Evenings with Astronomers: MOSFIRE – A Backstage Pass to Frontier Science and Operations at Keck

The MOSFIRE instrument is a case example of how Keck Observatory maintains its position as a premiere optical and infrared observatory by continuously implementing complex innovations that lead to astronomical discoveries both imagined and unforeseen. During this presentation, Dr. Marc Kassis, Keck Observatory Support Astronomer, will share with you the advances MOSFIRE has made, some of the instrument’s technical challenges, and the complex observing strategies employed by Keck astronomers to achieve their scientific goals. Dr. Kassis will also share recent MOSFIRE discoveries spanning our local neighborhood of exoplanets to galaxies at the far reaches of the universe; all of which he has witnessed in the two years since MOSFIRE’s first light on the Keck I telescope.