University hosting: University of Leicester

Location: Online

Event Information: Generally speaking, blowing up a star in the lab is frowned upon because a) it would destroy the Earth and b) the star won’t fit in the lab in the first place. As an astrophysicist, however, our labs are the universe and no-one seems to object when it is the one blowing things up. An astrophysicist’s job is to study those explosions using advanced satellites to learn about the fundamental workings of the universe. In this talk, you’ll be introduced to the most powerful explosions we know of gamma-ray bursts and understand why you wouldn’t exist without them. Along the way we’ll take in X-rays (and why Superman is a liar), new-born black holes, gravitational waves and how we can learn so much about the universe from what is basically just a dot on the sky.

This event is suitable for: Year 12 and Year 13

How to book a place: You can book your FREE place on this webpage. You will then be sent the link the day before the session or on the day. If you have any problems or questions emails us at progression@le.ac.uk.

Recording your attendance on the RO student hub: Please email progression@le.ac.uk after the event so that your attendance can be logged on the RO database. Please include your full name, the date, time and title of the event. Uploading attendance to the RO student hub after the event is a manual process so can take some time – please do not worry about this.