Merging-Neutron-Star-Themed Lecture and Astronomy on Tap Tonight and Monday

[Cameron Hummels]

Hello everyone,

For those of you who missed it, there was a major discovery announced this week of two merging neutron stars detected both by gravitational waves and by electromagnetic waves.  This discovery in essence has launched a new field of astrophysics as we are now able to study objects in many different ways using the light and gravitational waves they send across the vast expanse of space to us on Earth.  For more on the discovery, and a very nice explanatory video, please see this article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/16/science/ligo-neutron-stars-collision.html

Lecture Tonight @ 8PM

To help celebrate the significance of this event, we have two special events open to the public this weekend.  Tonight, we have a public lecture and stargazing event, with the lecture being given by, Professor Mansi Kasliwal, the principle investigator of the team to study the merger with the Hubble Space Telescope.  After that, we'll also have members of her team, the LIGO team, and the Swope Optical Discovery Team to answer your questions related to this event as well as any other questions you have relating to astronomy, physics, and science.  So bring your questions!  We'll also have telescopes set up for guided stargazing on the adjacent fields, and we might even catch a meteor or two from the Orionids meteor shower. http://outreach.astro.caltech.edu

Astronomy on Tap @ 7:30PM Monday

In addition, we will have a special Astronomy on Tap session on Monday at 7:30PM focusing on the neutron star merger with talks by Dr. Jameson Rollins, a LIGO scientist, Dr. Nadia Blagorodnova, a member of the Hubble Space Telescope follow-up team, and Dr. Maria Drout, a member of the Swope Optical Discovery Team.  As usual, we'll have time set aside for you to interact with astronomers while drinking a beer in between talks, and an astronomy-themed quiz with prizes.  You won't want to miss it! http://outreach.astro.caltech.edu

Flyers for both events are attached below.  Hope to see you then!

Cameron

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Cameron Hummels

NSF Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of Astronomy

California Institute of Technology

http://chummels.org