• Nov 12
    Astronomy Colloquium: Laura Kreidberg

    4421 Sterling Hall

    Institution: Director, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Title: Copernicus Revisited: is the Earth special? Abstract: Nearly 500 years ago, Nicolas Copernicus published his disruptive theory that Earth is not the center of the universe. This “Copernican demotion” has held fast over the centuries, as astronomers have learned that there is nothing particularly remarkable about Earth …

  • Nov 19
    Astronomy Colloquium: Anju Panthi

    4421 Sterling Hall

    Institution: Birla Institute of Astrophysics, India Title: Study of Exotic Stellar Populations in Open Clusters and Galactic Fields Abstract: Binary interactions can significantly alter stellar evolution, producing exotic populations that cannot be fully explained by single-star evolution. In this talk, I will present a multi-wavelength study of blue straggler stars (BSSs), yellow straggler stars (YSSs), …

  • Dec 10
    Astronomy Colloquium: Adina Feinstein

    4421 Sterling Hall

    Institution: Michigan State University Title: The Early Evolution of Exoplanetary Systems Abstract: Within the past decade, we have discovered only a dozen young (< 300 Myr) short-period exoplanets, compared to the ~6,000 mature systems. The radii of these young planets are larger than older planets on similar orbital periods. The leading hypothesis is that these young planets have inflated …