taste of science: Astronomy on Tap

taste of science partners with Astronomy on Tap in this journey into the universe, from ancient earth and exoplanets to black holes and cosmic collisions.

Colliding Neutron Stars: Gravitational Waves, Gold, and a Gamma-Ray Burst

Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity predicts the existence of ripples in the fabric of space-time. In the past few years, such gravitational waves have been detected from several pairs of merging black holes. And on October 16, 2017, astronomers announced the detection of a merging pair of neutron stars with both gravitational waves and electromagnetic waves (light)! This cosmic collision produced a gamma-ray burst, gold and other precious metals, and probably a black hole.

Speaker: Alex Fillipenko, UC Berkeley

Earth waaay before the dinosaurs and how to search for alien life

I will discuss why and how exploring the very ancient earth is important in our quest to find life beyond Earth. This presentation will be a medley of astronomy and geology.

Speaker: Sanjoy Som

Exoplanets: Worlds outside our Solar System

Most of the planets found by Nasa's Kepler space science mission aren’t anything like the planets in our solar system. With a closer look at populations of planets from the Kepler mission, we are beginning to put the solar system into context and to start to zoom in on the best opportunities for the future exploration of life in the universe.

Speaker: Megan Shabram. NASA Ames