Special IAU-G2 Seminar Celebrating Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin’s Centennial Thesis: December 1st (Monday!) at 16:00 CET
Sergio Simon Diaz
Hola!
Kind reminder about this special seminar in about 1 month, now also promoted by the IAU-G5 commission! Do not forget to note it in your agendas!
Also, feel free to distribute the announcement among your institutions to reach as many interested people as possible :-)
Cheers
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Next December 1st (Monday!) at 16:00 CET, the IAU-G2 Commission on Massive Stars, together with the IAU-G5 commission on Stellar and planetary Atmospheres are delighted to host a special seminar featuring Dr. Floor Broekgaarden (University of California San Diego). This event celebrates the centennial of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin’s PhD thesis—a landmark achievement in astrophysics.
We warmly invite the entire community to join us in commemorating and celebrating this milestone. Payne-Gaposchkin’s thesis was famously described by Otto Struve as “the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in astronomy.”
Following Floor’s talk, we will host an extended Q&A session, hoping that many senior members of our community will share their perspectives on the enduring importance of Cecilia’s groundbreaking work.
While this seminar was
initially part of the IAU-G2
online conference series, an initiative that offers a
platform to explore recent advances in massive star research and to connect
with colleagues around the world -- from the newest generation of
researchers to our most experienced members -- the IAU-G5
commission has recently warmly joined us in promoting this special
seminar.
Connection details below and also at https://massivestars.org/seminars/
The IAU Commissions G2 on Massive Stars and G5 on Stellar and
Planetary Atmospheres
====
*Title:* What Stars Are Made Of: Celebrating One Hundred Years of
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's Revolutionary PhD Thesis
*Speaker:* Floor Broekgaarden (University of California San Diego)
*Organizer:* IAU G2 and G5 commissions
*Date & Time:* December 1st - 16:00 CET (MONDAY!!!)
*Connection details:* https://rediris.zoom.us/j/6313376939?pwd=akRrd2dmb3dnbDN0MmRCallTTHlLQT09&omn=95383862762
*Abstract:* A century ago, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's PhD
thesis, Stellar Atmospheres (1925, Harvard College Observatory),
transformed our understanding of the universe. Famously described
by Otto Struve as "the most brilliant PhD thesis ever written in
astronomy", Payne-Gaposchkin's work revealed that stars are
composed primarily of hydrogen and helium\u2014an insight that
overturned the prevailing belief that stars shared Earth's
composition.
In this talk, we invite you to celebrate the centennial of this
landmark achievement and to reflect on the courage, creativity,
and intellectual clarity that defined Cecilia\u2019s science.
Together, we will revisit her thesis, explore original figures and
passages, and demystify the key ideas that made her conclusions so
revolutionary. Presented in the spirit of Payne-Gaposchkin's
clarity and curiosity, this session is designed to engage both
seasoned astronomers and those newly entering the field.
Sergio Simon Diaz
Hola!
I promise after next Monday you won't receive any more mails/reminders from my side until next year :-)
Kind reminder about the special seminar next Monday 1st of December
Cheers
Sergio
Sergio Simon Diaz
Seminar starting in 20 minutes!
Sergio Simon Diaz
Seminar starting now!
*Title:* What Stars Are Made Of: Celebrating One Hundred Years of
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's Revolutionary PhD Thesis
*Speaker:* Floor Broekgaarden (University of California San Diego)
*Organizer:* IAU G2 and G5 commissions
*Date & Time:* December 1st - 16:00 CET (MONDAY!!!)
*Connection details:* https://rediris.zoom.us/j/6313376939?pwd=akRrd2dmb3dnbDN0MmRCallTTHlLQT09&omn=95383862762
Sergio Simon Diaz
Hola!
For those who could not join us, Floor's seminar is now online in our YouTube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tn5m5QwoY4
Thank you very much once more Floor for this very interesting talk (I love the way you delivered it!). And also special thanks to Cecilia Gaposchkin, granddaughter of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin for joining us in this homage to her grandmother and show us complementary perspectives about Cecilia's work.
This will be my last message of the year, so let me take the opportunity to wish you all a great Xmas break and healthy start of 2026! Do not take things in your daily life too serious and laugh as much as you can ;-)
Cheers
Sergio