Yale Astronomy Colloquium - Allyson Bieryla

From meteor showers to solar eclipses, astronomy has a unique ability to captivate the public’s imagination — and that curiosity is a powerful tool for education. I will discuss our astronomy lab at Harvard, including telescopes and hands-on student projects that bring the universe within reach. Solar eclipses in particular present remarkable outreach opportunities — from the Great American Eclipse of 2017 to the total solar eclipse of April 2024, these events have inspired millions to look up. I will also introduce LightSound, a low-cost, open source sonification device we developed that converts light into sound, creating an entirely new way to experience a solar eclipse.