Special Astronomy Lecture

Nehru Planetarium cordially invites you to a Special Astronomy Lecture by Professor Srinivas Kulkarni, McArthur Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Planetary Sciences at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. USA.The topic of the lecture is “Cosmic Explosions” The lecture will be held on Friday, 24 October 2008 at 5 p.m. at Nehru Centre’s Hall of culture, Worli, Mumbai 400018.

Suhas B. Naik-Satam

Prog.Coordinator (Scientific)

Nehru Planetarium

Worli, Mumbai-400 018

Abstract:

Many of us think that the heavens are serene and calm. However, most of the interesting things in the universe starting from the birth of the Universe happen during explosions.  The most notable cosmic explosions are supernovae, which mark the death of massive stars.  During the explosion heavy elements (critical for our existence) are created. Cosmic explosions, thanks to their brilliance, allow astronomers to probe the young Universe and even infer the existence of dark energy. Over the past decade astronomers have uncovered new types of cosmic explosions.  The speaker will summarize these new developments in the field of cosmic explosions (namely gamma-ray bursts) and proceed to speculate on yet new classes of cosmic explosions.

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