‘Under the Evening Skies’
In celebration of the IYA, the UKZN Astrophysics and Cosmology Research Unit offers various public events during the SAIP Conference.
DATE: 7-9 July 2009
VENUE: Graduate School of Business, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville Campus
DAILY PROGRAMME:
20:00-20:30 – Public lecture (Astronomy)
20:30-21:30 - Telescope viewing and guided tour of the naked eye sky
Please contact Prashina Budree for any queries:
083 2610 228
031 260 8077
email
SAIP 2009 Public Lecture: "The Oldest Light in the Universe"
This year's SAIP Public Lecture will take place on 9 July and will be delivered by Dr Jonathan Sievers of the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics.
DATE: 9 July 2009
TIME: 5.45 p.m. for 6 p.m.
VENUE: Lecture Room 1, T Block, Westville Campus, University of KwaZulu-Natal
ABSTRACT:
The universe was born in a titanic fireball we call the Big Bang. We are still surrounded by the heat and light from the Big Bang, though the expansion of the universe has cooled the temperature of the universe to just 3 degrees above absolute zero. Still, we are continuously bathed in this leftover radiation, and in fact the Big Bang contributes about 1% to the static in TV and radio signals. Because light takes time to travel, by looking at this radiation, astronomers can see back in time and take a snapshot of the universe when it was just 400,000 years old. I explain how we take this snapshot, and some of the things we learn from it, including the age of the universe and what it's made of.
The Life and Death of Stars
Case Rijsdijk will give a public talk at the ASSA Durban Centre, discussing the life and death of stars.