Space Talk presentation with Columbia’s Dr. Brian Metzger explores the study of gravitational waves
On May 4, 2023, Liberty Science Center hosted Dr. Brian Metzger, professor at Columbia University, for our latest Space Talk: “A Goldmine in Gravitational Waves.”
Our Earth, our bodies – and everything we interact with every single day – is made up of elements. Only two of those elements, hydrogen and helium, were around at the very beginning of the universe. So where did the rest of these elements come from, especially heavy elements like gold and platinum? Dr. Brian Metzger’s work involves investigating answers to this very important question!
In recent years, we have been able to detect and observe some of the highest energy events in the universe: the collisions of neutron stars. We are able to observe these events by detecting gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space itself – using specialized detectors.
At Dr. Metzger’s Space Talk in the country’s largest planetarium, we explored and visualized these incredible events and learned how scientists study them. Dr. Metzger shared with us the incredible conclusion that the gold and platinum we find on Earth was actually created in the ancient collisions of neutron stars!
Join us next month, on June 1, for our next Space Talk at LSC After Dark. In this next presentation, we'll be joined Dr. David Grinspoon, Senior Scientist at the Planetary Science Institute, for an exploration of climate change throughout the solar system. Click here to learn more and reserve your spot now!
