Show Times: Thursday, Feb. 6: 6 p.m.
Our speaker for this evening will be Dr. André-Nicolas Chené, who is the Head of Scientific Staff and US-ELTP Community Engagement Scientist at NSF NOIRLab.
For over 400 years, telescopes have been humanity’s most powerful tools for unlocking the mysteries of the cosmos. From Galileo’s rudimentary spyglass to today’s space-borne observatories, each technological leap has brought transformative discoveries, including Jupiter’s moons, Saturn’s rings, distant galaxies and exoplanets. This presentation will take the audience on a journey through the evolution of these remarkable instruments and offer a glimpse into the future of astronomy through extremely large telescopes.
We’ll explore key milestones in telescope design, from refractors to modern segmented mirrors, and how each advancement broadened our understanding of the universe. For example, the 100-inch Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson enabled Edwin Hubble to prove the universe is expanding, while the Hubble Space Telescope revealed galaxies formed just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
The next generation of telescopes — such as the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT), the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) — will dwarf all previous ground-based observatories. These colossal instruments, with mirrors up to 39 meters across, will probe deeper into the universe than ever before. They will help answer fundamental questions: Are we alone in the universe? How did the first stars and galaxies form? What is the nature of dark matter and dark energy?
Join us for a captivating exploration of how the past four centuries of telescope innovation are leading us to breathtaking new frontiers in astrophysics!
This program will last for approximately 60 minutes. Please remember to arrive at the planetarium at least 10 minutes prior to the showtime indicated on your ticket. For more information, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.
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