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Past Colloquia

CAFTON and PEARL: Using FTIR Spectroscopy to Probe Earth’s Atmosphere

Cody Hall

Kimberly Strong (Physics & School of the Environment, UofT)

October 17, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for probing the terrestrial atmosphere. Solar absorption FTIR spectroscopy can be used to measure atmospheric abundances of tropospheric and stratospheric trace gases, while emission spectroscopy also provides information about clouds and the radiation budget.  In this…

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Particle Astrophysics at the Highest Energies with the Greenland Neutrino Observatory (GNO)

Cody Hall

Abigail Vieregg (University of Chicago)

October 10, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

Ultra-high energy neutrino astronomy sits at the boundary between particle physics and astrophysics.  Through neutrino astrophysics, we can probe the nature of the ultra-high energy universe in a unique way, and test our understanding of particle physics at energies much greater than those achievable at…

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Incredible explosions and LCOGT

Cody Hall

Andy Howell (LCOGT)

October 03, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

In the past few years new classes of supernovae have been discovered that are both brighter and fainter than previously thought possible.  The superluminous supernovae have luminosities 100 times greater than a core-collapse supernova, and their origin is a mystery.  I will present data on…

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Fomalhaut b as a Dust Cloud: Frequent Collisions within the Fomalhaut Debris Disk

Cody Hall

Samantha Lawler (University of Victoria)

September 26, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

Fomalhaut hosts a beautiful debris disk ring and a directly imaged planet candidate, Fomalhaut b, which seems to continually defy expectations.  Originally thought to be a Jovian-mass planet constraining the ring, its unexpected spectral properties and highly eccentric, possibly ring-crossing orbit have completely ruled out…

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What We Can Learn from Planets in Binary Systems

Cody Hall

Kaitlin Kratter (University of Arizona)

September 19, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

Exoplanet surveys have revealed a surprising array of planetary systems hosted by binary stars. The diversity and architecture of these systems provides insight into the fundamentals of planet formation relevant for a wide range of systems. Moreover, these planets provide an important final boundary condition…

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Can We Trust Galaxy Stellar Mass Estimates?

Cody Hall

Dennis Zaritsky (University of Arizona)

September 12, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

Walter Baade, late in his career, was asked if he would choose a career in astrophysics if he had to do it all over again. He replied yes, but only if he could be assured that the ratio of total to selective dust extinction was…

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The Decade of the WIMP

Cody Hall

Rocky Kolb (Chicago)

June 20, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

The bulk of the matter in the present universe is dark. The most attractive possibility for the nature of the dark matter is a new species of elementary particle known as a WIMP (a Weakly Interacting Massive Particle). After a discussion of how a WIMP…

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Reionization and the Murchison Widefield Array

Cody Hall

Judd Bowman (Arizona State U)

May 30, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is the first radio telescope in the Southern Hemisphere designed specifically to explore the astronomical sky between 80 and 300 MHz with arcminute angular resolution and high survey efficiency.  The MWA has been designed as a compact array consisting of…

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The Chemistry of Planet Formation

Cody Hall

Karin Oberg (Harvard)

May 23, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

In the cold and dense stages of star and planet formation, volatile molecules condense out on interstellar grains forming icy mantles. The physics and chemistry of these ices may have a direct impact on planet formation efficiencies and planet bulk compositions. Ice chemistry is also…

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Tales from the Zooniverse: Science with a million collaborators

Cody Hall

Chris Lintott (Oxford)

May 16, 2014
14:00 - 15:00

The Zooniverse is the world’s largest and most successful scientific crowdsourcing platform, engaging more than 800,000 volunteers in tasks including classifying galaxies, discovering planets and mapping star formation in the Milky Way. This talk will present highlights from the last six years, including the serendipitous…

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