LSC’s Space Talk with Dr. Jenny Greene explores the mystery of intermediate-mass black holes
On Feb. 2, 2023, Liberty Science Center hosted Dr. Jenny Greene, Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University, for our latest Space Talk: “Black Holes in Focus.” Dr. Greene is one of the world’s experts on a particular class of black holes called intermediate-mass black holes.
At the center of all massive galaxies in the universe, we find supermassive black holes which are millions or even billions of times the mass of the Sun. However, we don’t quite fully understand just how these black holes form!
Dr. Greene’s work focuses on finding and studying intermediate-mass black holes, which are hundreds or thousands of times the mass of the Sun. These smaller black holes are thought to be the seeds, or the beginnings, of the supermassive black holes we see today!
The revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope assists Dr. Greene with her research; it’s able to see further away and further back in time than any other telescope ever built. In her Space Talk presentation, Dr. Greene displayed some of the latest images from the telescope in LSC’s Jennifer Chalsty Planetarium – the largest planetarium in the country – and explored how she uses these images to locate intermediate mass black holes.
Thank you to Dr. Greene for joining us! Watch her FULL Space Talk presentation in 360 degrees below:
Join us next month, on March 2, 2023, as we welcome Dr. Marc Favata from Montclair State University for his Space Talk all about how we use gravitational waves to study the universe. The Space Talk is FREE with admission to LSC After Dark, and is only for guests 21+. Click here to learn more and reserve your spot now.
