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Jae Calanog

“In a Galaxy Far, Far Away… ok, but HOW FAR?”

How do we know how far objects in space are from Earth? Find out how astronomers measure distances in our Universe. Hint: You’ll need a ladder. 

Jae Calanog is a Physicsand Astronomy Professorat San Diego Miramar College, and the chair of Physical Sciences. Jae earned his B.A. from UC Berkeley and his PhD from UC Irvine, where he specialized in using gravity as a telescope toexplore distant galaxies. As one of the first Filipino-American astrophysicists, he is driven to help underrepresented students succeed in STEM by creating connections and experiential learning opportunities. In his spare time, you can find him breaking(breakdancing), behind a camera, or exploring the world through travel.

Robert Quimby

“SuperAwesome SuperLuminous SuperNovae”

At the end of their lives, most stars fade quietly into the night, but a few go out with a bang. When stars explode as supernovae they can shine almost as bright as their whole galaxy of stars for a few weeks or, in the case of superluminous supernovae, even brighter for longer. What makes these supernovae so much more powerful than the rest? Ok, we’re still working on that–but we have some great leads! Some superluminous supernovae could be explosions within explosions. Others may get a power boost from super-dense, super-magnetized neutron stars at their cores. These giant explosions help shape galaxies and help seed the cosmos with the elements necessary to make people and beer, so let’s drink in this tale.

Robert Quimby is a Professor of Astronomy at San Diego State University and Director of the Mount Laguna Observatory. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, he contributed to the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe. As a graduate student in Texas, he played a key role in identifying the first superluminous supernovae. He went on to postdoctoral positions at Caltech and the Kavli IPMU in Japan, where he discovered the first Type Ia supernova magnified by a gravitational lens. Back in high school, he joined the marching band so he wouldn’t have to take P.E.–a decision that somehow led to a brief stint playing trombone in a ska band. More recently, he ran a marathon, so he never has to do that again.

More information about Anaya Valluvan‘s talk coming soon!