(r44) 2024 < Main

Tags: view all tags
---+ Past Events from 2024

<img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/caltech_timeline_2024.png" alt="caltech_timeline_2024.png" width="320" height="240" />
<img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/caltech_histogram_2024.png" alt="caltech_histogram_2024.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.

---++++ Friday, January 12, 8-10PM

[[20240112][Lecture and Stargazing - Supernovae: The Brilliant Endings of Massive Stars]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Michael Pajkos<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Dee Dunne, Nicholas Rui<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Andreas Faisst<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (4)*: Sam Rose, Xander Hall, Soumyadeep Bhattacharjee<br>
*Attendees*: 180<br>
120 in-person + 60 online = 180 attendees.  Really great event last night with good weather, an excellent<br>
presentation, and a lively panel and audience.  No technical difficulties this month after some issues in<br>
December, and we had so many intriguing questions from the audience that we struggled to get through all<br>
of them in time!  A good problem to have.  Jupiter, M42, and M33 were targets.<br>

---++++ Tuesday, January 16, 5:30-7PM

Telescope Training on Dobs and eVscope<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br>
*Participants*: Javier Roulet, Ed Nathan, Eliot Finch, Marco Crisostomi<br>
Good group.  We got through setting up and taking down 6" dob; viewing Moon and Jupiter.<br>
Also setup and takedown of eVscope with a view of M42.<br>

---++++ Saturday, January 27, 5:00-7:00PM

Astronomy Night at Kester Avenue Elementary<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers* (1-2): Ashish Mahabal<br />
*Attendees*: 400<br>
Elementary school in Thousand Oaks hosted an astronomy night for their 800 students.  Ashish went out<br>
and answered questions for a few hours at the Ask an Astrophysicist table.  It sounds like the event went<br>
really well overall.  Clear weather for stargazing with the Burbank Sidewalk Astronomers.<br>

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

[[20240129][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Kaustav Das, Niyati Desai<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*:  Sam Rose, Nicholas Rui, Jean Somalwar, Nik Prusinski<br>
*Attendees*: 250<br>
Great event with two great presentations and a good turnout.  eVscope provided views of M1 and M42.<br>
Lots of engagement by the audience and several compliments from attendees afterwards.  Warm weather<br>
and no event for 7 weeks may have contributed to the great turnout.<br>

---++++ Friday, February 16, 8-10PM

[[20240216][Stargazing Lecture - Chasing the Solar Atmosphere using Eclipses and the Parker Solar Probe]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Gabe Muro<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Ivey Davis, Robin Wen<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (4)*: Xander Hall, Kira Nolan<br>
*Attendees*: 130<br>
90 in-person + 40 online = 130 attendees.  Solid presentation and good audience engagement tonight.<br>
The weather was hazy with a few clouds, so moon and Jupiter were the only possible observations.<br>
The telescopes got some dew on the mirrors, but it should be OK.  Lots of discussion during the Q&A<br>
of the eclipse, the Carrington Event, as well as dark matter.  Good event.<br>  

---++++ Thursday, February 22, 5:30-7:30PM

Telescopes with Annandale Elementary School<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers* (1-2): Adolfo Carvalho, Xander Hall<br />
*Attendees*:75<br>
We hosted the Annandale Elementary School's telescope night with two telescopes.  It's a public school of about <br>
100 students in grades K-5 in Highland Park. and they were very excited to welcome us.  The event was quite early<br> 
in the evening, and we only had views of the full Moon for the first 15 minutes.  Then we were able to view Jupiter and<br>
finally the Orion Nebula using the eVscope2.  We also brought HST lithographs, solar eclipse glasses, NASA stickers,<br>
and Caltech Astro business cards to hand out to families.  Pretty good overall.<br>

---++++ Friday, February 23, 5:30-7:30PM

Telescopes with San Rafael Elementary Science Fair<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers* (1-2): Kira Nolan<br />
*Attendees*: 150<br>
We joined local school San Rafael Elementary for their event which was part science fair, part black history month celebration.<br>
There were a number of outdoor activities for the kids to do, including our telescope set up, as well as indoor activities with<br>
entries in the science fair, a Ghanaian drumming demonstration, an art demonstration and more.  At our station, we had views<br>
of Jupiter and the Orion Nebula, and at the very end of the night the Moon rose high enough that we could observe it.  <br>
Lots of enthusiastic children, but we were a little too close to the air-powered rocket demonstration and rockets kept coming <br>
down on our group.  If we do it again, it might be good to move.<br>

---++++ Tuesday, February 27, 6:00-8:00PM

CANCELLED: Telescopes with Marshall Middle School Science Fair<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers* (1-2): Sam Rose<br />
*Attendees*: 0<br>
Weather was overcast and no chance of observing, so we bailed.<br>

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

[[20240226][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Zach Weinersmith, Maria Camarca<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*:  Harshda Saxena, Xander Hall, Jean Somalwar<br>
*Attendees*: 250<br>
Awesome event despite some initial setbacks.  Wet weather was forecasted for Monday's event, and because our venue<br>
is outdoors, I made the call on Saturday and rescheduled it for Wednesday.  This is our first time rescheduling, and I wasn't<br>
sure what to expect, but we seemed to get the word out successfully through social media and the calendar, and we had<br>
a great turnout of 250.  The talks were both really good, and people seemed to enjoy it all.  Clear skies with views of M42 and M1.<br>
Lots of positive feedback from attendees.  <br>

---++++ Thursday, February 29, 5:30-7:30PM

CANCELLED: Telescopes with Mayor at State of the City event<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers* (1-2): Sam Rose, Max Goldberg, Adolfo Carvalho<br />
*Attendees*:<br>
Weather was cloudy so we ended up canceling the event.<br>

---++++ Friday-Sunday, March 1-3

[[20240301][Death Valley NP Dark Sky Festival]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers*: Kathryn Plant, Phil Jahelka, Sam Rose, Joanna Piotrowska-Karpov, Platon Karpov, Nils Vu, Kira Nolan, Harshda Saxena, Kaustav Das, Xander Hall, Aniket Sanghi, Qicheng Zhang, Nicholas Rui<br>
*Attendees*: 7000<br>
High winds throughout, which required some changes to the plan.  All outdoor activities (including star party) were canceled for Friday and Saturday.<br>
This included canceling our camping plans, due to concern with torn tents in the 30 MPH consistent winds with gusts to 50+ MPH.  DVNP allowed <br>
some of us to sleep in a storage room in the visitor's center, which wasn't ideal but better than the alternatives.  Our activities went well overall, with <br>
two at-capacity Astro on Tap events (130 and 165), lots of engagement with our "Build a Comet" and solar observing demos, a good turnout for Cameron's<br>
"Space Exploration" Lecture, and some great questions for our Astrophysicist Q&A Panel.  But our group (and the public) remained in good spirits, and <br>
lots of science communication was had.

---++++ Friday-Sunday, March 8-10

[[20240308][Great Orion Dark Sky Festival]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers*: Gabe Muro<br>
*Attendees*: 200<br>
Cameron got COVID from the previous week's Death Valley Dark Sky Festival, so he was unable to participate.  Gabe gave three presentations<br>
over the course of the weekend with lots of engagement with attendees on the topics of stellar evolution, heliophysics, and the eclipse.

---++++ Friday, March 15, 8-10PM

[[20240315][Stargazing Lecture - SPHEREx: Zooming Out to See the Big Picture]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Jamie Bock<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Harshda Saxena, Sam Ponnada<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*:  Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (4)*: Robin Wen<br>
*Attendees*: 200<br>
120 in-person + 80 online = 200 attendees.  Great turnout despite some cloudy weather.  People were very excited<br>
about Jamie's talk topic.  Lots of great questions from the audience and lots of engagement.  We had some <br>
technical difficulties in that the Hameetman projector system didn't work at all.  Starting it up, it just displayed <br>
"No Stream Detected" error.  Neither Jamie nor I could fix it through troubleshooting over 20 minutes.  Fortunately,<br>
I had a cheap portable projector in my office that I was able to rig up to work, but it was not very powerful, bright, and <br>
wasn't able to fully focus, so it wasn't great.  But at least it was something.  Very embarrassing for this to happen, <br>
especially during a professor's presentation.  We really need to have a reliable projector system in Cahill for these events.<br>
It turns out that the issue was with the encoder that broadcasts the stream from the lectern to the projector itself.<br>
In speaking with Chris Mach, this recently purchased encoder has had issues in that it needs to be rebooted every<br>
few weeks, and I guess it must have gone out in the day or so prior to our event.  The encoder died completely, and<br>
they will be replacing it, so hopefully this won't cause problems in the future.<br>

---++++ Saturday, March 16

[[20240316][PUSD Science Festival]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers for 11:30-2:30 slot (2-4)*: Ivey Davis, Soumyadeep Bhattacharjee<br>
*Volunteers for 2:30-5:30 slot (2-4)*: Yuping Huang<br>
*Attendees*: 1000<br>
We made due on a small staff for this one.  Last year we had the build-a-comet demo, solar marshmallow<br>
demo, and lots of solar telescopes and such.  This year, due to the small number of volunteers, we just<br>
had a few solar telescopes set up and handed out eclipse glasses in advance of the solar eclipse this year.<br>
It still went reasonably well overall, despite having some cloudy weather for about an hour near the end.<br>
But audience members were in good spirits and we had some solid engagement with local families.<br>

---++++ Saturday, March 23

[[20240323][Stargazing at the Langham Hotel]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers*: Carlos Ayala, Yoonsoo Kim<br>
*Attendees*: 40<br>
It was an unusual event, but we made it work.  The Langham Hotel is a very expensive hotel located a few miles from<br>
Caltech in San Marino.  It used to be a Ritz Carlton, which gives you the idea of its wealth and clientele.  We were approached<br>
to host an event there with telescopes, and I acquiesced with the caveat that they would pay us an honorarium which could be <br>
used towards our outreach budget, since I receive virtually no funding or support from Caltech for the outreach expenses for <br>
equipment and supplies.  Originally, we agreed to hosting two telescopes and two astronomers for two hours for Earth Hour for $500.<br>
The plan was to bring a projector and project a view of the telescope on to the projector for all to see while they were enjoying <br>
drinks.  However, the forecast prior to this event was for clouds and rain, so we pivoted to an indoor plan with a slideshow of astronomical<br>
images to be played on the screen while our astronomers walked amongst the crowd and answered questions on the objects being shown.<br>
In the end, the weather was clear (becoming cloudy), so we were able to set up the telescopes *and* the projector of astronomical objects<br>
slideshow as a sort of hybrid of the two.  By the end of the night, it got quite cloudy, preventing us from further astronomical viewing, but<br>
many engaging astronomical discussions were had.  We also brought eclipse glasses, HST lithographs, and NASA stickers for the guests.<br>
Improvements for next time might be to have heat lamps outside.

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

[[20240325][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Ed Nathan, Nadine Hassan<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*:  Ivey Davis, Delina Levine, Harshda Saxena, Xander Hall<br>
*Attendees*: 200<br>
Good turnout for some great talks and pub trivia.  An enthusiastic crowd joined us despite a cool evening with some high cirrus.<br>
We were still able to see a few objects despite the patchy cirrus, including M82 and M44.  The presentations were well done and<br>
well received.  No live music this time from Jason and Forrest, but the event was fine without it.  A journalist was present from<br>
LA Thrillist covering the event, and she got some great photographs.  Lots of enthusiasm for the upcoming eclipse!<br>

---++++ Monday, April 8

[[20240408][Total Solar Eclipse in Piedras Negras, Mexico]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels & Rocio Kiman<br />
*Volunteers*: Dee Dunne, Harshda Saxena, Javier Roulet, Carlos Ayala, Delina Levine, Aniket Sanghi, Hazel Yun, Mike Kelzenberg, Charles Sommer, Freeke van de Voort, Tim Davis, Vadim Semenov<br>
*Attendees*: 2000<br>
An ambitious undertaking but a great success.  Four vehicles drove 12 of us out from Pasadena to Piedras Negras, Mexico over several days (20h drive time minimum) to<br>
host two days of activities for the community of Piedras Negras.  We had 4h of day time activities the day preceding the eclipse, including solar telescopes, scientific presentations<br>
handing out eclipse glasses, and science demos (400 attendees).  That evening, we hosted a star party for 2h with 4 telescopes, showcasing views of Jupiter, M42, M45, M51, M81, M82, and M3 (800 attendees).<br>
Finally, on Monday, we had 3h of events for the eclipse itself (1000 attendees), with solar telescopes, eclipse glasses, and live-streaming a view of the Sun to a big screen as well as online (20k views).  <br>
We were partnering with the Institute of Technology of Piedras Negras, who were able to host us and deal with logistics, while we provided the scientific equipment and content.  All of the events were live-streamed<br>
to Facebook Live, primarily in Spanish.  We had a great time, and all of the participants were very thankful for the activities.  The event was covered by several different media outlets around Northern Mexico.<br>
There were no issues with car or health or safety or immigration in getting to/from Mexico, so I call it a great success.  In followup discussions, we may limit things in the future to just be grads+postdocs+staff<br>
as well as make very clear guidelines on what people will be expected to contribute and when to be available.<br>

---++++ Monday, April 8, 10AM-Noon

[[20240408b][Partial Solar Eclipse on Caltech's Campus]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels & Katherine de Kleer<br />
*Volunteers*: Sam Rose, Kenny Lau, Xander Hall, Patrick Shopbell, Kaustav Das, Kira Nolan, Sam Whitebook,  Sam Ponnada, Sofia Covarrubias, Robin Wen, Jen Sobeck, Yoonsoo Kim, Jean Somalwar<br>
*Attendees*: 3000<br>
Huge turnout for our eclipse activities on campus.  We had made plans with Caltech Athletics for several months that we would host an event for the eclipse on the north athletic fields.  Since the eclipse<br>
was happning mid-morning on a weekday, I only expected 500 or so attendees as I reasoned that people would be in work/school.  But we had the capacity for more attendees in case they showed.<br>
We arranged to have the gate at the NE corner of the field open, with greeters at a table to welcome people, ensure they knew the rules of the field, and hand out eclipse glasses.  We also had 4 security there.<br>
The turnout was much larger than expected, with 3000 attendees over the course of the morning.  Despite our event starting at 10AM, we had people lining up before 8AM, as there were concerns about getting<br>
eclipse glasses.  I had left 2000 pairs, and those were gone in the first hour of the event.  But we had solar telescopes set up, and collanders as pinhole cameras, so everyone had a great time and hopefully<br>
learned something.  There were several media outlets present, including LA Times, ABC News, etc, who interviewed many of our staff and students.  Afterwards, our volunteers were able to clear the field, remove<br>
any litter that had been dropped and make sure everything was very clean and tidy before closing up.  All in all, a very successful event!

---++++ Thursday, April 11, 8-10PM

Stargazing Session in Big Bend NP<br>
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br>
*Attendees*: 350<br>
In driving back from the total solar eclipse, Cameron stopped in Big Bend NP for a couple of nights.  Big Bend is known for having the darkest<br>
skies of any national park in the lower 48 states.  Cameron worked with park rangers to offer a night of stargazing with three of the telescopes<br>
he had brought to the eclipse activities (eVscope2, S50, and 10" dob).  A great turnout with lots of excited attendees to see young moon, Jupiter,<br>
M51, and M81.<br>

---++++ Friday, April 19, 8-10PM

[[20240419][Stargazing Lecture - Cosmic Gold Mining]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Shreya Anand<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Navin Sridhar<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (4)*: Sam Whitebook, Tim Proudkil<br>
*Attendees*: 160<br>
125 in-person + 35 online = 160 attendees. Solid talk by Shreya on binary neutron star interactions, followed by stargazing and our Q&A panel.<br>
There were lots of engaging audience members throughout the Q&A.  The weather was a bit hazy, so not ideal, but between the SeeStar and the <br>
eVscope, we were able to see quite a bit.  Also, the first quarter moon was on full display, which is always nice.<br>

---++++ Monday, April 22, 9-11AM

Visit to Cleveland Elementary School<br />
*Organizer*: David Hale<br>
*Attendees*: 100<br>
Cleveland Elementary School, in Lakewood, CA. David presented to four classes: two TK (~21 ea) and two K (~30 ea) classes. He set up a solar telescope in the doorway of the classroom, and then discussed what he does as an astronomer, and answered questions for each class. At recess several other older kids (and teachers) caught sight and had their chance to look at the sun and it’s nine sunspot groups.

---++++ Saturday, April 27, 12-5PM

Girl Scout Event with GWiPMA<br>
*Organizer*: Dee Dunne<br>
*Attendees*: 80<br>
It sounds like the event went well.  There were several representatives from different departments performing science demonstrations for the scouts.<br>
Dee operated our H-alpha solar telescope and solar projector telescope with the girls.  Dee provided them all with views of the Sun as well as<br>
descriptions of the relevant science to be seen in terms of prominences and sunspots<br>

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

[[20240429][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Joe Lazio, Smadar Naoz<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*:  Sam Rose, Xander Hall, Tim Proudkii<br>
*Attendees*: 250<br>
Great event.  The presentations were excellent, Jason Achilles and Forrest performed but not too loudly, and the weather was clear so we were able to observe.<br>
Telescopes pointed at M51 and M3.  No technical issues and a lot of positive feedback.  There were even a lot of merch purchases throughout the night with<br>
people wanting to support these events.  And Arjun got the awning fixed up so it's all waterproof.  Good times.<br>

---++++ Friday, May 10, 8-10PM

[[20240510][Stargazing Lecture - Nova T Coronae Borealis: A New Star in the Crown]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Mansi Kasliwal<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Kaustav Das, Maria Camarca<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Andreas Faisst<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (4)*: Sam Rose<br>
*Attendees*: 140<br>
110 in-person + 30 online = 140 attendees.  Great presentation and enthusiastic audience.  Weather was clear for first half of night, but<br>
then got cloudy later.  Only two people on telescopes, which was a bit limiting.  Lively Q&A panel.  Also, lots of solar activity led to auroral<br>
showing that night, so had some discussions of magnetospheres.<br>

---++++ Saturday, May 11, 12-3PM

Sidewalk Solar Observing in Pasadena<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers*: Dee Dunne, Harshda Saxena<br>
*Attendees*: 250<br>
Perfect timing for solar observing after the major auroral activity the night before.  Lots of engagement at our normal location on Colorado<br>
across from Apple Store.  Used an H-alpha scope and 6" dob with sun funnel, which worked well.  Lots of prominences and sunspots.<br>
Handed out lots of business cards advertising our main events, and we saw an increase in activity on our social media feeds.<br>

---++++ Monday, May 20, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240520][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Kevin Hand, Jean Somalwar<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Delina Levine, Dee Dunne, Xander Hall, Tim Proudkii<br>
*Attendees*: 200<br>
Solid turnout for some great talks.  Jason Achilles performed with a new drummer and it worked well.  Kevin Hand signed and sold copies<br>
of his new book, which worked well.  Too cloudy to observe anything through the telescope, though.  Good night.<br>

---++++ Thursday, May 30, 5-7PM

STEAM Festival in Ely, NV<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Cameron was traveling to Ely, NV to help out with some DSA-2000 related efforts.  There was a STEAM festival for the local schools (White Pine School District)<br>
with several science booths set up, so Cameron put together a Caltech Astro table including a solar telescope and lots of astronomy swag (HST + JWST images, bookmarks, etc.).<br>
There were probably 80 people who came by over the course of the evening and lots of great conversations. Also, Cameron made contact with several <br>
local school teachers for continued collaboration. Kara Garcia was the organizer of the overall event.<br>

---++++ Thursday, June 6, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240606][Astronomy on Tap @ Mountain Rambler (Bishop, CA)]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Ruby Byrne, Nivedita Mahesh<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*:<br>
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Solid event with a good turnout.  Ruby and Nivedita both gave good talks, and the weather was cooperative for<Br>
operating the telescope (eVscope2).  Cameron needed a bit of help to do all of the things, but it worked OK.<br>
Notably, there were some world-famous rock climbers in the audience including Tommy Caldwell.<br>

---++++ Monday, June 24, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240624][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Robert Hurt, Xander Hall<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Delina Levine, Isabel Sands, Harshda Saxena<br>
*Attendees*:230<br>
Great event with good turnout.  Excellent talks by Xander and Robert--very polished.  A very responsive and<br>
enthusiastic audience.  We successfully recorded it too.<br>


---++++ Friday, July 12, 8-10PM

[[20240712][Stargazing Lecture - An Odyssey Through the Warped Side of Our Universe]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Kip Thorne<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Q&A Panelists*: Katerina Chatziioannou, Elias Most<br>
*Video Director*: Ivey Davis<br>
*YouTube Moderators*: Soumyadeep Bhattacharjee, Adolfo Carvalho<br>
*Slido Prescreeners*: Isabel Sand, Iago Braz Mendes<br>
*Invited Guests Admission*: Cece Abramson<br>
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Dee Dunne<br />
*Telescope Greeters*: Aniket Singh, Delina Levine, Alice Heranval<br>
*Telescope Operators*: <br>
 * Harshda Saxena & Gustav Romare (eVscope2: M57)<br>
 * Kira Nolan (SeeStar: M51)<br>
 * Evan Nunez & Hazel Yun (Celestron 8": M13)<br>
 * Sofia Covarrubias (Dob 6": Moon)<br>
 *  Kaustav Das (Dob 8": Moon)<br>
 * Marco Crisostomi (Dob 10": Moon)<br>
*Telescope Roamers*: Dee Dunne, Nik Prusinksi, Sam Ponnada, Jakob Faber, Zach Luppen, Yashvardhan Tomar<br>
*Attendees*: 1210<br>
980 in-person + 230 online = 1210 overall.
What an event!  We hosted in Beckman Auditorium to a packed audience.  Six telescope outside (3 dobs on the first-quarter moon; C8, S50, eVscope2 on M13, M51, and M57).<br>
Some hazy and high cirrus prevented us from viewing M51, but M57 and M13 were possible.  Kip gave a tremenous presentation on spacetime, tendices, gravitational waves, <br>
hawking radiation, wormholes, etc.  I think the audience was generally very happy with it.  Our Q&A panel went well overall, even with some questions dipping into the esoteric<br>
but it was still light and conversational.  And the grads really came together to support this in a way we haven't had at any event previously, so I'm deeply humbled and thankful.<br>
A big success overall.<br>

---++++ Monday, July 22, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240722][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Zhuyun Zhuang, Richard Feder<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Sam Rose, Harshda Saxena, Delina Levine, Kira Nolan<br>
*Attendees*: 300<br>
Big turnout for a great event.  Zhuyun and Richard each gave solid talks, although they both went a bit long.<br>
Jason Achilles had a very good set with some new music.  Enthusiastic crowd.  Probably the big turnout was<br> 
due to residual interest from Kip's lecture, JPL interns, Mars 10 science meeting in town, and good weather.<br>
I hope it keeps up for future events!  Need to order more swag.<br>

---++++ Wednesday, July 31 8-10PM

[[20240731][Stargazing Night for HSRC (High School Research @ Caltech]]<br />
*Organizer*: Dee Dunne<br />
*Volunteers*: Sam Rose, Sam Whitebook<br>
*Attendees*: 15<br>
Dee gave a short galaxy presentation to the students, then provided the 15 students with views through the eVscope2.  Clear night<br>
with lots of enthusiastic students and great observing.  Overall big success.<br>

---++++ Friday, August 16, 8-10PM

[[20240816][Stargazing Lecture - The Gigantic Black Hole in the Center of our Galaxy and the Stars around It]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Re'em Sari<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (4+)*: Nicholas Rui, Jean Somalwar<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (6+)*: Iago Braz Mendes, Kaustav Das, Marco Crisostomi, Eliot Finch<br>
*Attendees*:300<br>
220 in-person + 80 online = 300 overall. A packed auditorium for this 101st Stargazing Lecture.  I think the success from Kip's lecture<br>
brought more people this month than usual, as we were at capacity in Hameetman.  Re'em gave a great presentation on a variety of topics<br>
and the weather was clear for observing.  Good discussions on the panel Q&A as well.<br>

---++++ Monday, August 19, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240819][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Nicholas Rui, Catherine Clark<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Sam Rose, Delina Levine<br>
*Attendees*: 200<br>
Slightly lower turnout, potentially from the quick turnaround on the lecture 3-days prior, but still great overall.  Good talks<br>
and enthusiastic crowd.  Sam and Delina did very well considering it was just the two of them.<br>

---++++ Tuesday, September 3, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240819][Astronomy on Tap @ Mi Chola in Aspen, CO]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Nicole Sanchez, Martin Elvis<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Yakov Faerman, Fakhri Zehedy<br>
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Single event here in Aspen while Cameron is at Aspen Center for Physics.  Pretty good turnout despite impromptu event.<br>
40 percent of attendees were physicists or friends, which isn't great, but maybe ok to spread the word on hosting these events.<br>
People really liked the stargazing.<br>

---++++ Friday-Saturday, September 6-7

[[20240906][Great Basin NP Astronomy Festival]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*Volunteers*: Rocio Kiman, Javier Roulet, Vikram Ravi, Katie Jameson, Harshda Saxena, Delina Levine, Luke Handley<br>
*Attendees*: 100<br>
We were invited to host two Astronomy on Tap events at the Great Basin Astronomy Festival this year.<br>
The events were held in the tiny town of Baker, NV at the Bristlecone General Store and Sugar, Salt, and Malt restaurant<br>
(the only two "restaurants" in town).  The settings were beautiful, and it was a decent turnout for a town and event so small,<br>
expecially given that it was concurrent with a star party and lecture up the hill.  GBNP was able to provide a projector, screen,<br>
and microphone, which worked well enough.  The screen was constantly in danger of falling over due to wind, which was not great.<br>
Perhaps next year we could stabilize it better with bungee cords around the base or something?  Event really lost steam after the first half<br>
so maybe move it up in time to 7PM instead?  Overall pretty good.<br>

---++++ Friday-Saturday, September 6-7

[[20240907][Sequoia NP Dark Sky Festival]]<br />
*Organizer*: Nivedita Mahesh<br />
*Volunteers*: Vanessa Bailey, Ivey Davis<br>
*Attendees*: 200<br>
Contributed talks for Nivedita, Vanessa, and Ivey at Sequoia this year.  We didn't have as big a group, since we were split<br>
between Sequoia and Great Basin astronomy festivals.  From Nivedita: "The audience was great at my talk- very interactive <br>
and had a few interesting questions. The Key note speaker and address was really interesting. The star party had lesser <br>
telescopes than what was there in the death valley festival last year - but it was fun. Attaching a few pictures from there. <br>
There were some science activity booths during the day and I was fondly remembering our Marshmallows activity! <br>
But Vanessa's Star chart activity was a hit. <br>

---++++ Monday, September 16, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20240916][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Rohan Naidu, Ekta Patel<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Sam Rose, Adolfo Carvalho, Jessie Miller<br>
*Attendees*: 275<br>
Great turnout for our visiting Hubble Fellows.  The Hubble Fellow symposium is happening this week on campus,<br>
so I invited two of them to be speakers for our Astro on Tap: Rohan Naidu and Ekta Patel.  They both gave terrific talks<br>
and the audience was really engaged.  After some complaints previously about the rock music being too loud, Jason and<br>
Kevin were able to drop the overall volume, which worked well.  The bar only put two bartenders on, so there was a constant<br>
backlog and line of people waiting to get to the bar, such that the line went through the patio for the first hour of the program.<br>
I've asked Arjun to have more bartenders next time.  There was also the challenge that the planters on the alley had just been<br>
watered, so there was a wet alley all under the band's equipment and cords and such.  Not great.  I'll ask the city to water the<br>
plants on a different night.  Lastly, we had a deaf audience member attend, which is great, and they requested closed captioning.<br>
Not sure what I can do on that front, but I'll try.<br>

---++++ Friday, September 27, 8-10PM

[[20240927][Stargazing Lecture - AI in Astrophysics: How Machines Help Us Learn about the Universe]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Joanna Piotrowska-Karpov<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Reinier Janssen, Platon Karpov<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Andreas Faisst<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (3+)*: Kira Nolan, Ed Nathan, Yu-Heng Lin<br>
*Attendees*: 190<br>
Joanna's presentation was superb, and the audience really enjoyed it.  Clear weather led to good observing as well.<br>
Some technical challenges with getting the sound working for the live-stream, initially using the computer microphone<br>
instead of the house sound system as the input for the stream/recording.  Also, YouTube didn't begin the stream until<br>
8 minutes into the event for some reason.  Not sure what is going on, but Joanna has been gracious enough to <br>
offer to re-record it, so that we can post it online in a better form.  <br>

---++++ Saturday, September 28, 10AM-2PM

Astro Demos at Explore Caltech Science Fair<br>
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br>
*Volunteers* (2+): Sam Rose, Gabe Muro, Rocio Kiman, Javier Roulet, Maggie Li<br>
*Attendees*: 500<br>
Super packed event with lots of families coming through non-stop.  We had the H-alpha telescope and the SeeStar both<br>
observing the Sun, and we additionally did the marshmallow demo.  We went through 5 bags of marshmallows and still<br>
had need for more!  Good job, team!<br>

---++++ Friday, October 11, 8-10PM

[[20241011][Stargazing Lecture - The Voyager Mission to the Outer Planets and Interstellar Space]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Alan Cummings<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Harshda Saxena, Gabe Muro<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*:Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (3+)*: Delina Levine, Maggie Li, Cheyanne Shariot<br>
*Attendees*: 250<br>
190 in-person + 60 online = 250 overall.  Very entertaining lecture with Alan Cummings.  We extended his Q&A by a few minutes<br>
because he had to leave for the Q&A panel.  Lots of questions about the recent aurora since it was visible in southern california.<br>
I got Gabe Muro on the panel to assist with aurora questions.  Weather was OK, but some cirrus prevented us from seeing much<br>
deep sky objects.  First quarter moon and Saturn were visible though, and the eVscope2 could make out the Ring Nebula.<br>

---++++ Sunday, October 13, 1-4PM

Carnegie Observatories Open House<br>
*Volunteeers*: Cameron Hummels, Stella Ocker<br>
*Attendees*: 700<br>
A few Caltech Astro people assisted with the Carnegie Observatories Open House today.  Stella was on "Ask an Astronomer" duties<br>
and Cameron was helping with the H-alpha telescope and solar marshmallow demo.  Lots of good turnout and discussion (and volunteers!). <br>
I wish I could get this many people from Caltech to help out at our events!<br>

---++++ Friday, October 18, 6-9:30PM

Stargazing for Caltech Reunion Event<br>
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br>
*Volunteers* (2+): Natsuko Yamaguchi, Sam Rose<br>
*Attendees*: 50<br>
Clear weather for this evening's stargazing.  We were tasked by the alumni coordinators with bringing two telescopes and<br>
setting up outside of a private dinner featuring JPL Chief Scientist Jonathan Lunine.  We brought 8" dob and eVscope2, <br>
looking at Saturn, the Moon, the Ring Nebula, and the Dumbell Nebula.  Some comet views too.  Unfortunately, they had us there before 6PM<br>
(sunset at 6:15), and we had virtually nothing to do until the dinner let out at 7:45.  At that point, though, there were plenty of people<br>
who came by to visit us.  Officially we were supposed to be there from 6-8, but we stayed until 9:30 since there were more chances <br>
to interact later.  Note to self: don't work with the alumni office in the future.  <br>

---++++ Sunday, October 20, 12:30-2:30PM

[[20241020][Astronomy on Tap @ Caltech Reunion]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Dee Dunne, Konstantin Batygin<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (2+)*: <br>
*Attendees*: 80<br>
Another event for the alumni office.  We hosted an afternoon Astro on Tap at Dabney Gardens for the reunion.  Good food and AV setup in general.<br>
Over the course of the two hours, we had 80 people show up.  Great talks by Konstantin and Dee with lots of insightful questions.  Mostly an older crowd.<br>
Good performances on the trivia.  Some technical problems with the computers/screens, since they'd set us up in direct sunlight.  Hard to see the monitors <br>
in the sunlight, but overall a good event.<br>

---++++ Monday, October 21, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20241021][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Anastasia Yanchilina, Albert Wandui<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Harshda Saxena, Maggie Li, Kyle Hunady, Adolfo Carvalho, Jessie Miller<br>
*Attendees*: 180<br>
Some technical difficulties with getting the TVs to broadcast from the laptops led to us starting a few minutes late, but then things went smoothly.<br>
Jason's drummer Forrest broke his foot last week, so there was no live music as planned.  We were able to record the talks, although the lens<br>
was smeared so the footage is not great.  One of the speaker stands broke at one of the hinges, so we'll need to get a new one of those.  <br>
Event was OK, though.<br>

---++++ Friday-Sunday, November 1-3

[[20241102][California Dark Sky Festival]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br>
*Volunteers (3)*: Harshda Saxena, Sam Whitebook, Hazel Yun, Aniket Sanghi<br>
*Attendees*: 300<br>
Great turnout for a private dark sky festival.  There were approximately 300 people who turned out over the weekend for this in the deserts of Panamint Valley.<br>
Great weather the first two days with clear skies and no wind, but the third day had more significant wind which made it impossible to operate the telescopes.<br>
Cameron gave a lecture each night on the topics of galaxies, black holes, and space exploration, which were widely lauded by the audience.  On Saturday and<br>
Sunday, all of the volunteers took part in a panel Q&A with 100+ audience members who peppered the team with interesting questions about space and astronomy.<br>
Additionally, we performed the solar marshmallow demo on Saturday afternoon for an hour and operated the SeeStar S50 to provide views of the sun.<br>

---++++ Friday, November 8, 8-10PM

[[20241108][Stargazing Lecture - Mapping the Universe in Blurred Lines]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Dee Dunne<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Edward Nathan, Reinier Janssen<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*:Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (3+)*: Maggie Li, Cheyanne Shariot, Natsuko Yamaguchi<br>
*Attendees*:  150<br>
115 in-person + 35 online = 150 overall.  Dee gave a really spectacular presentation on line intensity mapping.  The weather was very clear,<br>
in part due to the Santa Ana winds the last few days clearing all of the particulate from the air.  We were able to observe saturn, jupiter, <br>
and the first-quarter moon.  No major technical problems, so it went pretty well.

---++++ Saturday, November 9, 5-9PM

Noche de las Estrellas<br />
*Organizer*: Marin Anderson<br>
*Volunteers (2+)*: Rocio Kiman, Javier Roulet, Nivedita Mahesh<br>
*Attendees*: 100<br>
Slightly lower turnout than usual due to the veteran's day weekend.  Good engagement with spanish-language audiences.<br>

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

[[20241118][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Ed Krupp, Lisa Drummond<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Harshda Saxena, Mandy Chen, Ed Nathan, Kyle Hunady<br>
*Attendees*: 180<br>
Excellent presentations from Ed Krupp and Lisa Drummond.  Slightly diminished turnout, presumably due to the cool weather (50s).<br>
Ed had a live-stream of the Lunar Standstill during his presentation, which was pretty awesome.  Lisa's talk was very accessible and<br>
thought-provoking.  Trivia was a bit easier questions this month, and people appreciated it.  Saturn visible in dob.  Great night overall.<br>

---++++ Wednesday, November 20 10-11AM

School Visit from Khan Lab School in Mountain View, CA<br>
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*School Contact*: Laura Vican Haney<br>
*Attendees*: 30<br>
Cameron gave a short presentation on "Simulating the Universe" and then took questions from the audience for 45 minutes<br>
Students were interested in both simulation and galaxy science as well as best practices for pursuing a career in science and research.<br>

---++++ Wednesday, November 20, 6-730PM

[[20241120][Telescope Viewing Prior to Katerina Chatziionannou's Watson Lecture]]<br />
*Organizer*: Cameron Hummels<br>
*Volunteers (1+)*: Marco Chrisostomi, Eliot Finch, Patrick Meyers, Aaron Johnson, Prakriti Gupta, Lisa Drummond<br>
*Attendees*: 300<br>
Great turnout for the Watson Lecture with ~1000 people present.  We interacted with approximately 300 attendees in the 1.5 hours<br>
prior to the presentation.  We had a dobsonian 8" trained on Saturn and the eVscope trained on the Ring Nebula throughout this time.<br>
We also had a table with HST images to hand out, and had lots of vibrant discussions about stellar birth and death with audience members.<br>

---++++ Friday, December 6, 8-10PM

[[20241206][Stargazing Lecture - How to Build a Galaxy from Scratch]]<br />
*[[Lecturer]]*: Sam Ponnada<br />
*[[LectureCaptain][Lecture Captain]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[LectureVolunteer][Lecture Volunteers]] (2+)*: Jakob Faber, Isabel Sands<br />
*[[TelescopeCaptain][Telescope Captain]]*: Sam Rose<br />
*[[TelescopeVolunteer][Telescope Volunteers]] (3+)*: Maggie Li, Cheyanne Shariot, Hazel Yun, Aniket Sanghi<br>
*Attendees*: 240<br>
175 in-person + 65 online = 240 overall.  Great end of the year event for our lecture series.  Sam gave a wonderful presentation<br>
on galaxy simulations, and there was a big turnout with lots of cheers from the audience.  A lively Q&A panel discussion followed.<br>
We also had very clear weather and great viewing of Jupiter, Saturn, Orion Nebula, and Crab Nebula through four telescopes<br>
and 5 volunteers on telescopes.  And no technical problems with the AV setup.  Success!<br>

---++++ Monday, December 16, 7:30-9:30PM

[[20241216][Astronomy on Tap @ Dog Haus]]<br />
*[[AoTCaptain][MC]]*: Cameron Hummels<br />
*[[AoTSpeaker][Speakers]] (2)*: Margaret Lazzarini, Peter Boorman<br />
*[[AoTVolunteer][Volunteer]] (3+)*: Aniket Sanghi, Delina Levine, Hazel Yun, Maggie Li<br>
*Attendees*: 160<br>
A successful finish to the 2024 astronomy outreach season.  Great talks by Margaret and Peter on x-ray astronomy and Chandra.<br>
Lots of great Chandra swag to give away, as well as some new merch options including t-shirts.  Jason Achilles DJ'd, but no live music.<br>
Used a dob to view Jupiter and its moons. Lots of positive energy, and the recording went too.  Slightly lower turnout due to cold weather.<br>


Link back to [[https://sites.astro.caltech.edu/twiki_outreach/bin/view/Main/WebHome][home page]].