PALS S. Pandey - How Galaxies make starts? Not as smooth as you think.

Event Instances

• Wednesday, November 4, 2026 7:00 P.M.

Event Details

Galaxies may look calm and orderly in images, but star formation is far more dynamic than what is seen. How can we tell where stars are forming, and can we know whether a galaxy has been forming stars at a steady rate or has recently changed its pace?   In this talk, we will explore how astronomers investigate histories of galaxies by studying their light. Moving beyond photometric images, we will look at how spectroscopy allows us to identify signatures of star formation and turn light into physical measurements. We will explore how different tracers, such as H-alpha emission and ultraviolet light, reveal complementary clues about a galaxy’s recent activity.   Building on my own research using galaxy spectra, I will discuss how we measure star-formation rates, what these measurements can tell us, and why uncertainties and dust makes the process more complicated than it first appears. We will understand how astronomers are working to investigate why galaxies form stars at different rates, how their activity changes over time, and what these changes might reveal about their evolution.