February 19, 2016 7-9PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: An Archaeological Road Trip with the Keck Telescopes
Lecturer: Evan Kirby
Position: Professor
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
The Keck Telescopes have gone on an archaeological road trip to the most remote neighborhoods of our Galaxy. These neighborhoods are peppered with mini-galaxies-within-a-galaxy that are sparsely populated with just handfuls of stars. Although these galaxies used to harbor supernovae that produced most of the elements in the periodic table, those factories were shuttered long ago. Keck uncovers the history of these ghost towns--and their defunct manufacturing economies--by discovering what the few surviving stars are made of.