[AstroTours] Fast Radio Bursts: Cosmic Fireworks Light up the Universe

Please note that this event is not run by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Toronto Centre. Please contact the organizers for more information.

Join us at the May AstroTour! The event is FREE and open to all. NO PRIOR REGISTRATION REQUIRED!! Our May AstroTour features Ayush's talk about fast radio bursts, followed by exciting astronomy demos and telescope tours!

Talk Abstract: 

The Universe is brimming with violent and energetic explosions, from volcanic eruptions here on Earth to the explosive deaths of massive stars across the Milky Way and in other galaxies. Many of these short-lived explosions (or “transients”) come from some of the most extreme objects in the Universe such as neutron stars and black holes. Astronomers recently discovered a new type of transient, fast radio bursts (FRBs), which release the same amount of energy in less than a millisecond as the Sun will produce in a whole year. Despite nearly two decades of research, we are still not sure what objects produce these mysterious FRBs. In this talk, I will walk through a catalog of transients originating from Earth to our Solar System and far beyond. I will also discuss the discovery of FRBs, our hunt to figure out how they’re made, and what FRBs can tell us about otherwise “invisible” parts of the Universe.

About the Speaker: 

Ayush (he/him) is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto and an NSERC Canada Graduate Scholar. He is from the Greater Toronto Area and also completed his undergraduate degree from the University of Toronto with a specialist in Physics and Astronomy. Ayush uses a wide array of radio telescopes around the world, including the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment here in Canada, to study explosions of radio light coming from billions of light years away. His research aims to understand how extreme objects, such as neutron stars and black holes, produce outbursts of energy

Website URL: https://uoft.me/astrotours

Organized by: AstroTours at the University of Toronto

Location: McLennan Physical Laboratories, MP102

Date and Time: Thursday April 3rd, 2025. 8:00 PM to 9:00 PM EDT.

McLennan Physical Laboratories, 60 St George St., Toronto ON M5S 1A7

Demos and telescope tours: 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM EDT.