On a clear starry night from a dark sight, a thousand or more stars are visible to the naked eye. We place them in constellations, and tell stories about the figures we imagine them to represent. But ignoring the constellations and looking just at the stars as single points of light we notice differences in brightness and color, to the extent that our dark-adapted eyes can discern color. What accounts for the differences we see? Is it that they are at different distances from us, or do they have intrinsically different qualities?
Over the last two hundred years, we have developed tools and techniques to answer those questions, using only the light that we receive from the stars. Deeper study of that light, together with insights gained from 20th century physics, has taught us how stars are born, how they live out thier lives, and how they eventually perish.
Galen Gisler will discuss how we’ve used these 19th and 20th century techniques to unlock some of Nature’s mysteries.
About the Presenter:
Galen Gisler was born in Clovis NM, and graduated high school there. With a PhD in astrophysics from the University of Cambridge, he eventually came to Los Alamos where he worked at the lab for 25 years. Then he and his wife Susan moved to Norway where he learned not quite enough geology at the University of Oslo, finally retiring back to their cozy mountain town. The PEEC planetarium is his favorite place to spend time.
This program is aimed at children 8+.
Planetarium programs not recommended for children 4 and under.
Admission: $8/adult, $6/child.
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