Carnegie Science Observatories in Pasadena will present “The Messy Eating Habits of Black Holes,” a lecture exploring how supermassive black holes devour nearby stars and produce mysterious X-ray pulses years later, as part of its Astronomy Lecture Series at The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino on Tuesday, May 6.
The hybrid event, scheduled from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Huntington’s Rothenberg Hall, will feature Dr. Anthony Piro, a staff scientist at Carnegie Science and a leading researcher in theoretical astrophysics.
Piro will explain how black holes can tear apart stars that venture too close, creating brilliant displays as bright as 10 billion suns that last for months. His presentation will focus particularly on the recently discovered phenomenon where these black holes produce rhythmic X-ray eruptions – described as “heartbeats” – years after consuming stellar material.
These repeating signals occurring every few hours represent one of the more puzzling behaviors observed from black holes, Carnegie Science said. Dr. Piro’s lecture will address the leading theories explaining this cosmic mystery.
Piro, who also serves as an adjunct professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Southern California, specializes in studying the universe’s most extreme states. His research encompasses black holes, neutron stars and astrophysical explosions.
In 2017, Piro led a team that made astronomical history by discovering the radioactive afterglow of a neutron star merger – a breakthrough that Science, the publication, named its Breakthrough of the Year.
The lecture will be available both in-person and through a livestream on YouTube.
For more information, visit https://carnegiescience.edu/
