Cork Astronomy Club is for anyone with an interest in astronomy, amateur or otherwise, regardless of knowledge or experience. They promote an interest in astronomy and related subjects to our members and to the general public. For their March 10th meeting, just outside Astronomy Week they welcome Dr Niels Warburton who is an assistant Professor at University College Dublin and a member of the LISA Consortium.

He will give an introduction to gravitational waves, ripples in the fabric of space and time, and compare how they detect them with traditional, electromagnetic astronomy.  He will then discuss the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a proposed space-based detector that was recently adopted by the European Space Agency and NASA for launch in ~2035.  He will conclude with an overview of a particularly interesting source for LISA: Extreme Mass Ratio Inspirals, where a compact object orbits a supermassive black hole. 

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/LISA   https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/LISA_Pathfinder_factsheet

ESA’s mission, LISA, will capture and study ripples in the fabric of spacetime. These ripples, which we call gravitational waves, are emitted during some of the most powerful events in the Universe. An example of a system creating gravitational waves is a pair of black holes orbiting each other and heading for a collision. The acceleration of their huge masses shakes the fabric of space-time and creates ripples. The LISA mission has three spacecraft that will fly in formation. Together they form an equilateral triangle connected by laser beams, trailing the Earth during its orbit around the Sun. Inside each spacecraft sit two free-floating golden cubes, also called test-masses.

Where and when:  UCC’s Ashley Cummins building (formerly known as Civil Engineering, near College Road entrance to the main campus).   8 pm, Monday 10^th March 2025.  Please arrive 10 minutes early or earlier if you wish to join our Club.  This is a public lecture, all welcome. See MAP

For More information go to https://corkastronomyclub.com/