By contrast, in the present universe there are enormous differences in the properties of matter in different locations: some regions host planets, stars, and galaxies (and even humans!) while others are cold and mostly empty. Dr. Quataert will describe how the universe has evolved to its current state, emphasizing how gravity reigns supreme and builds up the planets, stars, and galaxies required for biological evolution to proceed. Finally he will show how, in addition to their scientific importance, these ideas also have far-reaching philosophical and religious implications.

May 18, 2011 Dr. Anthony Aguirre (University of California at Santa Cruz)  Our improving understanding of the cosmos points to an early epoch during which the universe expanded at a stupendous rate to create the vast amount of space we can observe. Cosmologists are now coming to believe that this “cosmic inflation” may do much more: in many versions, inflation goes on forever, generating not just our observable universe but also infinitely many such regions with similar or different properties, together forming a staggeringly complex and vast “multiverse”. Dr. Aguirre traces the genesis of this idea, explores some of its implications, and discusses how scientists are seeking ways to test this idea.