Lecture and Stargazing Nights

We regularly provide free 30 minute public lectures followed by 90 minutes of guided stargazing through telescopes on the Beckman Lawn. Lectures occur in Baxter Lecture Hall (seats 300) in the middle of Caltech's campus just south of Beckman Auditorium.

The lecture is given on some astronomical topic at a public level (appropriate for a layperson) by one of the members of the Astronomy department (faculty, staff, postdocs, grads, etc.). After 30 minutes, and a few minutes for general questions, attendees are invited to remain for a panel Q&A with members of the department or join us outside to view the stars through our telescopes on the nearby Beckman Lawn.

Schedule of Event

Instructions for Volunteers

We typically need ~10 volunteers for each event. Click on each role to see the instructions/responsibilities for it:

• 1 Lecturer
• 1 Lecture Captain - Announcements, organization, and panel
• 3 Lecture Volunteers - Lecture setup and panel
• 1 Telescope Captain - Telescope setup and organization
• 4 Telescope Volunteers - Telescope operation and answering questions