Caltech Astro

Happening tonight!

How do astronomical objects look in radio waves? How did one man revolutionize our understanding of the night sky in the 1930s? Dr. Allison Matthews recently gave a presentation on these topics and to discuss the legendary figure of Grote Reber:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMDe...

How do scientists simulate the lives of galaxies, stars, planets, and black holes? Last week, we hosted the legendary Professor Phil Hopkins to discuss this very interesting topic for a Stargazing Lecture. His video is now up on our YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkU5...

At next week's Death Valley Dark Sky Festival February 6-8, we will be hosting two Astronomy on Tap events. These evenings will each feature two 20-minute public science presentations by Caltech scientists, astro-themed trivia, and telescopes. Free!
outreach.astro.caltech.edu

What do we know about the atmospheres around distant worlds? What happened to NASA's budget and what is the future of funding for space? Join us Monday, February 9th at 7:30PM for our next Astronomy on Tap.
outreach.astro.caltech.edu/aot

Join us in two weeks for the Death Valley Dark Sky Festival, a free weekend of stargazing, telescopes, science presentations, and more in one of the darkest skies in the USA! It's all happening February 6-8 in Death Valley National Park.

Full schedule: www.nps.gov/deva/planyou...

Happening tonight @ 8PM! Come learn about how scientists simulate the universe!

Join us this Friday night to learn about simulating the universe with one of the top experts in the world! Telescopes afterwards.

Interested in learning about the supermassive black hole in our nearest neighboring galaxy? We hosted an Astronomy on Tap this week, featuring a talk by the scientist who detected this black hole. His presentation is now up on our YouTube channel:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=boDk...

How do we simulate the formation and behavior of galaxies, black holes, and planets? How accurate are these simulations and what can they tell us about the real world? Our next Stargazing Lecture will cover this exciting topic:

Happening tonight @ 7:30PM! Free event at a bar featuring talks about supermassive black holes and the sky seen in radio waves. Telescopes and astro-themed pub trivia as well.

How do we know there is a supermassive black hole in our closest neighboring galaxy? How does the sky look to radio-wave-sensitive eyes? Join us next Monday for our next free Astronomy on Tap event featuring two short scientific talks, telescopes, and astro-themed pub trivia!

Last month, we hosted an Astronomy on Tap devoted to plasma physics. We were joined by David Schaffner, physics professor from Bryn Mawr College to talk about the solar corona and the fourth state of matter, plasma. The talk is now up on our YouTube channel:

youtu.be/BEQyRPvEDhw

Here are some of the 2025 highlights of Caltech Astro's efforts to educate and engage with the broader society.
All told, we hosted 66 events with 23k live attendees in 2025, with many recorded to our YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@CaltechAstro
We hope to see you in 2026!

How did the Solar System form and come to resemble what we see today? How did the Earth acquire its water? Professor Katherine de Kleer gave a Stargazing Lecture earlier this month on these topics. Check out her presentation on YouTube now:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6au...

We recently discovered a supermassive black hole in the closest neighboring galaxy to ours--what is it like and how does it affect us? What does the sky look like in radio waves and what can we learn from it? Join us for Astronomy on Tap, Monday Jan 12!

outreach.astro.caltech.edu

Join us tonight to learn about the formation and history of our solar system. As part of the talk, there will be a bunch of space rocks (meteorites) to examine and discuss. The weather looks perfect for guided stargazing after the presentation with our telescopes. See you then!

Last month, we operated telescopes at the Watson Lecture, providing views of Saturn as attendees waited for the presentation by NASA JPL scientist Dr. Ashwin Vasavada on the habitability of Mars.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuuL...

Photo Credits: Lance Hayashida & Cameron Hummels

Caltech Mourns the Passing of Postdoctoral Scholar Kenny Lau (1989–2025) Kenny Lau, a postdoctoral scholar research associate and experimental cosmologist in the Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy (PMA), passed away on November 22, 2025. He was 36 years old.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of friend and colleague, Dr. Kenny Lau. Kenny was a postdoctoral scholar at Caltech, working in the field of observational cosmology to study the conditions in the early universe. Ad astra, Kenny.

www.caltech.edu/about/news/c...

How did our solar system form? Join us this Friday for our final Stargazing Lecture of the year, featuring Professor Katherine de Kleer discussing her work with JWST to better understand the history of the solar system!

Want to learn about the universe? We have a YouTube channel with 200 public-level presentations on space-related topics. Topics include: black holes, galaxies, exoplanets, supernova, the history of the universe, and more. Check it out here:

www.youtube.com/@CaltechAstro

We recently hosted Eva Kostadinova at Astronomy on Tap to discuss plasma, the main form of visible matter throughout our universe. Dr. Kostadinova is a professor at Auburn specializing in plasma physics, and her talk is now up on our YouTube channel:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_Ow...

What do we know about our early solar system and how the planets formed? What can asteroids and meteorites reveal about our cosmic origins? Join us for our next Stargazing Lecture on Friday, December 5 @ 8PM.
outreach.astro.caltech.edu

UPDATE: DUE TO YET ANOTHER RAINSTORM FORECAST FOR TONIGHT, WE ARE SADLY HAVING TO CANCEL THIS ASTRONOMY ON TAP EVENT. HEAVY RAIN PRESENTS A SAFETY PROBLEM FOR THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT AND THE VENUE WILL NOT ALLOW US TO USE THE TELEVISIONS. MANY APOLOGIES, EVERYONE!

Last weekend, we hosted the City of Astronomy Science Festival. We partnered with many other institutions across Pasadena to host science demos and presentations over the day. We had a blast interacting with the 1,000+ attendees who joined. Thanks to everyone who attended!

We partnered with Garfield High School in East LA last week to help with their Astronomy Night. Despite some clouds, we were still able to see Saturn and the Andromeda Galaxy, as well talk about the Moon and black holes with and enthusiastic bunch of students! Thanks for hosting!

Last night's event was postponed due to heavy rain, so we're now hosting our Astronomy on Tap on plasma physics tonight! Weather forecast looks rain free, but a tad cold (50F), so please dress accordingly. See you soon!

Due to heavy rain, we are postponing tonight's Astro on Tap to tomorrow night (Monday to Tuesday). Same time and same place (and less rain)!

How are scientists trying to build a star on the Earth? Two Astronomy on Tap events happening next week on Monday AND Thursday. Rain or shine! Events will be held under cover next to the bar, so we'll be protected from rain, but it may be cool, so bring appropriate clothing. Free and open to all.

A planet was recently detected orbiting the nearest star system to Earth, Alpha Centauri. Caltech Astro PhD student Aniket Sanghi, one of the lead scientists who made this discovery, recently gave a presentation at Astronomy on Tap, now on YouTube:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMcG...