Public Astronomy Night March 3

Big Bangs in the Night Sky - the Explosive and Dynamic Universe Stars explode, black holes merge, galaxies collide, neutron stars pulse. The Universe is a ticking time bomb and it’s Dr Martin Bell's job work out where the next big-bang is going to come from. Hear about some of the latest research in time-domain astrophysics, in which we aim to detect and study dynamic and explosive objects in the Universe. Take a tour of the types of objects that can create Natures best firework displays, such as tidal disruption events, gamma ray bursts and relativistic jets from super massive black holes. Highlights will include a discussion of the recent discovery of a burst of radio waves following the cataclysmic death of two merging Neutron stars, which resulted in the detection of gravitational waves. Will also include the recent discovery of an Earth like planet around our nearest star system Proxima Centauri, which is a fairly badly behaved “flare” star and may not be capable of sustaining human life. Includes presentation, short 3D movie, tour of the dome and viewing of the night sky through a range of telescopes (weather permitting).