Big Bangs and Black Holes

Join Professor Carole Mundell as she discusses Active Galactic Nuclei and Gamma Ray Bursts, both powered by black holes.

Although the idea of 'black holes' dates back over 200 years, they remained a speculation until the late 20th century. Their existence has now been confirmed by observation but questions regarding their creation and far-reaching consequences are at the forefront of modern astronomy. Astronomers can never hope to travel to black holes and so instead rely on the coded information contained within the light detected from these distant objects. The visible light to which our human eyes are most sensitive has enriched culture for thousands of years. However, this light represents only a small fraction of the total light available for collection; technological advances in the 20th and 21st centuries have ensured that we can collect light ranging from the highest energy gamma rays, through X-rays to long wavelength radio waves - the whole range of the 'electromagnetic spectrum'. In this talk, Professor Carole Mundell from Liverpool John Moores University will introduce some of the most powerful phenomena in the Universe that are driven by black holes, big and small - Active Galactic Nuclei and Gamma Ray Bursts. astronomer in the modern era of robotic telescopes and real-time discoveries.

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