Gravitational Wave Astronomy: Opening a New Window on the Universe for Students, Educators and the Public

Details Gravitational Wave Astronomy: Opening a New Window on the Universe for Students, Educators and the Public Gravitational Wave Astronomy: Opening a New Window on the Universe for Students, Educators and the Public

May 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008aas...212.3303c&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #212, #33.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 40, p.231

Physics

Condensed Matter

Materials Science

Scientific paper

The nascent field of gravitational wave astronomy offers many opportunities for effective and inspirational astronomy outreach.
Gravitational waves, the `ripples in spacetime' predicted by Einstein's general theory of relativity, are produced by some of the most energetic and dramatic phenomena in the cosmos, including black holes, neutron stars and supernovae - and their discovery should help to address a number of fundamental questions in physics, from the evolution of stars and galaxies to the origin of dark energy and the nature of spacetime itself. Moreover, the cutting-edge technology developed to search for gravitational waves is pushing back the frontiers of many fields, from lasers and materials science to high performance computing, and thus provides a powerful showcase for the attractions and challenges of a career in science and engineering.
For several years a worldwide network of ground-based laser interferometric gravitational wave detectors, built and run by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, has been fully operational. These detectors are already among the most sensitive scientific instruments on the planet but in the next few years their sensitivity will achieve further significant improvement. Those developments promise to open an exciting new window on the Universe, heralding the arrival of gravitational wave astronomy as a revolutionary, new observational field.
In this poster we describe the extensive program of public outreach activities already undertaken by the LIGO Scientific Collaboration, and a number of special events which we are planning for IYA2009. These activities include:
* programs at Science Centers and Observatory Visitor Centers
* programs on gravitational wave astronomy for the classroom, across the K-12 spectrum
* interdisciplinary events linking gravitational wave astronomy to music and the visual arts
* research experiences for schools and citizens through the highly successful `Einstein@Home' program.

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