The Fast Radio Sky: A New Window on the Violent Universe

Oct 19th, 2022 Dr. Victoria Kaspi (McGill University) The Fast Radio Sky: A New Window on the Violent Universe In this illustrated introduction, Dr. Kaspi introduces us to a brand-new mystery in the skies -- superfast bursts of radio waves whose source is still unknown. These energetic bursts come from all over the sky (and all over the universe,) pack a huge amount of energy, and typically last a few thousandths of a second. Like a detective in the middle of a case, Dr. Kaspi fills us in on the story of how new observations (especially with the CHIME telescope project which she heads) have been revealing tantalizing new aspects of these bursts, without yet giving us a solution to their ultimate cause. She shares both the thrills and frustrations of a new phenomenon in science, still in the process of being explored. Victoria Kaspi is the inaugural director of the McGill Space Institute and holds the Lorne Trottier Chair in Astrophysics and Cosmology at McGill University. She is the winner of the 2021 Shaw Prize in astronomy and the 2022 Albert Einstein World Award in Science.