Science Briefing: The Dynamic Universe - From Exoplanets to Stars and Black Holes
Location
Virtual
Contact Information
About Event
In this edition of NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings, we will learn about objects in the universe whose brightness appear to change over time and what we can learn from them.
Dr. Jennifer Yee will tell us about gravitational microlensing — when the gravitational field of a star or planet bends the light of a distant star, temporarily increasing the star’s brightness — and how it offers a unique perspective on the exoplanet population.
Dr. David Coulter will talk about the recent discovery of a very distant exploding star — a supernova — by the James Webb Space Telescope, and how it's shedding light on our knowledge of the early universe.
Dr. Brenna Mockler will tell us about tidal disruption events which occur when a supermassive black hole eats a star, producing a bright flare that teaches us about the lives and environments of these exciting objects.
The NASA’s Universe of Learning Science Briefings are professional learning telecons for the informal science education community, done in partnership with the NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance, now found on NASA CONNECTS. These monthly thematic briefings highlight current NASA astrophysics explorations and discoveries from across the suite of NASA astrophysics missions. NASA scientists and engineers provide contemporary science results, and are able to respond to listener questions during the telecon. NASA-developed education and outreach resources, matched to the monthly theme, are included in every briefing.
In order to participate in the telecon and ask questions of the scientists, please join NASA’s Museum & Informal Education Alliance.
Facilitator & Presenters
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Dr. Martha Irene Saladino is an Education & Outreach Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where she supports the outreach efforts of different NASA missions and projects, including the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, and NASA’s Universe of Learning. Martha Irene obtained her Ph.D. in Astrophysics at Radboud University in the Netherlands, where she developed numerical simulations of evolved Sun-like double stars. Outside of work, Martha Irene enjoys running, reading, and digital illustration. -
Dr. Jennifer Yee received her Ph.D. in Astronomy from The Ohio State University in 2013. Her research focuses on
using gravitational microlensing to discover planets in orbits analogous to Jupiter’s. She is the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) Deputy Science-PI for the Korea Microlensing Telescope Network (KMTNet), the largest ground-based microlensing survey currently in operation and a member of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Project Implementation Team for the Roman Galactic Exoplanet Survey. -
Dr. Dave Coulter is a software engineer turned astronomer who graduated from University of California Santa Cruz in 2023 with a Ph.D. in Astronomy. His research interests span both gravitational wave astronomy — notably having discovered the first visible light counterpart to a gravitational wave source in 2017 — as well as searching for and characterizing the most distant stellar explosions in the early universe. Dave is now a post-doctoral fellow at Space Telescope Science Institute researching these early explosions and what they reveal about their galactic environments, as well as building the software to find them. -
Dr. Brenna Mockler is a postdoctoral fellow at Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena. Her research is primarily on high-energy transients, with a focus on learning about the supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies and the environments they live in. Prior to her current position, she was a UC Chancellor's fellow at UCLA. She earned her Ph.D. in Astronomy & Astrophysics from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2022, and a bachelor's degree in Physics from Cornell University in 2016. Outside of work, she likes playing soccer, hiking, and exploring all the great nature California has to offer!
Event Resources
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Slide Presentation PPT
102 MB -
Resources Document
168 KB