Stellar Society Lecture

North Carolina Science Festival Events at GTCC

The Stellar Society Lecture is usually part of GTCC's annual schedule of N.C. Science Festival (NCSciFest) programs in April, but this year it will be held a few weeks early, on March 22. See details below.

Our official NCSciFest events in April 2025 are:

  • 8:30-10:30 p.m. April 4: Statewide Star Party Observing Session at Cline Observatory (weather permitting)
  • 6-8:30 p.m. April 19: Science Hall Open House – An evening of interactive science activities and demonstrations presented by our science faculty and students. Science Hall is building 24 on the Jamestown campus map. Use Parking Lot F.
  • 7-8:30 p.m. April 25: Stellar Society Lecture – A free public lecture about an astronomical topic. The presentation will be in Koury Auditorium, building 19 on the Jamestown campus map. Use Parking Lot F. Details forthcoming.

Stellar Society Lecture on April 25

Each year, typically in April, GTCCs student astronomy club – the Stellar Society – teams up with Cline Observatory and the GTCC Foundation to present the Stellar Society Lecture. The event features an astronomer from a regional institution who gives a free public lecture on a Friday night before our regular public viewing.

The 2025 Stellar Society Lecture will be at 7 p.m. April 25 in the Auditorium of Koury Hospitality Careers Center, Building 19 on the Jamestown campus map (621 E. Main St., Jamestown, NC 27282). The speaker and topic for the 2025 Stellar Society Lecture are still being finalized – check back here soon for more information.

PAST SPEAKERS

2024: Dan Caton, Appalachian State University, "Defending Dark Starry Skies: Battles with LEDs on the Ground and Satellite Constellations Above” | View Recorded Presentation

2023: Barbara Becker, University of California-Irvine, Retired, "Risky Business: Searching for the Soul of the Sun in the Shadow of the Moon" | View Recorded Presentation

2022: Paul Byrne, Washington University in St. Louis, "(Some) New Insights into the Geology of Venus" | View Recorded Presentation

2021: Ilse Cleeves, University of Virginia, "Planetary Origins: At Home and Abroad" | View Recorded Presentation

2020:  Event canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic

2019: Alicia Aarnio, UNC-Greensboro, "Our Sun:  Then, Now, and What Might Be"

2018: Katherine J. Mack, North Carolina State University, "Dispatches from a Dark Universe"

2017: Stephen P. Reynolds, North Carolina State University, "Supernovae and You: Tracking Stellar Explosions through Their Remnants"

2016: Sarah Hörst, Johns Hopkins University, "Titan:  Ingredients for Life"

2015: Michael Solontoi, Lynchburg College, "Killer Death Rocks from Outer Space!"

2014: Jay Pasachoff, Williams College, "Transits of Venus:  Science and History"

2013: Stacy Palen, Weber State University, "The Life & Death of Stars"

2012: Enrique Gomez, Western Carolina University, "What is it about 2012? How We Misunderstand Ancient Maya Astronomy."

2011: Brad Newton Barlow, UNC-Chapel Hill, "Searching for Planets Using Pulsating Stars"

2010: Anne Verbiscer, University of Virginia, "Cassini’s Exploration of Enceladus, Saturn’s Active Icy Moon"