Speaker Series: Astrophysics, Speaker: Alex Gianninas, Connecticut College
*The event has already taken place on this date: Sat, 10/12/2024
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Speaker: Alex Gianninas, Connecticut College
Saturday, October 12
5:00 pm – 5:45 pm
How and Why We Perform Stellar Autopsies
When the vast majority of stars, including our very own Sun, reach the end of their lives they will ultimately leave behind a dense and hot white dwarf star. The study of these stellar corpses can be likened to performing an autopsy. Professor Gianninas will discuss some of the methods we use to study white dwarf stars and ultimately what these stellar remnants can tell us about how stars evolve, the age of our Milky Way Galaxy, and how they can even be sources of gravitational waves.
Professor Gianninas completed his Ph.D. at Université de Montréal in 2011 after which he moved to the University of Oklahoma where he was a postdoctoral researcher for over 4 years conducting full-time research. In recent years, Prof. Gianninas served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Astronomy at Amherst College and as Visiting Assistant Professor of Physics at Trinity College before joining the faculty at Connecticut College in 2023.
Tickets & Important Information
Time: Second Saturday of every month, 5:00 pm
Duration: Approximately 30 minutes
Cost: $6 for members, $7 for non-members (per person). General museum admission will not be charged for members or guests arriving after 4:30 pm on Speaker Series days.
Location: Alden Planetarium
Age Range: Guests of all ages and backgrounds are welcome!
*Times, dates, and prices of any activity posted to our calendars are subject to change. Please be sure to click through directly to the organization’s website to verify.