Lecture Series
Public lectures take place at 7 PM (unless otherwise specified) in an external building on North Campus.
You may also join via Zoom at the link below.
Lectures are usually given by Cornell faculty, researchers, and students studying astronomy.
See the list of upcoming lectures below, or view archived lectures here.
Zoom option for all lectures! https://cornell.zoom.us/j/7192123013?pwd=eDNlVHVHRzJIbWxuelV3SHpIMGtLZz09
Fall '23 Lectures
September 22 at 7 PM, Toni Morrison Multipurpose Room 102: Annika Deutsch
September 29 at 7 PM, Toni Morrison Multipurpose Room 102: Sophia Arnold
October 6 at 7 PM, Toni Morrison Multipurpose Room 102: Dr. Ligia Coelho
November 3 at 7 PM, Appel Multipurpose Room 303: Prof. Anna Ho
November 7 at 7 PM, RPCC Room 218: Carl Sagan's Birthday w/ Gillis Lowry
Carl Sagan's Life
Cornell Astronomical Society President Gillis Lowry
November 7, 2023
7:00 PM
Cornell Astronomical Society President Gillis Lowry will provide a lighthearted overview of late Cornell Professor Carl Sagan's life to honor his 89th birthday! Register here if attending in-person: https://cglink.me/2ee/r2252295
Robert Purcell Community Center Room 218
Purple is the New Green: The Colors of Life as a Tool to Find Life in the Cosmos
Dr. Ligia Coelho
October 6, 2023
7:00 PM
What does the spectral fingerprint of biopigments look like? How can it aid in the search for extraterrestrial life? Are there purple-hued aliens? This lecture seeks to answer these questions and more!
Toni Morrison Room 102
Adaptive Optic Upgrades to LIGO: Achieving Higher Laser Power
CAS Member Sophia Arnold
September 29, 2023
7:00 PM
The Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) is severely limited in its sensitivity by quantum noise. CAS member Sophia Arnold outlines the development of LIGO and paths for future improvement.
Toni Morrison Room 102
Life After Nova: The Resurrection of a Supernova in Radio Wavelengths
2022-23 CAS President Annika Deutsch
September 22, 2023
7:00 PM
Our first lecture of the semester comes from former president Annika Deutsch! She’ll discuss her research involving observations of supernova SN2018ivc, which revealed a dramatic re-brightening after the supernova had already exploded. What might this tell us about the original star?
Toni Morrison Room 102
Past Lectures
2022-23
Yuri's Night Celebration: The Sunset of SmallSats and the Dawn of Big Space
Professor Mason Peck
Celebrating Yuri's Night and human spaceflight with Prof. Mason Peck!
SpaceX’s Starship launch vehicle will disrupt the modern-day dominance of tiny spacecraft. What will the future of larger spacecraft look like? What infrastructure will we need to establish a sustained presence in cislunar space?
April 15, 2023
12:00 AM
Appel Commons Multipurpose Room 303
Carl Sagan's Birthday Lecture - Alien Earths
Carl Sagan Institute Director Lisa Kaltenegger
On the Friday nearest November 9th, we celebrated Carl Sagan's birthday with apple pie and a talk by Professor Lisa Kaltenegger, who follows in Sagan's footsteps to search for life on exoplanets.
November 12, 2022
1:30 AM
Appel Commons Multipurpose Room 303
Irving Porter Church Memorial Telescope 100th Anniversary Lecture
Professor Phil Nicholson
On October 14th, we celebrated the 100th birthday of our beloved telescope, Irv! CAS faculty advisor Phil Nicholson highlighted Irv's history, with space-themed cupcakes provided! We had telescope, museum, and sky tours every half hour, along with a special slideshow of Irv memories. Happy "Birvday"!
October 15, 2022