“GoTo, Black Gem, and the hunt for the optical counterpart of Gravitational wave events.”

Abstract:

The discovery of gravitational waves in 2015 was the culmination of

decades of developing and building ever more sensitive

instruments. However, these observations cant pin-point exactly where

in the sky these bursts come from. If astronomers can identify the

electromagnetic counterpart of such events we can gain so much more

information about the nature of the event. The GOTO and BlackGem

optical surveys are two projects which aim to detect these

counterparts. I will outline how they go about searching for transient

events, their discoveries and highlight how the wider public can help

in this work.

Bio:

Gavin obtained his PhD in X-ray observations of accreting binary stars

from UCL’s Mullard Space Science Lab, after which he spent two years

at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Returing to MSSL for

more than ten years, he then moved to Armagh Observatory. His

interests include aaccreting binaries, stellar activity, transients

and exo-planets and uses multi-wavelength observations from radio to

X-ray bands. He is the Community Scientist for ESA’s Plato mission due

to be launched in 2026.

VENUE: Larmor Lecture Theatre, Astrophysics Research Centre, Physics Building, QUB.

Admission free, including light refreshments, All welcome.