Frontiers Lecture: Galactic Archaeology

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

7 pm

A digital rendering of stars' movement through the solar system, their paths depicted in bright green arcs, projected onto the Hayden Planetarium.
M. Shanley/©AMNH
On Earth, we can use artifacts and the archaeological record to tell us about historic activity.

In space, we must rely on different methods. 

Keith Hawkins, galactic archaeologist and assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, is doing just that–using fossil stars to piece together the nature and structure of the Milky Way. In this Frontiers Lecture, Hawkins will discuss his research using multi-object spectroscopic surveys to better understand the chemo-dynamic properties of our galaxy. What can the chemical composition of stars tell us about our galaxy’s formation, its evolution and structure, and its relationship to other galaxies? 

This program utilizes OpenSpace software supported by NASA under award No NNX16AB93A. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 

Support for Hayden Planetarium Programs is provided by the Horace W. Goldsmith Endowment Fund.