Black hole expert Dr. Philip Armitage to present at LSC on May 31
Black holes are one of the most mysterious phenomena in the universe. But this Friday, May 31, you can get a new perspective on black holes when we’re joined by Dr. Philip Armitage, professor of physics and astronomy at Stony Brook University.
In his presentation in LSC’s Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, the biggest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, Dr. Armitage will explore some exciting breakthroughs in the study of black holes, from the observation of colliding black holes to the recent release of the first picture ever taken of a black hole.
You can experience Dr. Armitage’s presentation, “New Light on Black Holes,” on Friday, May 31 at 8:00 pm during our Friday Nights @ LSC event, followed by a Q&A. The presentation and Q&A are free with general admission (click here for tickets).
In the days leading up to his presentation, we caught up with Dr. Armitage about the future of black hole research, the most exciting moment of his career, and beyond.
What do you think the future of black hole research looks like?
The next few years of astronomical black hole research will see us begin to exploit the revolutionary new windows on black holes opened by LIGO and the Event Horizon Telescope. We will observe many more mergers of stellar mass black holes via gravitational waves, and obtain an image of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Center that may (or may not) resemble the one in M87.
Looking further ahead, black hole observations will be able to test general relativity in detail, and answer open questions such as how the supermassive black holes seen in the nuclei of galaxies formed in the first place.
What has been the most exciting moment of your career and why?
I'm a theorist, but astronomy is driven by new observations and the most exciting moments of my career have been the announcements of major discoveries. The discovery of the first extrasolar planet around a normal star, and the observation of gravitational waves from a merging black hole binary, are historic advances in science that I feel particularly lucky to have witnessed.
Can you share one cool fact you'll discuss in your presentation on May 31?
Every 100,000 years or so, the supermassive black hole in our galaxy is expected to destroy a star that ventures too close, and light up in X-ray and ultraviolet radiation as it consumes the debris.
Why do you think it's important for the public to take an interest in astronomy and space?
Astronomy is one of the sciences that we can all relate to, and if we wish, participate in – such as watching meteor showers or joining one of the many citizen science projects in astronomy.
Beyond that, questions such as whether there is life on other planets, and what will happen to the universe in the far future, are so basic as to hold a special fascination for many of us. I think it's exciting that, thanks to technological advances, we might be able to answer such fundamental questions in the next decades.
We can’t wait! Click here to get tickets to Friday Nights @ LSC on Friday, May 31. Dr. Armitage’s lecture begins at 8:00 pm in the Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium, followed by a Q&A.
