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SUMMARY:Sera Markoff Inaugural Lecture for the Plumian Professorship in As
 tronomy and Experimental Philosophy - 'Staring into the heart of darkness:
  from theory to the direct imaging of black holes' - Sera Markoff\, Plumia
 n Professor in Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy
DTSTART:20260507T150000Z
DTEND:20260507T160000Z
UID:TALK245629@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joanna Carruthers
DESCRIPTION:Black holes are the strangest prediction of Einstein's Theory 
 of General Relativity. The boundary around a black hole\, known as the eve
 nt horizon\, is incredibly challenging to observe under normal conditions.
  However when a black hole consumes nearby material\, it powers a system e
 mitting partides and light. With a precise enough telescope\, we can even 
 see this as a ring of light surrounding a dark depression.\n\nIn 2017\, th
 e Event Horizon Telescope (EHT)\, a planet-sized array of radio telescopes
 \, directly imaged this ring around two supermassive black holes. These ic
 onic images mark both a culmination of a century of discovery and the begi
 nning of a new chapter\, with implications ranging from galaxy formation t
 o the mystery of the highest energy particles detected on Earth.\n\nIn a t
 alk mixing history\, results\, and personal anecdotes\, I will convey the 
 wonder of "seeing" the Universe in a new light\, and sometimes with no lig
 ht at all. I will also explore what lies on the horizon\, as multi-messeng
 er observations and advances in theoretical modelling converge on some of 
 the deepest unsolved problems in physics.
LOCATION:Hoyle Lecture Theatre\, Institute of Astronomy
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