Astronomy Ireland Hosts Talk on Cosmic Explosion

Astronomy Ireland will host a public lecture on Sunday, July 14th at 7pm via Zoom, focusing on the largest cosmic explosion ever witnessed.

The lecture, titled “Stars Destroyed by Black Holes and the Largest Cosmic Explosion Ever Witnessed”, will be presented by Dr. Phil Wiseman, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton.

Dr. Wiseman is part of the team that discovered AT2021lwx, a highly energetic astronomical event believed to be caused by a massive cloud of gas — possibly thousands of times the mass of our Sun — falling into a supermassive black hole. The explosion, first detected in 2020, has lasted more than three years and is considered the most energetic long-duration cosmic event ever recorded.

Unlike gamma-ray bursts, which typically last only minutes, AT2021lwx has remained active for years, making its total energy output far greater than any previously observed event. Scientists believe the gas cloud may have originated from the dusty torus that often surrounds black holes, although the exact trigger for its inward fall remains unclear.

Dr. Wiseman was recently awarded the Ernest Rutherford Fellowship, one of the UK’s most competitive early-career awards in astronomy and particle physics. His research focuses on identifying and understanding the most powerful cosmic explosions in the universe, including those linked to black hole activity.

The lecture will cover the science behind events like AT2021lwx, the role of black holes in galaxy evolution, and the latest findings from ongoing sky surveys.

Details:
Date: Sunday, July 14th
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Online via Zoom
Book at: astronomy.ie/product/stars-destroyed-by-black-holes

The lecture is open to the public and suitable for anyone with an interest in astronomy and space science.