Los Angeles is a pretty awesome place for astronomy buffs. Observatories dot our hillsides and mountaintops. There's a space shuttle in the middle of Exposition Park. The Port of Los Angeles has turned into a temporary spaceport.
L.A. also happens to be a damned good place to go drinking. One event, Astronomy on Tap, has combined our fondness for both full-bodied beers and celestial bodies.
The series brings astronomy lectures and pub games once a month to Der Wolfskopf—an appropriate location given that Pasadena is home to the Carnegie Observatories, the Planetary Society and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Each month, a different pair of scientists, typically from one of those previously mentioned locations as well as UCLA, delivers a short lecture over drinks.
The evening starts with two 15-minute talks and includes opportunities to compete in an astronomy quiz with the chance to win NASA prizes. Attendance is free and includes access to happy hour food and drink pricing at the German beer hall throughout the event.
Astronomy on Tap started in New York in 2013, and since then has spread to over a dozen cities. Here in L.A., Caltech has spearheaded the programming.
For Monday's event, the first of 2017, Dr. Adric Riedel will present a lecture entitled "The Speed of Light is Slow" while Dr. Johanna Teske will tackle "The Discovery of Dark Matter: Vera Rubin’s Missing Nobel Prize."
Astronomy on Tap takes place one Monday a month at Der Wolfskopf in Pasadena. The next event takes place January 23 from 7:30 to 9:30pm.
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