The Big Bang, Inflation, and Latest Results from BICEP2 – May 14, 2014
by Jason Kendall
Heard all this talk of gravity waves in the news lately? Want to know what it’s all about? Then come join us!
The science of astronomy has always opened new doors to discovery when a new observing technology is developed. In 1609 Galileo looked to the heavens with the first telescope, beginning what we now call the Scientific Era. In 1931, Karl Jansky viewed the sky in radio waves, seeing the Sun’s emission and heralding a new vision of the cosmos. During the Cold War, orbiting gamma-ray treaty-monitoring telescopes detected elusive signals from the deaths of massive stars.
Now, in 2015, a new era of observation will commence. It is then that the very first gravitational wave sources will be seen by the LIGO and VIRGO gravitational wave detectors. This completely new area of observation will be able to probe the final milliseconds of colliding black holes, as space-time warps and twists under their violent death-dance. As a neutron star rotates, tiny changes in its crust cause starquakes that would make a nuclear bomb look like a firefly. Even more tantalizing, gravitational waves are thought to be produced during the first moments of the Big Bang. The first detection will open up a new field of discovery, as we listen for the sounds of the ringing universe.
Now with the latest results from the BICEP2 collaboration, there is tantalizing evidence that these primordial gravitational waves have been detected and that their detection leads researchers to think that the Inflationary epoch really did happen in the first moments after the Big Bang. This lecture session will go over the elements of the Big Bang, and focus on the inflationary paradigm.
Where: American Museum of Natural History – Linder Theatre (enter on 77th st.)
When: May 14, 2014; 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Astro Answers is free for AAA members, $10 for non-members.
(Another great reason to become a member!)
Pre-registration is required for members and non-members.ˆàˆà
About the speaker:
Jason Kendall, Astronomy Liaison at William Paterson University, will lead you on a journey into the next great uncharted country from whose bourne, the first traveler may return.
*This is not an AMNH event. ˆàThis event is organized and run by the AAA.