Space, stars and the ingredients of planets to be discussed

Published On Thu 4 Oct 2018 by Dominic Younger

Galactic mysteries that have puzzled humanity for centuries will be put under the telescope next week, as University of Dundee lecturer Aurora Sicilia-Aguilar takes to the stage.

In a series of talks celebrating World Space Week 2018, the lecturer of physics will discuss the formation of stars and planets and what time can tell us about space.

“Astrophysics is a funny kind of physics,” said Aurora. “Our lab is the universe but in many cases, the stars are so distant, that most of the interesting features cannot be imaged even with the most powerful telescopes.

“In my talk, we will see stars forming and planets through the eyes of different telescopes. I will explain what we can learn from combining space and ground-based observations to beat the limits of spatial resolution, and how we can investigate the building blocks of our solar system."

Aurora will go into detail about what we can learn about stars and planetary formation from multi-telescope observations on Tuesday 9 October, at a talk organised by the Institute of Physics taking place in the University’s Dalhousie Building at 6.30pm.

Keen space-enthusiasts will get an even earlier chance to hear Aurora talk as she discusses the telescopic techniques used to observe deep-space on Monday 8 October, at a talk hosted by the Dundee University Science Communication Society, at 5pm in the University’s Dalhousie Building.

Both events are free and open to all. 

For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk