Evening with the Stars – August 23, 2025

Evening with the Stars  – August 23th, 2025  8:00pm

Lecture: The Road to Another Earth

Astronomer:  Dr. Bruce Macintosh

Program Information

Observing passes are handed out when you check in at the door so please plan to arrive early!

Observing only ends when everyone has had a chance to look through the telescope.

Gift shop is open from 7:00pm until 11:00pm.

Science Lecture

The Road to Another Earth

Over the past three decades, we have gone from knowing only the eight* planets in our solar system to having discovered more than five thousand extrasolar planets orbiting other stars.  We know of an extraordinary variety of such planets, most of them very different than our own, from giant objects more massive than Jupiter to surprisngly common small Earth-sized worlds. For the larger planets, we can not just detect their presence but characterize them – measuring the composition of their atmosphere. The ultimate goal of the field is to carry out such measurements on potentially habitable Earth-sized planets. That path is beginning with measurements from the James Webb Space Telescope, and will continue with new facilities – the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope and NASA’s Habitable Worlds Observatory. I will review key moments in the study of exoplanets so far, highlights of past observations, discuss the technological challenges in characterizing fainter planets, and lay out the roadmap to someday finding another Earth

Dr. Bruce Macintosh – UC Observatories

Dr. Macintosh is the Director of UC’s nationally and internationally renowned astronomical ecosystem that includes the Lick Observatory, the technical laboratories at UC Santa Cruz and UCLA and UC’s partnership role in the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.

Dr. Macintosh spent nine years as professor of physics at Stanford University and served as deputy director of its Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology. An accomplished scholar, Macintosh made significant contributions to science as principal investigator on numerous research grants for NASA, the National Science Foundation and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he served prior to his post at Stanford.

Dr. Macintosh’s research has centered on the study of extrasolar planets­­, in particular, examining such planets through direct imaging and adaptive optics. Among his many accomplishments, he co-led the team that produced the first images of a system of exoplanets. He led the international collaboration that produced the Gemini Planet Imager, deployed to the Gemini South Telescope, which led to the identification of new exoplanets and advanced the study of planet formation. In addition, he directed a science investigation team for the coronagraph instrument on NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman mission. He has served on multiple National Academy of Sciences committees on astrophysics strategy, including the Astro2020 Decadal Survey.

Dr. Macintosh, who earned his Ph.D. in astronomy at UCLA, strongly believes in making the fields of astronomy and physics more inclusive, diverse, and supportive.

Telescope Targets

Tonight’s guests will have the chance to observe:

Great 36″ Refractor
Objects chosen each evening.

Nickel 40″ Reflector
Ring Nebula (M57)

Outside Telescopes
More telescopes will be available outside looking at galaxies, star clusters, and more!

Featured Observatory Volunteers & Staff

Thanks to all of our volunteers for making this evening possible!

Tips and Additional Information