The lectures are part of the Earthwatch Student program, which introduces high-school-age and college-bound-age students to the field of astrophysics over a two-week period. The evening talks also provide an opportunity to discuss the nature of scientific research and how understanding the process for that research is crucial to planning one's training and career as a scientist.
The talks at the downtown museum begin at 6:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m. for early seating.
Five lectures will be given by Los Alamos technical staff members, while Earthwatch students will summarize their experiences at the Laboratory in the final presentation.
Reeves, of Los Alamos' Space Science and Applications group, begins the series with a talk that focuses on how space weather can affect satellites, communication, navigation and other aspects of high-tech society.
On June 22, Todd Haines of Los Alamos' Neutron Science and Technology group will talk about neutrino astronomy. Scientists first realized about 75 years ago that the sun's energy is produced in a nuclear furnace deep inside the sun. His talk will focus on neutrinos produced by this process.
On June 23, Frank Timmes of the Applied Physics Division talks about supernovae. Timmes will peer into the heart of astrophysical thermonuclear flashes and explain what the blasts and bursts reveal about the diversity of life in an ever-growing universe.
On June 28, Rob Coker of the Predictive Capability Group will speak about "The Beast at the Heart of the Milky Way." More than 20,000 light years away, at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, a black hole, more than 3 million times the mass of the sun, appears to be at its center. Coker will discuss the research on the central part of the Milky Way.
The following evening, June 29, Joyce Guzik of the Applied Physics Division will discuss the internal structure of the sun and describe how computer modeling and oscillation data provide valuable information.
Astronomy Days concludes on June 30 when the Earthwatch students make their own presentations, describing their two-week introduction to the world of astrophysics and their experience at the Laboratory.
The Bradbury Science Museum is located on 15th Street and Central Avenue. The museum is open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday and Monday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.
The museum is part of Los Alamos' Community Programs Office.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, a team composed of Bechtel National, the University of California, The Babcock & Wilcox Company, and Washington Group International for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.
Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.