In cooperation with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Astronomical Society, the Department of Astronomy will sponsor the 2015-2016 Frontiers of Astronomy Lecture Series through the support of the Arthur S. Holden Sr. Endowment.
The series will conclude for the season Thursday, April 14, from 8 to 9 p.m. at the natural history museum’s Murch Auditorium with a presentation from University of California, Irvine’s James Bullock.
Bullock, professor of physics and astronomy, will give a “Biography of the Milky Way.”
The universe on the grandest scales is a vast network of galaxies. Dotted along an expanding cosmic web, galaxies shine with the collective light of thousands to billions of stars.
More than just collections of stars however, galaxies are dynamic ecosystems. They allow multiple generations of stars to build new atoms that had never before existed. They foster complex chemistry, even organic chemistry, in an otherwise sterile universe.
Figuring out the true nature of the Milky Way was not easy, but the journey was ultimately triumphant. Bullock will explain the story of how it happened, and how, once revealed, the Milky Way leads the way to a revolution in our understanding of universe’s origins, its makeup, and possibly, its ultimate fate.
Admission is free and parking will be available for $6.
More information on the series is available at astronomy.case.edu/event-archive/frontiers-of-astronomy/.