Astronomer Martha Haynes to talk on 'Mapping the Universe'

Martha P. Haynes

Noted astronomer Martha P. Haynes will deliver the Hewlett Lecture on "Mapping the Universe: Galaxies, Dark Matter and What We Don't Know" on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. in the F.W. Olin Center Auditorium at Union College.

Her talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Hewlett Foundation.

It has been less than 100 years since astronomers understood that the Milky Way Galaxy is just one of millions of galaxies in the universe. In this talk, Haynes will review what the universe around us "looks like," what our neighbor galaxies are like, and how dramatic events in the past have affected many of them, including our Milky Way. She will also talk about "dark matter," how it affects our local surroundings, and the big questions that still remain in the 21st century.

Haynes is the Goldwin Smith Professor of Astronomy at Cornell University. Her research focuses on the mapping of the distribution of matter in the nearby universe and on the study of the evolutionary histories of spiral galaxies. She and her research group use telescopes throughout the world, including the Arecibo 305-meter radio telescope in Puerto Rico and the Palomar 200-inch telescope. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of the National Academy of Sciences' Henry Draper Medal.