Las Cumbres Observatory is pleased to present a series of free public talks featuring leading scientists speaking about exciting new discoveries in astronomy.
Everyone is welcome to these events.
The Last Stargazers
October 14, 2020
When: October 14, 2020 4:00PM
Where:
This is a virtual public talk.
Emily Levesque
University of Washington
How can we photograph a black hole? Can we find one star hidden inside another? What will the next generation of telescopes reveal about the cosmos? In this webinar I'll share the science and adventures behind what it's like to be a professional astronomer and work at the world's cutting-edge observatories. We'll learn about how modern observatories are run, hear some of the many incredible behind-the-scenes stories of life as a professional astronomy, and map the rapid technological expansion of our field, the new possibilities offered by tomorrow's telescopes, and the evolving role of humans as observers and scientists.
Emily Levesque
Emily Levesque is an astronomy professor at the University of Washington and the author of the popular science book The Last Stargazers. Her research is focused on the physics behind how the most massive stars in the universe evolve and die. She has observed for upward of fifty nights on many of the planet’s largest telescopes and flown over the Antarctic stratosphere in an experimental aircraft for her research. Her academic accolades include the 2014 Annie Jump Cannon Award, a 2017 Alfred P. Sloan fellowship, a 2019 Cottrell Scholar award, and the 2020 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from MIT and a PhD in astronomy from the University of Hawaii.