Cosmic Gold & Neutron Stars – Jan 7

Scientists have recently developed an entirely new way to “see” the universe: using gravitational waves predicted by Einstein nearly a century ago. These waves can teach us about some of the most exotic objects known, including black holes and neutron stars. Remarkably, they have also helped solve a longstanding puzzle about where in the universe some of the elements we know and love here on Earth are produced, including gold, platinum, uranium, and even californium!

Astronomer Eliot Quataert will describe the remarkable new results coming out of our first steps into the gravitational wave era of cosmic exploration. Dr. Quataert is Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Theoretical Astrophysics Center at UC Berkeley.

Eliot Quataert