January 29, 2021 7-9PM

Event Type: Lecture and Stargazing
Title: An Insider's Look Behind Science Headlines
Lecturer: Sarah Blunt
Position: PhD Candidate
Institution: Caltech
Abstract:
How do scientific discoveries become headlines? In this talk, I'll outline my experience with the scientific press. I'll begin by recounting the story of HR 5183 b, a super-Jupiter exoplanet in a wacky egg-shaped orbit. We discovered this object by monitoring its host star for almost 20 years, tracking its speed and looking for signs of exoplanet gravitational influence. The star appeared to be stationary for most of the time we observed it, but it began rapidly accelerating a few years ago, revealing the presence of a planet on a highly eccentric orbit. I'll take you through why this discovery was exciting to scientists, how we "spun" the story for the general public (including collaborating with a science artist!), and how the story evolved as it traversed the internet.