Explore the Origins of Stars and Galaxies in the Next Kaler Science Lecture

Explore the Origins of Stars and Galaxies in the Next Kaler Science Lecture on December 1

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Don't miss an opportunity to explore the origins of stars, galaxies, and black holes in the next featured presentation in the James B. Kaler Science Lecture Series at Parkland College's Staerkel Planetarium.

On Friday, December 1, at 7 p.m., University of Illinois Professor Kirk Barrow will present "The First Light: Unraveling the Origins of Stars, Galaxies, and Black Holes in the Early Universe." As new space-based observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope peer more deeply into the universe than ever before, astrophysicists are challenged to develop a theoretical and modeling framework to characterize and study what will be humanity's greatest astronomical discoveries.

Barrow's research addresses this need by generating detailed, state-of-the-art synthetic observations from hydrodynamic cosmological simulations. By calculating all the processes that photons undergo as they travel across the Universe from the surface of a distant star to a telescope's detector, Barrow and his collaborators have worked to break down mysterious trends in observed galactic spectra and made predictions for what we might unveil in the near future.

Barrow earned his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He performed postdoctoral research for the Kavli Institute at Stanford University and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard and Smithsonian. Before joining the University of Illinois, he was also a visiting professor at the Kavli Institute at the University of Tokyo.

Following the lecture, the planetarium will show Season of Light at 8 p.m. and a light show set to Pink Floyd's album, The Dark Side of the Moon, at 9 p.m.

Kaler Science Lecture tickets are $2 or are free for the Friends of the Staerkel Planetarium. Admission to fulldome shows is $8 for adults or $7 for children, students, or seniors. Light shows are $12 for everyone. Parkland College TV records the Kaler Science Lectures.

Please visit parkland.edu/planetarium to view the full show schedule or call 217/351-2568 for information about booking the dome for a group visit or event.