UofT AstroTour: 90 Degrees South: Astronomy at the End of the World
The South Pole, one of Earth’s most isolated outposts, is alive with science. And it's here where you'll find the 10-metre South Pole Telescope (SPT) observing the oldest light in our Universe, the Cosmic Microwave Background—light emitted just after the Big Bang.
In 2016, a next-generation microwave camera, SPT-3G, was installed on the telescope. This camera is allowing astronomers to map out the Cosmic Microwave Background in more detail than ever before, providing new information on clusters of galaxies, cosmic inflation, and particle physics.
Join U of T astronomy graduate student, Matt Young, for the October AstroTour lecture as he describes his two-month expedition to Antarctica in 2017 to install the new camera. He'll tell you what it's like live and work in one of the most extreme climates on Earth, and explain the science and design behind the brand new SPT-3G camera.
About the Speaker
Matt Young is a 4th-year PhD candidate at the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, Toronto, where he spends most of his time working on the next-generation camera upgrade for the South Pole Telescope, SPT-3G. Originally from Perth in Western Australia, he's always been fascinated by the night sky and the incredible equipment we use to peer out into the Universe. When he's not tinkering away in the lab, he likes to escape from the city for some hiking in the great Canadian outdoors.
The U of T Astronomy Public Tour, or AstroTour, is a monthly event operated by the graduate students of the U of T Astronomy Department. The Tour features a public lecture by a member of the Department on topics ranging from their research to great moments in astronomical history. Following the lecture, tour-goers can peer at the night sky through the Department’s balcony and dome telescopes, or watch a planetarium show run live by astronomer. Admission to the tour is free. Seating for the lecture is on a first-come, first-served basis (doors open ten minutes before the start of the lecture), and the telescope observing is walk-in.
Planetarium tickets will be handed out at 7:45pm outside of the lecture room on a first-come first-served basis. Any remaining planetarium tickets will be available after the talk.
Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Registration: Not required
Organized by: Graduate Astronomy Students Association. The AstroTours are generously financed by the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Location: University of Toronto, McLennan Physical Laboratories (MP 102), 60 St George St., Toronto, ON M5S 1A7
https://www.astro.utoronto.ca/astrotours/?page_id=392
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