Dr. Katie Nouman gives “Hidden Images of the Universe” talk with Stargazing eve (Photo – Caltech)
Pasadena residents will once again have the opportunity to explore the cosmos as Caltech’s popular Stargazing Lecture Series returns on Friday, May 29, 2026, with an evening focused on uncovering the hidden universe through cutting-edge imaging science.
By Melanie Hooks
The event, titled “Images of the Hidden Universe,” will take place from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm at the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics on the Caltech campus. The evening will feature a public lecture by Dr. Katie Bouman, Professor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences in the Departments of Electrical Engineering and Astronomy at Caltech.
Bouman, known for her work on the Event Horizon Telescope project that produced the first direct image of a black hole, will discuss how scientists use physics and machine learning to reconstruct images from incomplete or indirect data.
“Some of the most iconic images in modern science were never captured by a camera in the traditional sense,” Bouman said in an invitation accompanying the event announcement. “Instead, they were inferred from indirect and incomplete measurements, using a combination of physics, prior knowledge, and computation.”
During the lecture, Bouman will explain how researchers combined theory, computation, and observational data to create the historic black hole image. She will also discuss how similar techniques are being applied to other scientific mysteries, including efforts to map dark matter through gravitational lensing.
“Modern imaging increasingly relies on integrating physics and machine learning to extract meaningful information from fundamentally limited data to uncover our hidden universe,” Bouman said.
The evening’s schedule begins with the public lecture from 8:00 pm to 8:45 pm, followed by a panel Q&A session and guided stargazing from 8:45 pm to 9:45 pm. Stargazing activities are weather dependent, though the lecture and Q&A will proceed regardless of sky conditions.
The event will be held in person and is free and open to the public, with no reservations required. The lecture and Q&A session will also be streamed live on YouTube for remote viewers.
Caltech’s Stargazing Lecture Series is designed to make astronomy accessible to the public through free lectures, interactive discussions, and telescope viewing opportunities. Events are held at the Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics and are intended for audiences of all backgrounds.
Additional information, including directions and weather updates, is available through Caltech Astronomy Outreach.
> For remote viewers, the event will be live-streamed on YouTube.
Public Lecture
8:00 pm – 8:45 pm
Panel Q&A and Guided Stargazing
8:45 pm – 9:45 pm