June Meeting (Zoom) 06/08/2022

Hunting Isolated Black Holes with Microlensing

Black holes have been long predicted by theory but are notoriously hard to observe. Finally, they are being systematically revealed through a variety of techniques. Since these fascinating objects may form via a variety of mechanisms, determining the mass distribution of black holes is an important test for both stellar evolution models and cosmology theories. Isolated black holes are the most difficult black holes to observe. Our speaker will describe how this was accomplished recently, and the prospects for exploring this hidden population in the future.

Dr. Rachel Street, Las Cumbres Observatory Dr. Street joined the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) as a post-doctoral scholar in 2007, and has since become a Staff Scientist. She specializes in the detection and characterization of exoplanets, initially as a founding member of the SuperWASP transit survey, for which she received the RAS Group Achievement Award. At LCO, she began to study exoplanets via the transient phenomena of microlensing, and now leads the microlensing group there. In the course of her research, she developed the automated Target and Observation Management software (TOMs) to make and manage observations through the LCO Network. This motivated her to lead the TOM Toolkit project and the Community Development Program, which make these powerful observing tools available to the community. Dr. Street was elected as co-chair of the Transients and Variable Stars Science Collaboration in 2017.