Outreach
Outreach is part of the life of a professional astrophysicist. It gives us the opportunity to present our work to the broad public. I am directly involved in several different outreach efforts in and around the City of Astronomy, Pasadena. Commonly, these events attract between 50-200 people and are a great opportunity to interact with the public, including schools and private groups.
Public Media
I regularly give interviews about recent astronomical discoveries to local media. My highlight so far was an appearance in the KTLA Morning Show (broadcasting to Southern California).
Griffith Observatory
The famous Griffith Observatory high above Los Angeles is a prime destination for tourism. I gave several public talks at the Griffith Observatory to the public, including for the Los Angeles Astronomical Society (LAAS) and the Friends of the Observatory (FOTO). Fun fact: the telescope at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles is the same as at the Urania Observatory in Zurich!
Caltech Lectures & Stargazing
Caltech hosts several outreach events. One of the most popular one are the public Caltech Lecture & Stargazing Series, attracting more than 100 people each month. The 30 minute lecture is followed by stargazing using our telescopes and a Q&A session. I am involved in organizing and leading the stargazing part but also contribute to the lectures as a speaker.
Astronomy on Tap
Astronomy on Tap brings great astrophysics talks by professionals to the public. The venues are public bars and attract more than 100 people each month. It also includes a small trivia quiz. I contribute to AoT Los Angeles (organized by our Caltech outreach group) as speaker and co-organizer.
Side Walk Astronomy
Sidewalk Astronomy is a fun outreach activity in Pasadena - and it is pretty simple: we set up telescopes on the sidewalk and invite interested pedestrians to have a look at the moon and planets. Our first event (September 2017) was a great success. We usually count more than 200 people over 2 hours and an equally large number of "wows".
Dark Sky Festivals
The Eastern Sierra Observatory (ESO) organizes several event each year coincidental with meteor showers and including the California Dark Sky Festival. Another good resource is the Sequoia Park Conservancy, which organizes the Sequoia Dark Sky Festivals. I gave talks at several events. As the talks are presented outside, this is a great opportunity to show the audience the night sky.
Palomar Greenway Talks
The Palomar Greenway Series is a re-occuring series of talks at the Palomar Observatory in Riverside County, CA. The 45-minute talks are given to the general public together with a tour to the 200-inch Hale Telescope. It was a great experience for me to give a talk about the first galaxies at such a memorable place.
Urania Observatory Zurich
The Urania Observatory Zurich is located in the heart of downtown Zurich, Switzerland. Although the light pollution is severe, the observatory offers the public a great view on planets, stars, nebula, and the closest galaxies. For more than 6 years (2009 - 2015), I held talks and gave tours at this fabulous place high above the streetlights of Zurich. The tours include stargazing with the unique 5-meter long 30 cm telescope built in 1905 in connection with a 1.5 hour talk about the current sky and astronomy news. This way, I gave more than 200 talks for the general public, schools, and companies. Fun fact: the telescope at the Urania Observatory in Zurich is the same as at the Griffith Observatory!