Flares and Fireworks from Black Holes

SLAC Public Lecture, 25 July 2017, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, CA
San Francisco Amateur Astronomers, 25 February 2018
San Jose Astronomical Society, 28 July 2018

Black holes are some of the most exotic and extreme objects in the universe. Though they sound like the stuff of science fiction, they are real and much more common than you might think. Every galaxy has a black hole lurking at its center! Also, these black holes are not actually black, because matter falling into black holes liberates energy that can power some of the brightest objects we see in the night sky. In this lecture you will find out exactly what a black hole is, how we can find them, and how they can flare intensely — giving rise to impressive firework displays and launching vast jets of plasma at close to the speed of light.

Further Reading

• Gravity's Fatal Attraction – 2nd Ed, M. Begelman and M. Rees, 2010, Cambridge University Press