Spacepoint: LISA

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7TH | 6-9 PM | PIONEER ROOM | ALL AGES | $25

SPACEPOINT PRESENTS...

LISA (LASER INTERFEROMETER SPACE ANTENNA)

ESA & NASA's ground breaking Space Based Laser Antenna: A Gravitational Wave Detector the Size of our Sun!

Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one of the best science presenters in the country, astrophysicist Dr. Shane Larson, discuss NASA & the ESA's new larger-than-life project: the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA). LISA is built to detect ripples in the fabric of spacetime itself, and it's a rotating space laser made of three spacecraft separated by millions of miles – making the observatory larger than the sun. No, really.

Sound like science fiction? It's real, and Dr. Larson - whose current work is the upcoming LISA space mission - is coming to Boise to talk about it. Not only is the science mind-blowing, but Dr. Larson is renowned for his incredible presentations and engaging keynotes. You won't want to miss it! This talk will explore the modern description of gravity, what gravitational waves are and how we hope to measure them, and what we hope to learn from their detection. LISA observations will unveil the stories of what happens when two black holes collide, how stars get gobbled up by them, and of how the graveyard of the galaxy is filled with the quiet whisper of binary white dwarf stars.

Tickets are all inclusive including a Meet & Greet with Dr. Larson before the talk, and delightful small bites in the beautiful JUMP building. Free JUMP! parking vouchers upon checkin!

6 PM - Meet & Greet with Dr. Shane Larson

7 PM - Talk Begins

8 PM - Spacecamp Scholarships Challenge

Read Dr Larson's Talk abstract below:

Virtually everything we know about the Universe has been discovered from the study of photons --- light in all its myriad forms from radio waves, to visible light, to x-rays and beyond. At the dawn of the 21st century, advanced technology is providing access to the Cosmos through detection of ripples in the fabric of spacetime itself -- gravitational waves.

We'll focus on the forthcoming space gravitational wave observatory, LISA, being launched in the early 2030s by ESA and NASA. LISA observations will unveil the stories of what happens when two black holes collide at the centers of galaxies, of how the compact stars fall into monstrous black holes, and of how the graveyard of the galaxy is filled with the quiet whisper of binary white dwarf stars that spiral together ever so slowly as they fade into oblivion. Gravity has a story to tell, and in this talk, we'll explore some of discoveries we hope to make.

- Dr. Shane Larson