Colorful Stars: Highlighting Annie Jump Cannon

Color and light have been a mysterious part of nature that humans have tried to understand for thousands of years and almost certainly beyond. It is only relatively recently that properties of light have been quantified and thus help guide us as we learn about our surrounding universe. This talk will describe some of those key discoveries and their importance to the work of Annie Jump Cannon who found patterns in stellar spectra that led to a star classification scheme that is still relevant today.

About the presenter:

Heidi Morris has worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1998 on various interesting scientific projects. Before coming to LANL, Heidi received a bachelor’s degree in Astronomy from the University of Texas at Austin and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Oklahoma, Norman. One of her favorite experiences was working at McDonald Observatory in 1990 as a telescope tour guide and participating in star parties for visitors in the evenings. Heidi currently volunteers her time as president of the Pajarito Astronomers Club where she values taking part in the appreciation of our night sky.

Because seating is limited in the planetarium, advance registration is encouraged! Sign up now to reserve your seats. Online registration will close at noon on Friday, May 20. If space is still available, we will admit walk-up attendees to the nature center at the time of the presentation.

Planetarium events are not recommended for kids under age 4.

Admission: $6/adult, $4/child.