Galaxies Under the Microscope: How the Latest Telescopes Are Transforming Our View of the Universe – Dr. Toby Brown, astronomer at the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre
Date/Time: Wednesday April 9, 2025 starting at 7:30PM
Location: University of Victoria, Bob Wright Centre, Lecture Theatre A104. Park in Lot 1 (pay parking) and cross Ring Road
In just the past few years, state-of-the-art space and ground-based telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and the Very Large Telescope have revolutionized our ability to study galaxies—not as distant smudges, but as richly detailed ecosystems. In this talk, we’ll journey through some of the most stunning recent observations of nearby galaxies, exploring how these cutting-edge instruments let us peer inside stellar nurseries, trace the flow of gas and dust, and witness the dynamic processes that shape galaxy evolution. From unravelling the mysteries of star formation to tracking the invisible hand of dark matter, we’ll see how today’s telescopes are acting like cosmic microscopes, transforming our understanding of the Universe—one galaxy at a time.
NASA’s Webb Depicts Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies
Dr. Toby Brown is an astronomer at the Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Centre in Victoria, BC. His research investigates the interstellar medium, star formation, and environmental mechanisms, and how they relate to the formation and evolution of galaxies.
Dr. Brown specializes in analyzing very large multi-wavelength datasets from some of the world’s most advanced telescopes. On the technical side, he guides the development of cutting-edge digital infrastructure for astronomy, with the goal of making making fundamental research more efficient and accessible for all.
Banner image credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Janice Lee (STScI), Thomas Williams (Oxford), and the PHANGS team
