Speaker's Night: Big Galaxies and the Big Places in Which They Live

We inhabit a galaxy called the Milky Way. Most of us think of this as being a big place. By what standard? In this talk, insights into the meaning of "big" will be provided, and our spot on the bigness scale will be illuminated by exploring extragalactic things. In the process, our true place in the Universe will be revealed.

Marshall McCall is an astronomer, Professor, and Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at York University. Born and raised in Victoria, B.C., he has been interested in space and astronomy since kindergarten, which is when his mother towed him into the night to see Sputnik. His professional skills were initially honed as a gardener at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory. After acquiring a B.Sc. from the University of Victoria, he went on to graduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin and then postdoctoral work at Mt. Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories in Australia. He has spent most of his research life studying galaxies, their structure, evolution, and formation, and how they are organized. His primary research adversary is interstellar dust, and he has spent a good deal of time uncovering what lies behind it, including two hitherto unknown galaxies in the backyard of the Milky Way as well as the Council of Giants surrounding us.

Talk starts at 7:30pm, socializing at 7:00pm.

Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Registration: Not required
Organized by: RASC - Toronto Centre
Location: Ontario Science Centre (follow the signs to the RASC meeting)