2021 < Main < TWiki

---+ Past Events from 2021

<img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/caltech_timeline_2021.png" alt="caltech_timeline_2021.png" width="320" height="240" />
<img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/caltech_histogram_2021.png" alt="caltech_histogram_2021.png" width="320" height="240" />

For photos of all past events, see [[https://www.flickr.com/photos/143414768@N07/albums][our Flickr Page]].  
For lecture recordings, see [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpslw1KdoUvnCKi0swsb23w/videos][our YouTube Page]].<br>

To learn more about each event this year (including abstracts, titles, etc.), click on the event links below.

---++++ Monday, January 11, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210111][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Rachel Bezanson, Igor Andreoni<br />
*Attendees*: 90<br>
Great presentations!<br>

---++++ Friday, January 29, 7-9PM

[[20210122][Lecture and Stargazing - An Insider's Look Behind Science Headlines]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Sarah Blunt<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Amruta Jaodand, Tony Rodriguez<br />
*Attendees*: 50<br>
Excellent talk on an unusual topic.<br>

---++++ Monday, February 8, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210208][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Jessica Werk, Zach Hafen<br />
*Attendees*: 90<br>
Event coincided with the KITP Program "Fundamentals of Gaseous Halos" that Cameron is leading.<br>
Speakers were selected from participants in this program.<br>
Great presentations!<br>

---++++ Thursday, February 25, 7-9PM

[[20210226][Lecture and Stargazing - Searching for the Violent Births and Deaths of Stars with Night-Vision Goggles]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Kishalay De<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Ryan Rubenzahl, Nikita Kamraj, Nicole Wallack, Eva Scheller<br />
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Great talk by Kishalay.  We experimented by having a Space Engine demonstration by Ryan and Nikita beforehand.<br>
It seemed to work pretty well, but maybe a little low on details of the target objects.<br>

---++++ Monday, March 15, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210308][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Max Gronke, Laura-May Abron<br />
*Attendees*: 80<br>

---++++ Friday, March 26, 7-9PM

[[20210319][Lecture and Stargazing - Astronomy on the Cusp: A Subject Driven by Technology (Not Ideas)]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Shri Kulkarni<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Ilaria Caiazzo, Julie Inglis<br />
*Attendees*: 100<br>
Shri gave a good talk, which spurred some interesting discussion afterwards. <br>
Perhaps it's worthwhile to do more of these didactive / philosophical talks rather than just all research-based.<br>
One thought is to do one on the scientific method, or the planetary taxonomy (re: Pluto), or even one on 
pseudoscience.<br>

---++++ Monday, March 29, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210329][Astronomy on Tap, Mandarin]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Yuguang Chen, Yuping Huang<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Cheng Zhang, Quanzhi Ye<br />
*Attendees*: 8000<br>
This was definitely a lot of work, but it seems to have paid off.<br>
We've been planning this event for a few months.  The main challenge was getting the word out to the proper audience.<br>
Since most Chinese-speakers in the world are in China, we wanted to be able to advertise to them.  Twitter, Facebook,<br>
and Youtube are all blocked in China, so we created accounts on Bilibili (video sharing), Weibo (Twitter-like), and Wechat (Whatsapp-like).<br>
This was sort of a pain, because we needed to get authorization forms signed by people high up in the administration, but Allison Benter,<br>
the Director of Digital Communications at the Office of Strategic Communications was extremely helpful in signing documents for us.<br>
In the end, we now have "official" Caltech Astro accounts on those websites.  Yuguang advertised on them and got a lot of views for us.<br>
We purchased a premium paid account on restream.io, which allows us to duplicate a stream to multiple locations, so we were able to<br>
stream to both Youtube as well as Weibo.  While I was reasonably pleased that we had a typical turnout of 75 people to our YouTube<br>
broadcast, we had 7900 attendees to our Weibo broadcast!  I'm sort of blown away.  The talks went well, as did the pub trivia using<br>
mentimeter (which even works with Chinese characters).  The main feedback we received from the speakers is that we should encourage<br>
more questions from the audience, and that they wanted more live-feedback from the audience during the presentation.<br>
We've decided that we're going to start hosting these events 4x/year, so we're already planning our next event in June.<br>

---++++ Friday, April 16, 7-9PM

[[20210416][Lecture and Stargazing - Endless Hunt for Black Holesâ€‹â€‹]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Wenbin Lu<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Nikita Kamraj, Jessie Christiansen<br />
*Attendees*: 90<br>
Tonight was the first night using restream to live-stream an event to both YouTube Live<br>
as well as Facebook Live, and it mostly worked OK.  I had to setup the custom rtmp to point <br>
to the Facebook event page for the lecture, then start streaming to it, then "Go Live" on the Facebook<br>
side of things.  For YouTube, once you "go live" in the restream side, it takes about 5 seconds for the<br>
stream to actually start, so start YouTube first, then start Facebook.  It's a bit tricky to manage comments<br>
and questions from both the Facebook side as well as the YouTube side, but I managed.<br>
This could definitely be an area where it would be helpful to have a volunteer to start/stop the stream<br>
and manage all the comments, but it was feasible.  In general, I think it went pretty well overall.<br>
I've just got to get the camera settings on my Logitech webcam to work better, since by default it<br>
makes me look pink!<br>

---++++ Monday, April 26, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210405][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Rebecca Larson, Evan Nunez<br />
*Attendees*: 90<br>
Good event with interaction on both FB Live and YouTube Live.<br>

---++++ Monday, May 10, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210510][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Sabrina Pakzad, Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay<br />
*Attendees*: 110<br>
Slightly shorter than usual, but it was still a good event.  More Facebook Live attendees (25%).<br>

---++++ Monday, May 17, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210517][Astronomy on Tap Online, Espanol]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Tony Rodriguez, Benjamin Idini<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Lluis Mas Ribas, Daniella Bardalez Gagliuffi<br />
*Attendees*: 30<br>
This event was another experiment.  While it was our third spanish-language event we've hosted,<br>
it was the first one we've done entirely virtually.  As always, the biggest challenge with these<br>
foreign language events is advertising to the target audience.  In preparation for this event, I pulled<br>
out all of the stops and contacted everyone I could think to: AndrÃ©s Plazas-Malagon (Princeton),<br>
Jorge Moreno (Pomona), Melva Alvarez (PCC), ESO, Jeff Rich (Carnegie), Marja Seidel, <br>
Nico Garavito and Raphael Hviding (Arizona/Astrocharlas), Nicolas Tejos (ValparaÃso), <br>
Mitch Aiken (CTLO), Marlene Moncada (Caltech Diversity Office diversity@caltech.edu), <br>
Jackie Faherty (AMNH).  Furthermore, our hosts contacted scientists at UNAM (Mexico City)<br>
and Chilean collaborators.  Unfortunately, we only had 25-30 people throughout the event.<br>
All of our participation was over YouTube, with 75% of the time the Facebook Live stream<br>
being empty.  To be honest, it was a bit of a bummer because we'd put so much time into it, but<br>
hopefully word will spread, and we can find an audience for our subsequent events.<br>
Tony and Benjamin did a great job hosting for their first time, and Daniella and Lluis gave<br>
good talks.  A slight room for improvement could have been more energy by people and less<br>
silence during the quiz.<br>

---++++ Friday, May 21, 7-9PM

[[20210521][Lecture and Stargazing - The Surprising World of Pulsars]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Amruta Jaodand<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Gina Panopoulou, Shreyas Vissapragada<br />
*Attendees*: 70<br>
Engaging talk and good dynamic on the Q&A panel.  Lots of questions from audience.<br>

---++++ Monday, June 7, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210607][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Junhan Kim, Britt Lundgren<br />
*Attendees*: 100<br>
Great presentations and good dialog with everyone!<br>

---++++ Monday, June 14, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20210614][Astronomy on Tap Online, Mandarin]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Yuguang Chen, Zhuyun Zhuang<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Yanbei Chen, Yuhan Yao<br />
*Attendees*: 7000<br>
Make sure that the streaming through restream.io works to Weibo.  If it does not, then <br>
contact restream.io help and ask them to turn on compatibility mode for the custom RTMP<br>
channel that we use to stream to Weibo.  Also, make sure the title/description is set for <br>
Facebook in restream.io, but YouTube doesn't matter.  Lastly, make sure the host is in <br>
"gallery mode" because that is what will broadcast to restream and the various output streams.<br>
Bit turnout as usual on Weibo.  Event went well.<br>

---++++ Friday, June 25, 7-9PM

[[20210618][Lecture and Stargazing - Quantum Technologies: From Fundamental Physics to Deep Space Communications]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Maria Spiropulu<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Reinier Janssen, Mia de los Reyes<br />
*Attendees*: 62<br>
Challenging to get this one scheduled with the speaker, but in the end it went OK.<br>

---++++ Friday, October 15, 7-9PM

[[20211015][Lecture and Stargazing - Tiny but Powerful: Hunting for Extreme White Dwarfs]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Ilaria Caiazzo<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Evan Nunez, Ivey Davis<br />
*Attendees*: 60<br>
Great talk and some lively discussion.<br>

---++++ Monday, October 18, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20211018][Astronomy on Tap Online, Mandarin]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Yuguang Chen, Dongzi Li<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Jinyi Yang, Fei Dai<br />
*Attendees*: 14000<br>
Huge turnout on Weibo due to a last minute push from Yuguang in advertising.<br>
14000 audience members on Weibo, but only about 15 audience members on YouTube!<br>
Very little interaction through menti pub trivia.  Very good presentations, though.<br>

---++++ Monday, October 25, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20211025][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Julie Bellerose, Ritoban Basu Thakur<br />
*Attendees*: 60<br>
Some initial hiccups with a slightly late start due to a speaker arriving 5 minutes before showtime.<br>
Didn't broadcast to Facebook Live and only was on YouTube.<br>
Great talks and lots of good questions from audience.<br>

---++++ Monday, November 1, 5:00-7:00PM

[[20211101][Astronomy on Tap Online, Spanish]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Tony Rodriguez, Benjamin Idini<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Sofia Gallego, Geronimo Villanueva <br />
*Attendees*: 20<br>
Tony contacted several different places to advertise, including: 

   * Griffith Observatory Media Team
   * Univ de Guanajuato
   * Sociedad AstronÃ³mica Queretana
   * Astrobaja
   * Sociedad AstronÃ³mica del Caribe
   * Sociedad AstronÃ³mica de MÃ©xico
   * AsociaciÃ³n de Aficionados a la AstronomÃa (Uruguay)
   * AsociaciÃ³n SalvadoreÃ±a de AstronomÃa
   * AsociaciÃ³n Boliviana de AstronomÃa
   * Centro Mexicano de DivulgaciÃ³n CientÃfica
   * LA Astronomy Club
   * San Diego Astronomy Association
   * AsociaciÃ³n AstronÃ³mica de Puebla
   * AsociaciÃ³n AstronÃ³mica de Saltillo
   * AsociaciÃ³n AstronÃ³mica UADY (MÃ©rida, MÃ©xico)
   * LA County Library
   * Cal Academy of Sciences 

I contacted my various sources that I described in the previous event.  <br>
Despite all that, we had a lot of problems.  For one, we only had 20 concurrent viewers<br>
to see the stream.  Maybe part of this was due to us holding the event on Dia de los Muertos.<br>
Also, one of our speakers didn't show up--Geronimo Villanueva.  He wrote a couple days later<br>
to say he was in remote Argentina without an internet connection, but he hadn't responded to<br>
my emails for a month and had assured me that he'd be able to get an internet connection<br>
when we last spoke.  Lastly, one of our hosts, Benjamin Idini announced that he wouldn't<br>
be able to help for any future events.  So I'm losing hope that these spanish language events<br>
are actually worth the trouble.  I'll maybe try one more, but otherwise, I'm just going to cancel<br>
them because it's too much work for like 20 audience members.<br>


---++++ Monday, November 8, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20211108][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Sasha Hinkley, Colette Salyk<br />
*Attendees*: 50<br>
Great event featuring some cool JWST talks.  Good feedback from audience.<br>

---++++ Friday, November 19, 7-9PM

[[20211119][Lecture and Stargazing - The Enigmatic Corona: Powerhouse of Accreting Black Holes]]<br>
*[[Lecturer]]*: Nikita Kamraj<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Shreyas Vissapragada, Kathryn Plant<br />
*Attendees*: 60<br>
Very engaged audience and good talk from Nikita.<br>
Great conversational aspect of the Q&A!<br>

---++++ Monday, December 6, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20211206][Astronomy on Tap Online]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Christina Williams, Justin Spilker<br />
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Great talks on future science with JWST.  Engaged audience.<br>

---++++ Friday, December 10, 7-9PM

[[20211210][Lecture and Stargazing - A Brief History of the Fast Radio Burst Enigma]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Liam Connor<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2)*: Stephanie Duppe, Nicole Wallack<br />
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Well presented talk on FRBs and great chemistry during Q&A panel.<br>

Link back to [[https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/twiki_outreach/bin/view/Main/WebHome][home page]].
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Topic revision: r24 - 2023-10-04 - OutreachAdmin