Public Lecture & Stargazing: "Mysterious Messiness of M33" with Dr. Amanda Quirk (Feb. 17)

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Hi everyone,

We're excited to hold our first public astronomy event of the semester next Friday, February 17, at 6pm! Join us in Pupin Hall at Columbia University for a full night of astronomy.  

Dr. Amanda Quirk will be giving a public talk titled "Mysterious Messiness of M33":

"I will discuss the Milky Way's smaller sibling, the Triangulum Galaxy (M33), and the largest survey of its stars. I will highlight the present-day properties of M33 that make it intriguing and will describe how astronomers use these present-day qualities to try to figure out what happened to a galaxy in the past. This detective work aims to uncover billions of years of galactic cannibalism, stellar explosions, and other happenings that have led to the mysterious messiness of M33 that we see today."

We'll kick off the evening at 6pm with some astronomy trivia, followed by Dr. Quirk's talk and Q&A. From 7:10-8:10pm, we will be outside stargazing on College Walk (weather permitting).

The main event will take place in Pupin Hall 301. Signs will be posted to direct you to the lecture hall, and general directions to Columbia and Pupin Hall can be found here. Outdoor observing/stargazing will take place on College Walk, the portion of 116th street crossing through Columbia's main campus; we will walk down to College Walk as a group following the lecture and Q&A. Telescopes and binoculars will be provided by Columbia Astronomy (but you are absolutely welcome to bring your own observing equipment).

This event is free and open to all -- stay only as long as you want. If you plan to attend this event, please fill out the RSVP form at tinyurl.com/columbia-astro-night.

We look forward to seeing you in Pupin Hall next week!

Very best,

Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Hi everyone,

A reminder that we'll be holding our first astronomy public outreach event of the semester tomorrow, February 17, at 6pm! More details can be found in the previous email (below); if you're interested in attending, please fill out the RSVP form at tinyurl.com/columbia-astro-night.

The viability of stargazing tomorrow night is currently uncertain; unfortunately, the clouds may not clear up as much as we hoped. We'll keep you updated on the status of public stargazing. Even if public stargazing isn't happening, you should still come by Pupin Hall to hear a wonderful talk by Dr. Amanda Quirk!

Hope to see many of you tomorrow night!

Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Hi everyone,

Tonight's event is in a little less than an hour! The sky is currently cloudy, but there's a chance that it'll clear up a bit in the next hour (possibly clear enough to see a few stars). We will make a final decision about public stargazing by 6:30pm.

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Unfortunately, it's a little too cloudy for public observing tonight. Here's hoping that we'll have better weather for our next event on March 3!!