Evening with the Stars – August 22, 2025

Evening with the Stars – August 22nd, 2025 8:00pm

Lecture: “Signals from Stellar Destruction”

Astronomer: Dr. Itai Sfaradi

Program Information

7:00 pm	Doors Open
	Lecture Hall	36-inch Great Refractor Dome
8:00pm	Science Lecture	History Lecture
9:00 pm	Science Talk (repeated)	Telescope Viewings
10:00 pm	History Talk (repeated)	Telescope Viewings
1:00 am	Doors Close

Observing passes are handed out when you check in at the door so please plan to arrive early!

Observing only ends when everyone has had a chance to look through the telescope.

Gift shop is open from 7:00pm until 11:00pm.

Weather may restrict telescope viewings, but all other activities will still take place.

Science Lecture

“Signals from Stellar Destruction”

Every now and then, a star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole and gets torn apart by its powerful tidal forces. These rare and dramatic events, known as tidal disruption events (TDEs), offer a unique glimpse into black holes that are usually quiet, helping us understand how they grow and interact with their surroundings. TDEs light up the universe across the electromagnetic spectrum, from radio waves to optical, ultraviolet, and X-ray light. In this talk, I’ll show how we use observations at different wavelengths to piece together the full story of a TDE. I’ll also highlight some of the exciting recent discoveries in radio emission from these remarkable cosmic events.

Dr. Itai Sfaradi – UC Berkeley

Dr. Itai Sfaradi earned his Ph.D. in physics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy at the University of California, Berkeley. His research focuses on explosive astrophysical transients, particularly core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) and tidal disruption events (TDEs), with a focus on radio observations.

Telescope Targets

Tonight’s guests will have the chance to observe:

Great 36″ Refractor
Objects chosen each evening.

Nickel 40″ Reflector
Ring Nebula (M57)

Outside Telescopes
More telescopes will be available outside looking at galaxies, star clusters, and more!

Ring Nebula / M57 – Photo by the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)

Featured Observatory Volunteers & Staff

Hosts

Dr. Lauren Corlies

TBD

History Lecture 1

Ron Bricmont

History Lecture 2

Ruby Wong

Great Refractor Operators

Kieren Emens

Ruby Wong

Nickel Reflector Operator

Patrick Maloney

Nickel Reflector Control Room

Andy Macica

Thanks to all of our volunteers for making this evening possible!

Tips and Additional Information

Refreshments

Snacks and beverages are available at the refreshment table in the main foyer. All proceeds help support the public programs. In the past, we have used proceeds to purchase an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), additional wooden benches in the main building, new speakers and amplifiers for the main building hallway, and partial funding of two spotting telescopes by the flag pole.

Dark Adjustment

Your experience at the telescopes will be better if your eyes have had an opportunity to adjust to the dark. For this reason, we try to keep the light levels low in both wings of the main hall.

Lights

Please refrain from use of flash photography or white light flashlights in the domes or adjoining hallway.

Assistance

We strive to make your visit as complete and meaningful as possible. Please let us know if you will need special assistance (for example, if you will have difficulty climbing stairs) by emailing tickets@ucolick.org, so we can make the necessary arrangements.

Our Volunteers

All of Lick Observatory’s public programs are greatly enhanced by the valuable participation of our many dedicated volunteers.

Interested in volunteering? Learn more here!