Exploiting the power of nearby laboratories to uncover the history of galaxies
Svea S Hernandez (STScI)

Metallicities of galaxies at all redshifts are critical for deciphering a plethora of physical and evolutionary processes taking place among and inside galaxies, including star formation, stellar feedback and interstellar/intergalactic chemical enrichment. Studies of local star-forming galaxies (SFGs) can be performed at exquisite signal-to-noise and spatial resolution, which are not achievable at higher redshift. Therefore, these studies establish a baseline in understanding how gas and stellar properties evolve through cosmic time. I take advantage of the unique FUV spectroscopic capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope, along with the high sensitivity in the MIR of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and complement our space observations with those from several ground-based telescopes to investigate a sample of local galaxies, which span a wide range in morphological types, metallicities and star formation rates. The results from my metallicity studies of nearby (<100 Mpc) galaxies will be discussed with a dedicated focus on their stellar, neutral-gas, and ionized-gas components. I will show how using spectroscopic observations of star clusters and their nearby gas allows us to observe the chemical evolution of galaxies through a much larger window in both space and time. Lastly, I will present some of the most recent results from our JWST program dedicated to dissect a key ingredient in the recipe for star formation: molecular gas. I will close with a brief discussion on the implications these data have in the understanding of the processes that drive the evolution of galaxies.

It's a competition for some, a team event for some, a fun run/walk for others. Keep the tradition going and come out and do this race or volunteer.

Everyone is Welcome!
ACTUAL TIME: 11:10 - 11:55