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| Stephen Strom |
Astronomer Stephen Strom, associate director for New Initiatives at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Arizona, will give a special seminar Tuesday, April 24, at noon, on “Science with Next Generation Telescopes.”
The seminar is open to the public, and will be held in the Science Building, Room 241.
Astronomers throughout the world are engaged in designing next generation telescopes. Ranging in size from 25 to 50 meters in diameter, the sensitivity and resolution promised by these facilities will enable scientists to:
- Image and analyze planets around other stars and to learn whether solar systems similar to our own are rare or common.
- Study individual stars in galaxies as far away as 10 million light years and to learn how galaxies like the Milky Way were assembled over the lifetime of the universe.
- To peer back in time to the when the first stars and galaxies formed and to learn how structure emerged from luctuations in the cosmic microwave background.
Strom will provide an overview of current concepts for Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs), their auxiliary instruments, the adaptive optics systems that will enable them to achieve near-diffraction-limited imaging, and the science enabled by their extraordinary reach.
For more information visit: https://www.cpp.edu/~physics/seminars/20070424strom.htm.