Gamma Ray Bursts

Our March meeting was a fascinating explanation of Gamma Ray bursts by Dr. Francisco Virgili (Liverpool John Moores University). Below are links to two video clips from the talk.

Collapsar:

Binary star merger:

Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS

Has anyone observed this comet?

If so, please comment to this post and tell us the details..

Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) - updated

Information on this comet, which may become visible to the naked eye, can be found here:

Cometography
Wikipedia
Space.com
British Astronomical Association
Minor Planet Center
Spacedex

There are, no doubt, many other sites with information. If you know of any, or have more up to date information, please feel free to add them via the comments section.

NEXT MEETING

Wednesday 27th March
"Gamma Ray Bursts"
Dr. Francisco Virgili (Liverpool John Moores University)

Full programme here. 

Extreme Physics

Last Wednesday, Dr. Ben Stappers (University of Manchester, Jodrell Bank) gave a very interesting talk on pulsars, and the physics we can do with them, such as checking the predictions from Einstein's theory of relativity, and searching for gravitational waves. He answered our questions patiently and helped us all to understand better these mysterious objects.