Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

What Causes Black Holes To Spin?, Mac B. Selesnick

Senior Projects Spring 2019

Black holes are recently at the cutting edge of cosmological and astrophysical research. Both experiment and theory are leading to surprising conclusions on the physical properties of black holes and their affects on space and time. In this project, I set out to explore the origin and mechanics of a black hole's spin, that is, its internal angular momentum. What causes a black hole to spin in the first place is rich and nuanced. In order to make this project accessible and focused I explore the process of a minor merger, a collision between two black holes, one large and …

The Invisible Sun: Building A Radio Interferometer Telescope, Isobel Curtin

Senior Projects Spring 2019

When we think of astronomy, we often associate the word implicitly with observing astronomical bodies with our own eyes, or from a signal collected in the visible light range. However, there is more information we can collect from these bodies when observing them using other kinds of light, unseen to the naked eye. Radio astronomy is an important tool in an astronomer’s toolkit, and can help us image hidden parts of the universe. Recently, radio astronomy was used to directly image a black hole in the center of a nearby galaxy for the first time!

This projects aims to further …