The mysteries of black holes will be unraveled at Fiske Planetarium on the campus of the University of Colorado at Boulder on Friday, Sept. 20, and Tuesday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 p.m.
Professor Andrew Hamilton will present his live star show, "Black Holes and Relativity," to kick off Fiske Planetarium's fall 2002 schedule of monthly astronomy talks. The live talks are given by CU-Boulder professors and guest lecturers.
Hamilton's show includes recent Hubble Space Telescope observations of possible black holes in distant galaxies and a look at other evidence of black holes in our own Milky Way galaxy. He also will include some history about how black holes became part of science and technology.
"People are fascinated by what would happen if you went near or inside a black hole," said Hamilton, who is a professor in the astrophysical and planetary sciences department.
Black holes are believed to form when huge stars use up all of their nuclear fuel, causing their cores to collapse under the force of gravity. The gravity within a black hole is so strong that nothing can escape it, not even light.
At the end of the show, Hamilton will take the audience on a simulated trip into a black hole.
For more information about black holes visit Hamilton's Web site "Falling into a Black Hole" at .Ìý
Admission for the show is $4 for adults and $3 for children and seniors. Tickets go on sale at 7 p.m. the night of the show.
For more information about Fiske Planetarium and other shows and programs it offers, call (303) 492-5001 or visit the Web site at .