The University Lecture theatres are CLOSED. This is an online Zoom meeting
February Meeting - Dr Susan Cartwright
Our next monthly meeting is on Thursday, 4th February 2021 at 7:30pm.
A Zoom talk: Supernova Neutrinos
A core-collapse supernova - the explosive death of a massive star - is one of the most spectacular events in astronomy. Supernova 1987A was visible to the naked eye, despite being 160000 light years away in the Magellanic Cloud; the supernova of 1034, which created the Crab Nebula, was visible in daylight for 23 days and at night for nearly two years. Yet these spectacular light shows involve only 1% of the energy released by the exploding star: the remaining 99% is emitted in the form of neutrinos. This was verified in 1987 by the detection of about 20 neutrinos from SN 1987A, but if a core-collapse supernova were to occur in our own Galaxy, our modern - much larger - neutrino detectors would see thousands of neutrinos.
In this talk I wll explain why supernovae produce neutrinos (and why neutrinos are necessary to produce supernovae), how we detect them, and what we might learn from the next Galactic supernova.
Dr Susan Cartwright
For details of this seasons meetings go to the meetings page.
In the light of the Coronavirus COVID-19 and the Government’s advice on social distancing we have suspended our monthly meetings.For the 2020 – 2021 season We are starting Zoom talks initially for GAS members only. Details will be sent via email. Please pop back to this page or our Facebook page (icon at top right of this web page) to check for updates. |
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During Lockdown we have a newsletter, GAS LIGHT, to help keep you entertained. You can find the current and previous issues at –
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If you have questions about astronomy, choosing and using telescopes and other equipment, John Evans may be able to help here –
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John Axtell has a forty minute, once a month, programme on Brooklands Radio. Details of which and a link to John’s podcast can be seen on our | Matt’s Books of the Month
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