Cosmic Candles: How Dying Stars Are an Astronomer’s Best Yardstick

NOTE THE CHANGED TIME AND DAY OF THE WEEK FROM USUAL!

Come join us at Inner Space Brewing Company for food, drinks, and a public talk from Dr. Ashley Pagnotta on “Cosmic Candles: How Dying Stars Are an Astronomer’s Best Yardstick”!

“Measuring distances in space is hard: we can’t just stretch a measuring tape out to the nearest star and take a reading. We can, however, use clever geometry and our knowledge of certain classes of stars, known as standard candles, to get accurate distance measurements. We will look at both how we make these measurements and how we figured out they were possible.”

Dr. Ashley Pagnotta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at the College of Charleston. A native Texan, Ashley went to Texas A&M for undergrad and LSU for grad school, followed by a postdoc at the American Museum of Natural History. She teaches a variety of astronomy and physics classes, mentors undergrad student research, and studies variable stars, especially the ones that erupt and/or explode. A three-time Space Camp attendee as a kid, she has fond memories of Huntsville and is excited to be back here again.