Ground-based Astronomy

S. R. Kulkarni

Quarks & Gravity

Quarks -> Cosmos-> Stars -> Planets

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Galactic Forensics & Chronometry

• How did our Galaxy (Milky Way) was put together?

• Were the earliest generation stars very different?

• How is dark matter distributed at the present epoch?

• What is the age of the oldest stars?

Galaxies as Astronomical Laboratories

Planets: Byproducts of Stars

Planets Exist in Abundance

Earth Size Planets around Pulsars

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Gas Giants around Sun-like Stars

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Extreme Physics

Gravity: The Final Frontier

The Central Black Hole of the Milky Way

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The Future

Background

• Astronomy is like particle physics in the sixties: exciting and rapid growth

• Astronomy faculty at Caltech is not slated to grow

• “Make no mean plans” George Ellery Hale

LIGO: Discovery Space

Some thoughts

• We must pick subfields very carefully

• We need to hire very clever experimentalists and leaders in fields where federal investment dominates

• Relying on federal funding will be a capital mistake.

• Leveraging is a must.