34th Annual Great Lecture in Astronomy

Keith Hawkins, The University of Texas at Austin

Galactic Archaeology: The History of Our Cosmic Home

One of the key objectives of modern astrophysics is to understand the formation and evolution of galaxies. The Milky Way is an optimal laboratory for testing our theories of galaxy formation. However, dissecting the assembly history of the our cosmic home requires a detailed mapping of its constituent stars. In this talk, I will discuss how astronomers map the stars in our Galaxy to understand its formation and evolution across cosmic time.