Supporting STEM Education in Northern New Mexico
The Los Alamos National Laboratory, University of New Mexico, St. John's College, and Santa Fe Community College have partnered to host Dr. Gabriela Gonzalez of Louisiana State University and spokesperson of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. We are honored to have Dr. Gonzalez present LIGO's groundbreaking detection of gravitational waves to the local community. The event will be held on September 19, 2016 in the Grand Ballroom at the Eldorado Hotel. Doors open at 7:00 pm and the talk will begin at 7:30 pm.
For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos.
Gravitational waves carry information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained. Physicists have concluded that the detected gravitational waves were produced during the final fraction of a second of the merger of two black holes to produce a single, more massive spinning black hole. This collision of two black holes had been predicted but never observed.
The Bradbury Science Museum Association supports and inspires learners of all ages in Northern New Mexico and beyond through STEM Education.
