An Astronomical Perspective on Globular Clusters, Planet Earth, and the Climate Crisis

Adrienne Cool
San Francisco State University

Darwin 103
3:00 PM

Globular clusters are beautiful and ancient structures that have been providing insight into the structure of our galaxy and the evolution of stars for more than 100 years. I will describe the role that binary stars play in their fascinating internal dynamics and examples of how binaries are revealed in clusters using space-based observatories. Spending time focused on things that are impossibly distant and vast gives astronomers and astronomy enthusiasts an unusual perspective on our own small planet. Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E) was founded in 2019 to harness this perspective to mobilize the global astronomical community to take action on the climate crisis. A4E now comprises more than 1600 astronomy educators, students, amateurs, and researchers from 74 countries. I will describe our goals, some current activities--including plans for an upcoming A4E symposium--and invite you to share your thoughts on how physicists and astronomers can do our part to respond to the climate emergency.