It was a packed house tonight for our lecture featuring Dr. Cameron Hummels explaining how scientists use computers to simulate different astrophysical phenomena. Cameron described how computers provide us with a means of creating "experiments" inside the virtual space of a computer, where we can control every factor by programming in the physical laws that we want to test. He provided some simple examples including falling and bouncing balls, planets orbiting the Sun, and then showcased some cutting-edge simulations involving supernovae, galaxy mergers, and the evolution of our Universe as a whole. Cameron even had a live demo where he logged on to the Blue Waters supercomputer, one of the fastest supercomputers in the world, and showed that it isn't as fancy as you might expect it to be based on its portrayal in movies and television programs.
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| Photo credit for all images: Christophe Marcade |
Afterwards, we had a panel Q&A from our experts to answer all of your questions about various fields within astrophysics including the cosmic microwave background, human space flight, and dark matter. Some excellent discussion was had!
Finally, people joined us on the adjacent field for excellent views of our Solar System and beyond. We had great views of many of our planetary neighbors including Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon. In between planetary targets, we spent some time looking at the Ring Nebula, a beautiful nearby planetary nebula, and Albireo, a great double star with two very differently colored stars.
The lecture and panel Q&A were recorded, so you can watch them at your leisure on this page. Thanks to all 150 people who came out tonight, and make sure to come back for our next event, Astronomy on Tap, in two weeks!
--Cameron
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