Black Hole Survival Guide with Dr. Janna Levin

08/01/21 • 70 min

May 22, 2021, Dr. Janna Levin (Columbia University's Barnard College)
Dr. Levin helps us to understand, and to find delight in, black holes – perhaps the most opaque theoretical construct ever imagined by physicists. She takes us on an exploratory tour of the neighborhood of a black hole, and help us feel the visceral experience of encountering black holes of different masses. The title of the talk is also the title of her recently published popular-level book. (Originally scheduled for April, this talk had technical problems, and was re-recorded successfully in May.)

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Lick Observatory During Pandemics: 1918 and 2020 (with Dr. Elinor Gates)

Lick Observatory, the first continuously inhabited mountain-top observatory in the world, has been doing ground-breaking research since its opening in 1888. 30 years after Lick Observatory established itself as a leader in astronomical research, the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic hit the United States. Research, while hampered by the conditions at the time, continued with the dedicated efforts of some of the notable astronomers of the day. In 2020, the Observatory was hit by both the current pandemic and one of the worst Northern California wildfires in history. Dr. Gates compares how astronomers in 1918 and today have coped with these challenges. [By the way, the public can help these efforts; go to http://bit.ly/lickfriends ]
Dr. Elinor Gates is a staff astronomer at Lick Observatory. Her current research interests are studying quasars and their host galaxies, discovering dust-obscured quasars, and measuring the masses of central black holes in distant active galaxies. Asteroid (2650) Elinor is named in Dr. Gates’ honor.

Next Episode

Planet 9 from Outer Space with Dr. Michael Brown

Dr. Brown (whose discovery of dwarf planet Eris led to the reclassification of Pluto) discusses the history of planetary discovery (and demotion), why we think a new, larger Planet 9 is on the verge of being found, and the techniques that we are using to try to find this very faint body lurking in the far reaches of our planetary system. This was recorded Nov. 11, 2020.