Space Talk
LSC's Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the biggest planetarium in America, is the ideal venue for today’s working astronomers to share their pursuit of answers to the Big Unanswered Questions of the universe, from the secrets of black holes, to life on other planets, to the mysteries of dark matter, and beyond.
Every month, a guest astronomer presents a Space Talk in the planetarium, taking full advantage of its state-of-the-art systems and immersive environment. Come join these cosmic conversations under our giant dome!
Each Space Talk kicks off an LSC After Dark 21+ adult evening, when the Center is open late for smoking cocktails, festive food, mind-blowing conversation, lawn games, more planetarium shows, and four floors of awesome exhibitions and experiences. Don’t miss the fun!
May 9, 2024
Strange New Worlds
Josh Winn, professor of astrophysics at Princeton University
7 PM
Did you know that it wasn't until the 1990s that scientists could be sure there were planets beyond our solar system? Since then, astronomers have discovered thousands of these planets – known as "exoplanets" – circling distant stars. Join astronomer Josh Winn in this Space Talk presentation, and learn why it took so long to find exoplanets, what new technologies and techniques were required, and what kinds of planets have been found so far. Recent advances have revealed bizarre new planets unlike anything in the solar system, while also bringing us to the threshold of finding other planets similar to Earth.
March 2024
The Atmospheres on Exoplanets
Dr. Leonardo Dos Santos, Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute
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January 2024
Found! Ancient Black Hole
Dr. Priyamvada Natarajan, the Joseph S. and Sophia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics at Yale University
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December 2023
From the Hubble to the Webb
Dr. Joel Green, Hubble Space Telescope Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute
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November 2023
Alien Life and How to Find It
Dr. Clara Sousa-Silva, Assistant Professor of Physics at Bard College and a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences
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October 2023
Sightseeing in Space
Renowned author and science communicator Dr. Phil Plait —aka the "Bad Astronomer”
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September 2023
A New View of the Milky Way
Dr. Kathryn Johnston, Professor of Astronomy at Columbia University
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August 2023
Seeing the Invisible Universe
Dr. Jo Dunkley, Professor of Physics and Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University
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July 2023
Exploring Alien Worlds
Dr. Munazza Alam, an astronomer, National Geographic Young Explorer, and postdoctoral researcher at the Carnegie Earth & Planets Laboratory
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June 2023
Climate Change in the Solar System
Dr. David Grinspoon, Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute
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May 2023
A Goldmine in Gravitational Waves
Dr. Brian Metzger, Astronomer from the Department of Physics at Columbia University
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April 2023
How Invisible Forces Shape Galaxies
Dr. Adrian Price-Whelan, Associate Research Scientist and Leader of the Galactics Dynamics Group at the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the Flatiron Institute
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March 2023
Cosmic Clues from Gravitational Waves
Dr. Marc Favata, Chair of Physics and Astronomy at Montclair State University
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February 2023
Black Holes in Focus
Dr. Jenny Greene, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University
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January 2023
2022: A Great Year in Space
Mike Shanahan, LSC Planetarium Director
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December 2022
Is There Life on Venus?
Dr. Sara Seager, Professor of Planetary Science and Physics at MIT
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October 2022
Too Small to Be a Star, Too Large to Be a Planet: What's Up with Brown Dwarfs?
Dr. Emily Rice, Associate Professor of Astrophysics and Physics at CUNY
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September 2022
What Secrets Will the James Webb Space Telescope Reveal?, featuring brand new image never before seen by the public of isolated dwarf galaxy Wolf-Lundmark-Melotte
Dr. Kristen McQuinn, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers
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August 2022
Will We Find Another Earth?
Dr. Emily Rickman, European Space Agency Fellow at the Space Telescope Science Institute and James Webb Science Telescope team member
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July 2022
Star Formation Over Cosmic Time
Dr. Mordecai-Mark Mac Low from the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University and Department of Astrophysics at the American Museum of Natural History
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June 2022
How Fast is the Universe Expanding?
Dr. Saurabh Jha, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers
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