LVAS September Monthly Meeting

After the August stargazing LVAS event, I was invited back by Mig Ponce (President of LVAS) and Keith Caceres (LVAS Event Director) to present my research at the Dale Etheridge Planetarium, College of Southern Nevada for the LVAS September monthly meeting.

She’ll give a talk about her research studying colliding pairs of black holes and neutron stars using observations from the cutting-edge Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). If telescopes are like our eyes into the Universe, LIGO is like our ears – allowing astronomers to “listen” for the ripples in spacetime caused by the massive gravity of these objects as they spiral into each other and merge!

Dale Etheridge Planetarium at the College of Southern Nevada

It was a pleasure meeting Ty Hummon (on my left) and Aly (on my right), and a joy reconnecting with Marcus (back row, right) and Keith Caceres (far right). We delved into fascinating discussions about gravitational waves, next-generation GW detectors, gravitation, relativity, and even indulged in some entertaining Sci-Fi debates.

It was inspiring to connect with a group of amateur astronomers enthusiastic about discussing high-energy astrophysics, even amidst the light pollution of my hometown. I look forward to future collaborations with the LVAS!