Evento

A Conversation with the Stars

Dr. Johanna Teske, currently the Carnegie Observatories Origins Postdoctoral Fellow, grew up in Central Pennsylvania, with a farm field at the end of her street. Those relatively dark skies, allowed her to observe the "real" night sky (unlike the Glendale skies... sigh!) and meteor showers in the early morning hours. As a girl, she also enjoyed creek-walking, writing short stories, and pretending to be a spy. Later on, Johanna got her B.S. degree in Physics from American University in Washington, DC, and then her Ph.D. in Astronomy from University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. Following that achievement, Johanna spent two years doing astronomy in Washington, DC before moving to Pasadena in August 2016. In her free time Johanna likes teaching astronomy to others (and learning from them!), watching baseball, and running marathons.

When she isn't running, Johanna concentrates on learning more about two aspects of the Universe: Studying the chemical environments for planet formation & the compositions of exoplanets and discovering more planets.

Overall, Johanna's research uses high resolution optical spectrometers and imagers mounted on big telescopes in Hawaii and Chile. This means lots of travelling to Hawaii and Chile for observing runs, and observing and tinkering with the instruments. This, apparently, is her favorite part of her job.

Please join Dr. Teske at the Glendale Community College planetarium for a Conversation With the Stars (and planets).