Black Holes: The End of Time or a New Beginning?

While black holes are popularly associated with death and doom, astrophysicists increasingly see them as creators not destroyers. New research suggests that black holes play a major role in the formation and evolution of galaxies, stars and planets. Dr. Blandford will summarize why scientists now think that black holes (of various sizes) actually do exist, describe some of their strange properties, and explain their environmental impact on the universe at large.  The talk will conclude with a preview of some new approaches to learning about the weird and wonderful behavior of black holes.

Speaker: Dr. Roger Blandford, Stanford