Space Cafe Tokyo, Feb 2026

"Bringing Sparkle into Galaxies: What Molecules Teach Us About Star Formation"

Our sun is not just crucial for life but is also just one of many stars residing in our galaxy, the Milky Way. However, in galaxies similar to our own, stars do not form at the same rate everywhere. What exactly inhibits or enhances the formation of new stars within galaxies? How was our sun able to form billions of years ago? To understand this, observations of molecules are the key. Dr. Sophia K. Stuber (NAOJ) will introduce the role of molecular studies in galaxies, and how they shed light on the birth of the next generation of stars.

Speaker info:
At the age of 16, Dr. Sophia K. Stuber completed a high-school year abroad in Gifu, Japan. It was difficult to follow the lessons as she could not read many Kanji. However, she discovered that mathematics is truly a universal language and her interest in the sciences was sparked. After completing her Bachelor, Master, and PhD in Astronomy at the Heidelberg University (executed at the Max-Planck Institute for Astronomy ), she is now happy to be back in Japan as a JSPS fellow at NAOJ in Tokyo, working with Dr. Nanase Harada. Her research focuses on the physics of nearby galaxies, including their dynamics and the star formation within

them.
Speaker's website: www.sophiastuber.de
YouTube channel of the PHANGs collaboration: https://www.youtube.com/@PHANGSteam/videos

---

We will be at Good Heavens British Bar in Shimokitazawa for a space-themed talk + drinks.
Doors open at 7:30pm | Speaker starts at 8pm
Tickets can be purchased at the door for ¥1500 and cover your first drink