Amateur Astronomers Association of Princeton (AAAP) Monthly Meeting
The Last Stargazers, a behind-the-scenes tour of life as a professional astronomer
Prof. Levesque’s research explores how the most massive stars in the universe evolve and die. She’s observed using some of the most powerful telescopes in the world, and has experienced engaging true stories (and collected tall tales) of the adventures and misadventures that accompany our exploration of the universe: A bird that mimicked a black hole. The astronomer that discovered microwave ovens. A telescope that got shot. And…wait for it…a telescope support engineer who advised, “have you tried turning it off and back on again?”
We’ll learn how professional astronomers collect data using world-class telescopes, meet the people who run them, and explore the crucial role of human curiosity in the past, present, and future of scientific discovery. “The Last Stargazers” is based on her critically acclaimed popular science book of the same title.
Prof. Levesque has also created a course for The Learning Company, “Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy,” which explores the science and heroes behind the great astronomical discoveries of the past few centuries.