Gravitational Lensing – May 15

One hundred years ago, Einstein predicted that light rays would bend in the space near a massive object — much as light rays refract in an optical lens. Today, we use this fact to weigh galaxies, to discover planets of other stars, and to “see” invisible black holes. How did this idea of gravitational lensing come about, and how do we use it today to probe all fields of astrophysics?

Our speaker, Fatima Abdurrahman, is a 5th-year PhD student and researcher in the Astronomy Department at UC Berkeley. She is also a Wonderfest Science Envoy. This event is part of the 2021 Mt. Tam Astronomy Program.