Seeking the Invisible: Detecting Supermassive Black Holes in Space

Evening Program

Evening Lecture/Seminar

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 - 6:45 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. ET

Code: 1A0142

Location:

This program is part of our
Smithsonian Associates Streaming series.

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$20

Member

$25

Non-Member

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The first image of a black hole, April, 2019 (Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration)

STREAMING PROGRAM INFORMATION

This program is part of our Smithsonian Associates Streaming series.
Platform: Zoom
Online registration is required.
If you register multiple individuals, you will be asked to supply individual names and email addresses so they can receive a Zoom link email. Please note that if there is a change in program schedule or a cancellation, we will notify you via email, and it will be your responsibility to notify other registrants in your group.

We know that monstrous black holes, one million to several billion times the mass of the sun, lurk in the centers of almost every large galaxy in the universe. They can have a profound effect on those galaxies and are capable of giving rise to the loudest gravitation signals in the universe when they merge.

Shobita Satyapal, a physics and astronomy professor at George Mason University, discusses several significant recent events in black hole astrophysics: the imaging of the event horizon of the M87 galaxy’s black hole; detection of colliding black holes from the LIGO interferometer; and the awarding of the 2020 Nobel Prize in physics to Andrea Ghez and Reinhard Genzel for identifying the supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy.

Then, Peter Plavchan brings the skies into your living room with remote control of the GMU Observatory. Weather permitting, enjoy a remote tour of the observatory after the program.

NOTE: Next GMU Observatory program will be The Future of Humanity in Space on March 17.

Patron Information

Unless otherwise noted, registration for streaming programs typically closes two hours prior to the start time on the date of the program.
Once registered, patrons should receive an automatic email confirmation from CustomerService@SmithsonianAssociates.org.
Separate Zoom link information will be emailed closer to the date of the program. If you do not receive your Zoom link information 24 hours prior to the start of the program, please email Customer Service for assistance.
View Common FAQs about our Streaming Programs on Zoom.