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July 11
Observing the Universe with Gravitational Waves
Venue:
Adirondack Sky Center & Observatory
Location:
178 Big Wolf Rd, Tupper Lake
Date:
July 11
Hours:
7:00pm

Join us at the Observatory on Saturday for a Special Presentation

Observing the Universe with Gravitational Waves

Presented by Tufts University Professor Ken Olum

Saturday July 11, 2026  7:00pm


Outdoor presentation at the Observatory, 178 Big Wolf Rd, with stargazing after*


Gravitational waves are ripples in spacetime emitted by massive objects in rapid motion.  Since 2015 we have  observed gravitational waves oscillating many times per second coming from black holes and neutron stars orbiting and merging with each other.  Now we also have strong evidence for a background of gravitational waves that take years to oscillate.  It might come from pairs of black holes billions of times more massive than the sun, or from exotic sources in the very early universe.  Professor Olum will discuss both kinds of gravitational waves, how we observe them, and what we learn from them.

Ken Olum is a research professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Tufts University.  He primarily studies gravitational waves and cosmic strings.  He is part of the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav), which observes low-frequency gravitational waves through precision timing of pulsars.

Phone Numbers
  1. (518) 359-3538
Websites
  1. https://www.adirondackskycenter.org
Dates