Astronomy on Tap Leiden SPECIAL: Peering into Utter Darkness

Our next event will take place on Monday, November 25th at Rijkmuseum Boerhaave at 19:00 CET!

Join us for a night of astronomy with two intriguing talks by Sera Markoff and Phil Uttleyabout observing and studying black holes, the most eerie objects of the Universe.

This event is held in collboration with Boerhaave Borrelt. REGISTRATION IS NECESSARY, see the website: https://rijksmuseumboerhaave.nl/te-zien…/boebo-astronomy/ The doors will open at 19:00, and the talks will start at 19:30. As always, there will be fun games with which you can test your knowledge and try to win cool science prizes!

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• Sera Markoff: “* From imagining to imaging black holes *”

Originally from the US, Sera Markoff is a Professor of Theoretical High-Energy Astrophysics at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy and the GRavitation and AstroParticle Physics Centre of Excellence, at the University of Amsterdam. She sits on the Science Board of the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and helped present its first results to the world in 2019. Her research group studies how black holes energise their surroundings, including acting as particle accelerators. “Black holes are one of the strangest byproducts of Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity, with a clear prediction of a “point of no return” called the event horizon. In 2019 and 2022 the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration published the first direct images of light just outside two supermassive black holes, including our own Galaxy’s. She will explain what making these images entailed (like building a planet-sized telescope), as well as present some of our most recent results and puzzles, and a preview of what is to come.”

• Phil Uttley: “* X-raying black holes at ultra-high resolution *”

Phil Uttley is Associate Professor and Education coordinator at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy at the University of Amsterdam. His research group specialises in using X-ray variability to understand the regions closes to black holes. Together with a team at SRON, the Netherlands Space Research Institute in Leiden, he is using his knowledge of Fourier transforms to bring X-ray interferometric imaging to life. “He will talk about the quest to obtain the sharpest images ever obtained by humans, using a technique called X-ray interferometry. With a space X-ray interferometer we could reach resolutions equivalent to taking a picture of an atom from across the room. This would allow us to peek into black hole binary systems across our own galaxy and reveal their supermassive cousins across the universe. In his talk, he will show how this is possible and describe the challenges we must face along the way.”

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Logistical information:* Doors open at 19:00, so please arrive earlier to enter the museum, save a seat, and grab a drink. We will be uploading a recording of the talks on our*YouTube channelafter the event.

Join us for an evening of astronomy and fun games where you can win cool science prizes! All ages and backgrounds are welcome!

For more information check out http://astronomyontap.nl/