Breakthrough! The detection of gravitational waves from a neutron star merger (Free Astronomy Public Lectures)
Free Astronomy Public Lectures
English - November 26, 2018 03:04 - 54 minutes - 56 MB - ★★★★★ - 6 ratingsEducation categories csv swinburne commons level3 Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Presented by Assoc. Prof. Tara Murphy on 23 November 2018. On August 17th 2017 the LIGO-Virgo interferometer detected gravitational waves from a neutron star merger in a galaxy 130 million light years away. This was a breakthrough for physics and astronomy. What followed was a frenzy of activity as astronomers around the world worked to detect electromagnetic radiation with conventional telescopes. After this unprecedented effort the event was detected in gamma-rays, x-rays, visible light and radio waves. I will discuss this incredible scientific result and its implications, including: predictions made by Einstein; the production of gold and other heavy elements; and our understanding of black hole formation. I will also give a 'behind the scenes' perspective of how it happened, and discuss the changes in the way we do science in this era of big astronomy.