The Largest Cosmic Explosion Ever - a talk by Dr Phil Wiseman

About the talk: "Recent observations have discovered a number extremely luminous flares occurring in the centres of galaxies. The most energetic of all, known as AT2021lwx, shows a single, smooth, slow optical brightening to a luminosity far greater than any known exploding star (supernova). The luminosity and timescale indicate that a large supermassive black hole is likely the central engine, but how the energy is released, and from what, remains a mystery. In this talk I will summarise the observed and inferred properties of AT2021lwx and the possible scenarios causing its extreme luminosity. I will also present ongoing work to observe and analyse a sample of similar events, and discuss how they may be crucial processes in the growth of black holes and the shaping of galaxies."

About the speaker: "I studied Physics at Durham University, then moved to Munich for a PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Extra-terrestrial Physics. I have been a research fellow in Southampton for 6 and a half years now. I research exploding stars and flaring black holes, aiming to understand connections between the events themselves and the galaxies they occur in, ultimately looking to understand how galaxies evolve through cosmic time."

The Vectis Astronomical Society (http://www.wightstronomy.org) meets on the 4th Friday of every month, except for December. The talks are open for anyone to attend. We have a suggested donation of £2.50 for non-members of VAS. The speakers come from all over the country and give a presentation for around 45 minutes, with a chance for questions and answers afterwards.