On Monday, November 29^th at 7:30 pm EST there will be a free public virtual lecture by Dr Juna Kollmeier, Director of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics, and program director for the 5^th phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Dr Kollmeier is a TEDx speaker, and a scientist whose work spans so many diverse astrophysical phenomena. She will surely give a fantastic talk about science, astronomy, and the universe. Her talk is titled “Mapping the Universe”:  

Humans have been mapping the sky for thousands of years. In this talk, I will describe our current efforts undertaken by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). This unprecedented survey uses spectra to reveal a tremendous amount of information about our cosmos. I will describe its fifth phase, mapping over six million objects, including stars, black holes, and Galaxies. SDSS can decode the history of the Universe and the galaxies within it by tracing the first chemical elements, revealing the inner workings of stars, and investigating the origin of planets. Finally, I will attempt to explain why we do this and how, by taking on this massive, complex, and seemingly esoteric task, humanity ultimately benefits. 

Register for the event here: mappingtheuniverse.eventbrite.ca.