Tonight’s Host: Dr. Jon Rees

This Evening’s Lectures

Science Lecture

(presented twice)

Dr. Nour Skaf

UC Santa Cruz

“Exoplanets: a cosmic odyssey bringing worlds and broadening horizons”

Dr. Nour Skaf is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz, in the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department with a focus on instrumentation and data analysis for exoplanet direct imaging.
She received her PhD in exoplanet science in 2023 from Observatoire de Paris, during which she was based at the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii. She worked on implementing a new algorithm for better imaging of exoplanets with adaptive optics. She also focused on understanding planet formation by observing young stars and their disk, as well as working on atmospheric characterization of exoplanets, via transit spectroscopy.
Nour received in 2021 the L’Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science – young talent France category. In 2019, she earned double master’s degrees from Imperial College London in fundamental physics, and from the Institut d’Optique Graduate School in France in optical engineering.
After completing her PhD, she spent several months working on improving access to astronomy in emerging countries, with a focus on Africa and Southeast Asia.

History Lecture

(1st presentation)

Ron Bricmont

Ron Bricmont has been an observatory guide since 1991 and a coordinator of the Observatory’s volunteer program since its inception in 1997. He is a member of the staff of the Lick Observatory Historical Collections Project. Ron’s life-long interest in Lick Observatory and its history began with his first visit to the observatory as a six-year-old in 1945.

History Lecture

(2nd presentation)

Eric Bricmont

Eric Bricmont is a long-time volunteer at Lick Observatory, amateur astronomer and photographer. His devotion and passion for science is equaled only by his love of history. In addition to his time at the Observatory he also is an active volunteer with the Santa Clara County Parks, helping to provide monthly astronomy programs to the public.

Tonight’s Telescopes & Objects

Lick Observatory’s 36-inch Great Refractor saw “first light” in 1888. At the time, it was the largest refracting telescope in the world. It is an enduring memorial to James Lick’s philanthropy and his final resting place.

For nearly 300 years after Galileo first turned a telescope toward the heavens it was believed that the largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, had just four moons. In 1892, using the Lick’s 36-inch Great Refractor, Edward Barnard discovered a fifth moon, the much fainter Amalthea, the last moon of any planet to be discovered without the aid of photography, electronic detectors or space-based telescopes.

The 36-inch telescope will show you an interesting astronomical object of the telescope operator’s choosing. This may be a globular cluster of stars, a binary star, or a galaxy.

The Nickel 40-inch Reflector, named for philanthropist Anna Nickel, was designed and built in the Lick Observatory Technical Facilities at UC Santa Cruz and completed in 1979. The 40” diameter mirror of this modern telescope makes it the third most powerful telescope on Mount Hamilton.

Tonight you will view M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, a cluster of very young stars in the constellation Scutum.

Telescope Operators:

36-inch Great Refractor

Keith Wandry | Patrick Maloney

40-inch Reflector

Connor Dickinson

40-inch Control Room

Evan Carrasco