Lecture | Astronomy on Tap
Measuring the edge of Infinity
- Date
- Monday 21 July 2025
- Time
- Address
- Galerie Cafe Leidse Lente
Haagweg 4
2311 AA Leiden
In our last event of the summer we will explore how we measure distances within the Universe, from the Moon to the most distant galaxies. Then we will also learn how astronomers can decipher images of the oldest galaxies we know. We will be able to do this thanks to our speakers Jeger Broxterman and Lucie Rowland.
As always, there will be fun games with which you can test your knowledge and try to win cool science prizes!
“The Cosmic Distance Ladder”
by Jeger Broxterman
Jeger is a PhD student at the physics and astronomy departments of Leiden University. In his research, he analyses suites of large cosmological simulations to study the impact of supermassive black holes and supernova explosions on the distribution of matter in the Universe through weak gravitational lensing. In his talk, Jeger will explain how astronomers are able to measure distances in the Universe. Starting from the measurement of the Earth's size, the talk will discuss several historic and modern methods for measuring distances to the Moon, the Sun, other stars, and the most distant galaxies.
“A long time ago, in galaxies far, far away...”
By Lucie Rowland
Lucie is a PhD student in astronomy at Leiden University, where she studies some of the most distant galaxies ever observed. Using cutting-edge telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA), she explores how these ancient galaxies formed and evolved just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang. In this talk, Lucie will highlight some of the latest cosmic record-breakers and reveal how astronomers decode light that has travelled for over 13 billion years to uncover the secrets of our early Universe.
Logistical information
We start at 20:00 sharp, so please arrive earlier to enter the venue, save a seat, and grab a drink at the bar. We will be uploading a recording of the talks on our YouTube channel after the event.
Join us for an evening of astronomy and fun games where you can win cool science prizes! All ages and backgrounds are welcome!
For more information check out astronomyontap.nl