Hickory – Join Catawba Science Center on Tuesday, March 22 in a Talk with John Wilson at 6:45 PM in the Millholland Planetarium.
Somewhat like studying a haystack from the inside, we have been studying the history of our home galaxy, the Milky Way, from the inside, by measuring the chemical abundances and line of sight motions of over half a million stars over the past decade with the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) as part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Astronomers call this work “Galactic Archaeology”.
Hear from Dr. John Wilson of the University of Virginia about how his research team has used fiber optic* fed instruments (spectrographs), coupled with wide-field telescopes in both hemispheres, to observe stars from all galaxy populations — disk, bulge, halo — using near-infrared light. He will also share what they’ve found!
*US Conec Ltd.’s Stuart Melton will help us understand Hickory’s connection to this astronomical work.
CSC will open for exploration of the building’s exhibits and hands-on fun with fiber optics at 6:00 PM.
Beer and wine will be available for a donation.
Program is free thanks to support from Hickory Public Library; space is limited. Email [email protected] or call 828-322-8169 to reserve your spot.
Learn more at www.CatawbaScience.org. Catawba Science Center is located on the SALT Block, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory.
