PI Public Lecture Series:
Title: The Weirdest Stars in the Universe
Abstract: How big can a star get? Why would a star only pretend to explode? Can you hide one star inside another?
Take a tour of some of the strangest stellar phenomena in the universe during this talk featuring Emily Levesque. From the biggest, brightest, and most volatile stars to the explosive fireworks of core-collapse supernovae and the fascinating physics of gravitational waves, "weird" stars serve as a common thread for exploring our universe's history, evolution, and extremes. Levesque will discuss the history of stellar astronomy, present-day observing techniques, and exciting new discoveries, and explore some of the most puzzling and bizarre objects being studied by astronomers today.
Emily Levesque is an Assistant Professor of Astronomy at the University of Washington in Seattle. Her research accolades include a 2017 Alfred P. Sloan fellowship in physics and 2014 Annie Jump Cannon research prize from the American Astronomical Society. She was both an Einstein and Hubble postdoctoral fellow at the University of Colorado, and received her PhD in astronomy from the University of Hawaii and her S.B. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Attendance to the lecture is free, but advance tickets are required. Due to the overwhelming response to past lectures, tickets will be honoured until 6:45 pm only. If you have not arrived by 6:45 pm your reservation may be filled by guests in our waiting line, and you may be asked to join the end of the waiting line.