Public Lecture & Stargazing: "First Stars! Second Life? The remarkable vision of the James Webb Space Telescope" with Prof. David Helfand (March 31)

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Hi everyone,

We're back from Spring Break, which means we're back with more public astronomy!! Our next event will be next Friday, March 31, at 6pm! Join us in Pupin Hall at Columbia University for a full night of astronomy.  

Professor David Helfand will be giving a public talk titled "First Stars! Second Life? The remarkable vision of the James Webb Space Telescope":

"Hubble was great. But Hubble’s eyes, while vastly larger and unobscured by the atmosphere, are pretty much like our own — limited to just over a single octave of cosmic radiation. We are now opening a new window on the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope. By far the most complex device ever placed in space, Webb is allowing us to see how the first stars and galaxies emerged from the Dark Ages of the early Universe, and to assay the atmospheres of planets beyond our solar system in a search for extraterrestrial life."

We'll kick off the evening at 6pm with some astronomy trivia, followed by Prof. Helfand'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-march31.

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 our next astronomy public outreach event is this Friday, March 31, at 6pm! The jury is still out on whether we'll be able to do outdoor stargazing -- regardless, you should still join us in Pupin Hall 301 for some fun astro trivia, a fantastic talk by Professor David Helfand (on "The Remarkable Vision of the James Webb Space Telescope"), and possibly some other cloudy night activities.

If you plan on attending, please remember to fill out this RSVP form!

Hope to see many of you on Friday!

Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder that our public astronomy event with Professor Helfand is tonight, starting at 6pm in Pupin Hall 301! The observing conditions for tonight are still uncertain, so we'll make a final call about public stargazing at 6:30pm. If we do end up stargazing, we'll probably head outside between 7:15 and 7:20pm (a bit later than originally scheduled, since the Sun won't be setting until ~7:15 or so).

Looking forward to seeing many of you in Pupin tonight!

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

David's talk happening now!  Join us via live-stream on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6TLlEWwCpY

[Columbia Astronomy Public Outreach]

Unfortunately, it's a bit too cloudy for stargazing tonight -- here's hoping that we'll have clearer skies at our next event on April 14!