Past Colloquia
Steacie Prize for Natural Sciences: Lecture by Professor Jo Bovy
May 07, 2025
The Milky Way in the era of large surveys For over a hundred years, the Milky Way has been the nexus between many fields of astrophysics, linking together investigations into the formation of planetary systems and stars to studies of galactic evolution, cosmology, and…
Models and Software Infrastructure for Galaxy Cluster-based Cosmology
Cody Hall
Camille Avestruz, University of Michigan
April 30, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: Galaxy clusters are visible across the electromagnetic spectrum. Observations of their structure, abundance, and evolution provide constraints to cosmology and astrophysical processes that govern their growth. We are in a golden age of statistical power for galaxy clusters, where observations will provide multiwavelength data for tens…
Near, far, wherever you are: Dwarf galaxies across a range of distances and resolutions
Cody Hall
Mia de los Reyes, Amherst College
April 23, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: Low-mass “dwarf” galaxies were probably the first galaxies in the universe to form, and they are the most numerous type of galaxy today. However, due to dwarf galaxies’ low luminosities, much of our understanding of low-mass galaxy evolution has been based on the dwarf galaxies…
Arcs, Cavities, and Outflows: The Dynamic Drama of Star Formation
Cody Hall
Prof. Shantanu Basu, CITA, University of Toronto
April 16, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
We are now firmly within the ALMA-inspired era of star formation studies. We have abundant high sensitivity and resolution observations of star-disk-outflow systems as well as the ability to perform complex high-resolution plasma astrophysics simulations of their formation. I review recent three-dimensional nonideal MHD simulations…
Revealing Europa’s Subsurface Ocean through Earth-based Spectroscopy
Cody Hall
Samantha Trumbo, UC San Diego
April 09, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: Locked beneath its icy crust, Jupiter’s moon Europa harbors one of the largest bodies of liquid water in the Solar System—a global, salty, internal ocean that may present a hospitable environment for life. Currently, investigations of the composition of Europa’s geologically young, fractured surface provide…
Day and Night in the Milky Way: the Dynamics of Planets Orbiting Small Stars
Cody Hall
Sarah Ballard, University of Florida
April 02, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: The Solar System furnishes the most familiar planetary architecture: many planets, orbiting nearly coplanar to one another. However, a typical system of planets in the Milky Way orbits a much smaller M dwarf. M dwarf hosts create very different conditions for their planetary systems than…
The History of Galaxy Nuclei
Cody Hall
Anil Seth, University of Utah
March 26, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Galaxy centers are extremal environments that host massive black holes and uniquely dense nuclear star clusters. My talk will focus on the origin of both of these objects. The formation of massive black holes remains a mystery, but important clues lie in how common they…
From Stellar Streams to Near Field Cosmology: Insights from Large-Scale Spectroscopic Surveys
Cody Hall
Ting Li, University of Toronto
March 19, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
Abstract: Stellar streams serve as exceptional tracers in near-field cosmology, providing critical insights into galaxy formation and evolution, as well as the fundamental nature of dark matter. My talk will feature two major ongoing spectroscopic programs targeting the Milky Way’s streams. The Southern Stellar Stream…
Colloquium with Keith Vanderlinde
Cody Hall
Prof. Keith Vanderlinde
March 12, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
More information coming soon…
Stellar Variability from Minutes to Decades
Cody Hall
Jim Davenport, University of Washington
March 05, 2025
2:00pm - 3:00pm
The past 20 years has seen a revolution in stellar astrophysics driven by high precision data, high cadence data for millions of stars from exoplanet hunting telescopes such as Kepler and TESS. Surveys like ZTF, ASAS-SN, and the upcoming Rubin Observatory push us to explore…