Current list of 33 satellites in the GHOULS target list and their position relative to the Milky Way
GHOSTS AND GHOULs:
The Nightmare Before Solstice
with Lauren Harrison and Riley Friesen
University of Victoria
Lauren Harrison adjusts a telescope at the University of Victoria
Riley Friesen observes with the University of Victoria 32” telescope
This past summer, Lauren Harrison and Riley Friesen were both working under the direction of Dr. Kim Venn as part of the Near Field Cosmology group. Their project involved studying the spectra of stars taken with the GHOST spectrograph at Gemini South, which is the instrument being used to study 46 Milky Way satellites in the GHOULS survey. GHOULS stands for the GHOST Ultra-faint Legacy Survey, studying the faintest satellites of the Milky Way to determine their dark matter contents and chemical evolution. Together, they measured the radial velocities used for their dynamics to infer the mass of the Milky Way, and their chemical abundances to provide insight into the origin of the elements.
Lauren and Riley are both Physics and Astronomy undergraduates at the University of Victoria. Lauren and Riley have both worked at the UVic Observatory operating the 32 inch DFM telescope and hosting observatory open house nights. Currently, Riley is leading a project entitled Smsma ala micmik'lh ats, which is Nuxalk phrase translating roughly to "Star Stories" where he is travelling to different communities to host astronomy related outreach events. Previously, Lauren worked at Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Summer 2024 with the radio astronomy team to create educational outreach videos.
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets available Monday December 8, 2025 at 5pm below.
We are piloting a new ticketing system. Thank you for being patient with us as we make this transition.
Tickets will be available Monday at 5pm on this page 12 days prior to the event.