25 October: Blaauw lecture on Black Holes

Location : in the Aula of the Academiebuilding (Broerplein 5), main building University of Groningen

Free entrance ; a fter the lecture drinks are served.

Language : English

On Tuesday 25 October, Professor Françoise Combes will give an evening lecture for the general public on all-devouring black holes. Combes is visiting professor at the Kapteyn Institute of the University of Groningen. She is from the Observatoire de Paris and is this year’s Blaauw Professor at the Groningen astronomical institute.

This makes her the twelfth professor to hold the prestigious chair and give the Blaauw lecture. The chair and lecture are named after Professor Adriaan Blaauw, who was director of the Kapteyn Institute from 1957 to 1970. He passed away in 2010 at the age of 96, having remained active as an astronomer to the very end. This year’s lecture will be the first he will not be attending.

In her lecture, Combes will describe in detail the massive black holes which have been discovered in the past ten to twenty years in the Milky Way’s neighbouring galaxies. Thanks to accurate observations made with a wide range of telescopes, astronomers know quite a lot about these enigmatic phenomena. Although they cannot observe them directly, they are able to witness their spectacular effects. Combes will illustrate her lecture with fascinating images and computer animations.

The 12^th Blaauw lecture will take place at 8 p.m. on Tuesday 25 October 2011 in the Aula of the Academy Building of the University of Groningen. The lecture is free and will be held in English. It will be followed by a drinks party.