Every year, the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute organizes the Blaauw Lecture, a lecture by an internationally renowned astronomer which everyone, including the general public, can attend. The level of the lecture is such that everyone should be able to understand it.

Professor Evan Skillman of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, the US, will give the Blaauw Lecture in 2026, the title is: Our Fascinating Neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy. The Andromeda spiral galaxy, also known as Messier 31 (M31), is the closest large galaxy to our own Milky Way. It is one of a few galaxies that is identifiable with the naked eye. Over the last three decades, many observational studies, primarily with the Hubble Space Telescope, have given us a very detailed picture of the past, the present, and even the future of M31. Given its proximity, M31 provides a great opportunity to better understand fundamental astrophysical processes like star formation and stellar evolution. In this Blaauw Lecture, astronomer Evan Skillman describes many of the recent discoveries that have been made through observations of M31. For example, Hubble observations of M31 provide us with the best measurement of what fraction of stars end their lives as supernovae. Hubble observations also revealed that M31 is on a collision course with our own Milky Way galaxy.

Links:
Blaauw Lecture 2026

Our Fascinating Neighbor the Andromeda Galaxy