Astronomer Travis Rector of the University of Alaska will present this year's Ruckman Lecture at UNL Oct. 8.
Rector's 7 p.m. presentation, sponsored by the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is titled "The Aesthetics of Astrophysics: How and Why Astronomical Images are So Beautiful."
The lecture will be in the Nebraska Union auditorium and is free and open to the public.
Rector's talk will address how modern telescopes like the Hubble work, how astronomers use data from them for their research, how that data is transformed into vibrant, color images and the authenticity of such images.
He will also present the department's colloquium on Oct. 7 at 4 p.m. in Jorgensen Hall. That lecture will address research-based science education. The lecture is co-sponsored by UNL's Center for Science, Mathematics and Computer Education.