Open Air Music of the Spheres – July 26, 2025

Open Air Music of the Spheres  – July 26, 2025  8:30pm

Performer: Jimbo Scott

Lecture: The Birth of Cosmic Behemoths: Insights into the Earliest Stages of Galaxy Cluster Assembly

Astronomer:  Dr. Devontae Baxter

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.

Jimbo Scott

Have you ever been walking down the street, and suddenly heard a voice that made you walk into a venue to see whose it was? That is Jimbo Scott’s voice – a bell, magnetic and the definition of a powerhouse. A favorite of the Bay Area’s folk and Americana scene, Jimbo Scott has been entertaining audiences far and wide for more than a decade, including 2 years as a member of the famed NorCal Jamgrass band, Poor Man’s Whiskey. His solo work evokes traditions of Tennessee country and bluegrass, Oakland soul in sepia toned California landscapes and life-scapes.

Described by Tahoe Weekly as “Honest Honey-Eyed Americana”, Jimbo’s music casts reflections around the room, flashing from honest self-deprecation to cinematic retrospectives on our part in shaping our communities and accounting the consequences of our actions and inactions.  His signature baritone voice has moved many an audience including The Kate Wolf Music Festival, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Salmonfest and the Fillmore.

If you like Jason Isbell, Zach Brown, Leftover Salmon or Paul Simon then you will like Jimbo Scott.

More information about Jimbo Scott at jimboscottmusic.com.

Science Lecture

The Birth of Cosmic Behemoths: Insights into the Earliest Stages of Galaxy Cluster Assembly

Galaxy clusters –– the largest gravitationally bound structures in the universe –– are the most extreme outcomes of hierarchical structure formation in an expanding universe. In the nearby cosmos, mature galaxy clusters have been studied in great detail, providing important insights into the nature and distribution of dark matter, as well as the astrophysics that drives galaxy evolution in dense environments. However, the protocluster stage of galaxy cluster assembly remains an open frontier in our understanding of galaxy evolution in the early universe. In this lecture, I will share our current theoretical and observational understanding of the earliest stages of galaxy cluster assembly and discuss the next-generation observatories poised to significantly advance this area of research

Dr. Devontae Baxter – UC San Diego

Dr. Devontae Baxter is an NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics and UC Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at UC San Diego. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics from UC Irvine in 2023 and B.S. in Physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2017. His research connects multi-wavelength observations with cosmological simulations to investigate the physics driving galaxy evolution in a wide array of environments, both in the nearby and distant universe.

Telescope Targets

Tonight’s guests will have the chance to observe:

Great 36″ Refractor
Objects chosen each evening

Nickel 40″ Reflector
Trifid Nebula

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