UofT AstroTour: Unlocking the Secrets of the Dark Parts of the Universe

The visible matter that we can touch and see makes up less than 5% of the Universe. The rest is made up of dark matter and dark energy, and is not yet well understood. What are these “dark” pieces of the Universe, how do we know that they exist, and what are they made out of anyway? Dr. Lauren Hetherington will explore what we know about the answers to these questions, what we don’t know, and the experiments that are being performed today to discover more.

About the Speaker
Lauren is a final year PhD candidate studying tidal streams – dwarf galaxies or globular clusters which have been torn apart by tidal forces. They can help us learn about where mass is in our galaxy, and help detect missing clumps of dark matter. She grew up in the maritimes and got her BSc at the University of New Brunswick.

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.

Who can attend: Everyone
Fee: Free
Reservations: Only required for Planetarium Shows
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 103), 60 St George St., Toronto, ON  M5S 1A7

http://www.astro.utoronto.ca/astrotours/?page_id=392
https://www.facebook.com/events/1748462565419709/