4th December 2006

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What makes stars twinkle at night? What are black holes? And why is a telescope like a time machine?
These and other questions will be answered at the next Science in Society lecture, sponsored by Bank of Ireland, this week.

Organised by the University’s School of Biomedical Sciences, the lecture series aims to promote discussion and understanding of science and its relevance to society.

Guest lecturer Professor Paul Callanan from University College Cork will present a lecture entitled Finding the Invisible: Astronomy and Black Holes, at the Coleraine campus.

Professor Callanan explains that although optical astronomy has been studied for thousands of years, technological advances have allowed our knowledge of the universe to improve dramatically in recent years.

“New types of astronomy, such as those focusing on the infra-red or X-ray windows of the electromagnetic spectrum, have also had a remarkable impact on our studies of the Cosmos.

“My talk will explain some of the technology and the techniques that underpin modern astronomy and then outline how they are used to study the mysterious phenomenon of Black Holes."

Finding the Invisible: Astronomy and Black Holes will take place at 7.30pm on Tuesday 05 December, LT8, Coleraine.

The Science in Society lecture series re-commences after the Christmas break on Tuesday January 23 2007 with a lecture by Dr Neil Levy from the University of Melbourne on Evolution and Morality.

For further information, please contact:

Trina Porter
Telephone: 028 71675511
Email: Trina Porter