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“Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the Galaxy lies a small unregarded yellow sun. Orbiting this at a distance of roughly ninety-two million miles is an utterly insignificant little blue green planet whose ape-descended life forms are so amazingly primitive that they still think digital watches are a pretty neat idea.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Unfortunately this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Unfortunately this venue is not wheelchair accessible.
How to grow your own galaxy
Ashley Kelly
(Department of Physics, Durham University)
Galaxies are bright collections of stars, dust, dark matter and planets. They are the main building blocks of the universe we live in. Understanding the processes involved in the formation and evolution of galaxies has been at the forefront of astronomy research for decades. Ashley will take us through cosmic time from the dawn of the earliest galaxies until today. We will talk about stars, gas and dark matter, and how each of these components interacts to produce the beautiful, complex structures that we call galaxies!
Active Galaxies and Super-massive Black Holes
Dr David Rosario
(Department of Physics, Durham University)
What does it mean for a galaxy to be “active”? Astronomers pursuing this question found out something amazing: there are black holes as big as our solar system, that can shine brighter than anything else in the Universe, and alter the nature of entire galaxies. David will describe how you can use everyday fluorescent lamps to understand active galaxies and the science behind the monstrous black holes that power them.
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