Public Lecture
What is the Smallest Galaxy
Marla Geha
Yale University
Wed, Aug 19, 5:30–6:30pm
Our Milky Way Galaxy is surrounded by dozens of smaller galaxies. By proximity, the Milky Way’s satellite galaxy population includes the faintest and lowest mass systems in the known Universe. These “ultra-faint” galaxies are several million times fainter than the Milky Way itself, providing a rare window into how the first galaxies formed, and they may help us test ideas about dark matter—the invisible material thought to make up most of the matter in the universe. In this talk, I’ll trace the discovery of ultra‑faint galaxies around the Milky Way over the past decade, and preview new surveys that may reveal even fainter companions in the next few years. Finally, I’ll show how these surprising objects are reshaping a basic question: what, exactly, counts as a galaxy?
About Marla Geha
Geha is a professor and astrophysicist at Yale University. Her research uses the world's largest telescopes to understand the Universe's smallest galaxies. Geha obtained a B.S. in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell University and a PhD in Astrophysics from University of California Santa Cruz. She has received honors including an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow, a John S. Guggenheim Fellowship, and Yale's Dylan Hixon'88 Prize for teaching excellence in the natural sciences. Geha serves on the executive board of the Warrior Scholar Project and is the director of the Research Experience for Veteran Undergraduates (REVU) program.
Heinz R. Pagels Public Lecture Series
Heinz R Pagels was a professor of physics at Rockefeller University, president of the New York Academy of Science, a trustee of the Aspen Institute, and a member of the Aspen Center for Physics for twenty years, serving as a participant, officer, and trustee. He was also President of the International League for Human Rights. His work on chaos theory inspired the character of Ian Malcolm in the Jurassic Park book and movies. A part-time local resident, Professor Pagels died here in a mountaineering accident in 1988. His family and friends instituted the lecture series in his honor because he devoted a substantial part of his life to effective public dissemination of scientific knowledge.
Other Upcoming Events
Through the Looking Glass: the Mystery of Antimatter
Wed, Jun 24, 5:30–6:30pm
Flug Forum, Aspen Center for Physics
Finding Baby Black Holes with James Webb
Wed, Jul 1, 5:30–6:30pm
Flug Forum, Aspen Center for Physics
How Aspen Changed the World of Science
Wed, Jul 8, 5:30–6:30pm
Flug Forum, Aspen Center for Physics