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Things That Go Bump in the Night


For millennia the western world accepted Aristotle’s doctrine that the heavens and stars were by their nature constant and unchangeable.  We now recognize that celestial objects do change over time, sometimes violently. We will explore the wide variety of astronomical variability: stars that expand and contract, stars that cannibalize their intimate partners, stars that flare and burp with indigestion, grumpy old stars that explode in anger when provoked by their companions, overweight stars that die a violent death, super-dense objects spinning dizzily and ticking like exquisite timepieces, massive black holes devouring unwary stars and spewing out the remnants in blindingly bright jets, and the orgiastic merging of black holes that shakes the very fabric of space and time. You may never view the placid night sky in quite the same way again!

Instructor Theodore (Ted) Williams is Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at Rutgers University and former Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory. He has a physics BS degree from Purdue University and astronomy PhD from the California Institute of Technology. He spent most of his career at Rutgers, where he pursued observational studies of galaxies and developed astronomical instrumentation, while teaching a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in physics and astronomy. He has spent innumerable nights at telescopes around the world, including observatories in California, Arizona, Texas, and Hawaii, as well as Chile, China and South Africa, and an orbiting facility on the Space Shuttle (Ted stayed firmly on the ground). He has taught a number of astronomy courses for Coastal Senior College.

This course can be taken either in-person or on-line via Zoom - choose when you register.
In-person students must be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 to register for this course.
In-person students will follow the current mask policy of the course site.
 

 If you want to register and are not yet a member, Click here for New Member Signup

When:
Friday, September 20, 2024, 1:30 PM until Friday, November 1, 2024, 3:30 PM
Where:
Zoom: link will be sent by email before first class.
In-person: St. Andrew's Church
11 Glidden St
Newcastle  
Additional Info:
Event Contact(s):
Ted Williams
Instructor
Category:
Fall 2024
Registration is required
Payment In Full In Advance Only
You must be an active CSC member to register for this course.
Registration cancellations will be accepted until Wednesday, September 18, 2024 at 11:45 PM
Cancellation Policy:
A member may cancel a course registration up to 3 days prior to the start of class and will receive a course credit that can be used for a future registration. No refunds will be given.
$35.00
$35.00