100 Years of Einstein's Relativity (and How it Underlies our Modern Understanding of the Universe)

2015 marks the 100^th anniversary of Einstein's completion of his General Theory of Relativity, the comprehensive theory of space, time, and gravity.  As part of the international celebrations, Dr. Bennett, a noted astronomer, educator, and author, is embarked on a "National Relativity Tour" to discuss how we need relativity to understand the cosmos.  In his talk, he will explain the basic ideas of Einstein's work in everyday language and will show us how Einstein's remarkable ideas are being applied to black holes, gravitational lenses, and the unfolding story of the universe itself. 

Jeffrey Bennett is the author of college-level textbooks in astronomy, astrobiology, mathematics, and statistics, as well as the popular books What is Relativity? and Beyond UFO's: The Search for Extraterrestrial Life. His five books for children are currently aboard the International Space Station, and being read to kids on Earth by astronauts during "Story Time from Space."  He has a PhD from the University of Colorado, and has been a Visiting Senior Scientists at NASA Headquarters.

Dr. Bennett will be signing copies of "What is Relativity" after the lecture, in Appreciation Hall.

The lecture is co-sponsored by:

* The Astronomical Society of the Pacific

* The SETI Institute
* NASA Ames Research Center
* The Foothill College Astronomy Program.

We get large crowds for these talks, so we ask people to try to arrive a little bit early to find parking.  The lecture is free, but there is a charge of $3 for parking on campus and exact change is appreciated.

Past lectures in the series can be found on YouTube at http:// www.youtube.com/SVAstronomyLectures