Join us for our final talk of Samhain agus Science 2021 where Dr Erin Higgins looks at end of life black holes.

The most massive stars in our Universe collapse to form black holes at the end of their lives. In this talk we will look at how we can detect these massive black holes as they merge causing ripples in space-time. The stellar graveyard is populated with black holes of different masses, but there exists an upper mass limit where stars rip themselves apart in cataclysmic explosions, leaving no remnant behind. We will look at the most massive stellar black hole ever detected and explore how it may have formed right at the boundary of this upper limit.

About our Speaker

Erin is originally from Derry, where she joined an astronomy club at her local school Thornhill College, before undertaking work experience at the Armagh Observatory. After completing a bachelors degree in Physics with Astrophysics at Queen’s University Belfast, she obtained a Postgraduate Certificate in Education teaching secondary school Physics. She went on to do her PhD at the Armagh Observatory & Planetarium in conjunction with DIAS, as part of a cross-border collaboration with a Lindsay scholarship, studying the lives of massive stars. She now works as a Postdoctoral researcher at the Armagh Observatory focussing on black hole progenitors and the most massive stars. She also enjoys working on outreach activities and careers events at the Planetarium.

This will be an online event hosted via Zoom. Registration is required. Attendance links will be delivered via email on the day of the event.