Events

Every other Friday, the Astronomy Department at Columbia University sponsors public outreach. Attendees get access to astronomical information through timely lectures by members of our department aimed at a public audience. After the thirty-minute lecture, if the weather is clear, the public can proceed to the roof of Pupin Hall and be guided by volunteers in stargazing and observing through the telescopes of Rutherfurd Observatory. A slide show and discussion with an astronomer about various astronomical images happens if the weather is cloudy. Speaker: Or Graur, Graduate Student at AMNH Lecture Title: The Universe is My Lab Lecture Abstract: What, exactly, do astronomers do? Like other physicists, astronomers conduct experiments in order to answer fundamental questions about the Universe we live in. But how do you conduct an experiment in astronomy? And where is an astronomer's lab? In my talk, I will answer these questions and explain how, for every astronomer, the Universe is a different kind of laboratory.