Past Colloquia
The Transient Universe: Cosmic Explosions and Dark Energy
Cody Hall, AB 107
Mark Sullivan (University of Southampton)
December 12, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Type Ia supernovae have long been used as probes of the expansion history of the universe. Their standardisable luminosities make them very attractive as distance measures, and they remain indispensable in constraining the properties of dark energy. In this talk, I will give an update…
Planet Formation as told by Kepler
Cody Hall, AB 107
Eve J. Lee (California Institute of Technology)
December 05, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
One of the key results from the Kepler mission is that super-Earths and sub-Neptunes abound in the universe, outnumbering their larger counterparts. Their radii (~1–4 Rearth) and masses (~2–20 Mearth) are consistent with the bulk solid-to-gas mass ratio of 100:1. Basic astrophysical considerations of gas…
Joint Colloquium presented by The Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Cody Hall, AB 107
R. Peter Broughton and Andrew Oakes (IHPST, University of Toronto)
November 28, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
“The UofT and J.S. Plaskett” by R. Peter Broughton Abstract: John Stanley Plaskett (1865-1941) did not show any interest in astronomy until 1903 when he embarked on a career that would blossom into one of the most illustrious of his time. By 1913, he convinced the Canadian…
Galaxy Evolution in Dense Environments
Cody Hall, AB 107
Laura Parker (McMaster University)
November 21, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Over time star-forming galaxies transform into passively-evolving red galaxies. These transformations are due to a combination of internal processes, like the presence of a bar or active galactic nucleus, as well as environmental processes. I will review some of our recent work on galaxies in…
Extreme Makeover: Titan Edition
Cody Hall, AB 107
Catherine Neish (University of Western Ontario)
November 14, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
When the Cassini spacecraft arrived at Titan in 2004, it revealed a varied and active world previously unseen. Unique among the icy satellites, Titan’s surface shows evidence for extensive modification by fluvial and aeolian processes. Erosion likely contributes to the noticeable lack of craters on…
Karl Kamper Memorial Lecture – “Science and Technology of the Mid-Infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS)”
Cody Hall, AB 107
Bernhard Brandl, Leiden University
November 07, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The Mid-Infrared ELT Imager and Spectrograph (METIS) is one of three first generation, scientific instruments on the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT). The ELT with its 39 meter aperture is expected to see first light in 2024. In my talk I will provide a brief…
Galaxy Evolution from Nearby Resolved Galaxies
Cody Hall, AB 107
Karen Masters (Haverford College)
October 31, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
The morphology of a galaxy provides information on the orbits of stars within it. As such, important clues to the formation history of galaxies is revealed by their morphologies, and this information is complimentary, but not identical to, their star formation history and chemical composition…
Metal-poor stars and the Pristine Survey
Cody Hall, AB 107
Kim Venn (University of Victoria)
October 24, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Metal-poor stars are one of the best ways to probe the early epochs in the Universe since they presumably formed before significant star formation could pollute the pristine gas. I will present results from a new survey to find these rare stars using a narrow-band…
An Inclusive View of Planetary Systems
Cody Hall, AB 107
Wei Zhu (CITA, University of Toronto)
October 17, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Similar to our solar system, extra-solar systems likely also contain a diversity of planets, and planets around the same star likely have (or had) interactions with each other. Therefore, the relations of planets inside the same system conveys important clues on their origin and evolution…
Galactic Dynamics with Gaia DR2
Cody Hall, AB 107
Daisuke Kawata (Mullard Space Science Laboratory, UCL)
October 03, 2018
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has made the 2nd data release (Gaia DR2) on 25th April 2018. Gaia DR2 provides position, parallax and proper motions for more than one billion stars with unprecedented accuracy and radial velocity for about 7 million bright stars. In this…