January 20, 2019 7-10PM

Event Type: Special Lecture and Stargazing with Lunar Eclipse
Title: The Dawn of the Age of Gravitational-Wave and Multi-Messenger Astronomy
Lecturer: Jameson Rollins
Position: Staff Scientist
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
The world-wide network of gravitational wave detectors led by LIGO has now observed 11 astrophysical gravitational-wave events: ten from merging black holes and one from the merger of two neutron stars. The neutron star merger was of particular interest since it was followed up with traditional astronomical observations by almost every telescope on the planet. This event heralded the true beginning of the age of multi-messenger astronomy, where scientists observe an astronomical event by two distinct physical "messengers", in this case gravitational waves and light. This talk will recap these discoveries and forecast some of the exciting things that await us in this new age of astronomy.