New Discoveries, New Connections: Dr Michelle Thaller's Keynote Talk
Saturday, 28th June 2025 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
University of Otago - Teachers College Auditorium, 145 Union St East, Dunedin
Do you think of astronomy as the study of far-away objects with no real meaning in your daily life?
Dr Michelle Thaller, will explain why that idea couldn’t be further from the truth. With new observations from our telescopes and planetary spacecraft, we are uncovering the story of ourselves. Find out how the universe is coursing through your veins, how it wound up in your DNA, and why your next breath is literally as vast as a galaxy.
We’re so proud to be welcoming Dr Michelle Thaller to Ōtepoti Dunedin to share her vast knowledge of space and the universe. Dr Michelle Thaller recently retired from NASA after 27 years, ending as the Assistant Director of Science at NASA’s largest base, Goddard Space Flight Center in Washington, DC. She has loved the stars since she could barely walk (according to her mother) but as a student, she felt pretty scared and lost in her science classes, until she discovered the curiosity, passion, kindness, and humour in her astronomy professors. She wanted to be around people like that.