Gleick, Isaac Newton. Pasachoff and Filippenko, The Cosmos. Wolfson, Simply
Einstein. Lecture 2, The Violent Death of Massive Stars. Questions to Consider:.
Black Holes Explained Lecture 1, A General Introduction to Black Holes Questions to Consider: 1. Why do you think many people find black holes to be such a fascinating subject? 2. If photons- particles of light- have no mass, Newton’s law of universal gravitation (F=GMm/d2) suggests that light should not be affected by gravity. So, how can an object possibly be a black hole? 3. If someone close to, but not inside, a black hole was shining a blue flashlight outward, how would the color that you see be affected if you are far from the black hole? Suggested readings: Begleman and Rees, Gravity’s Fatal Attraction Ferguson, Prisons of Light Gleick, Isaac Newton Pasachoff and Filippenko, The Cosmos Wolfson, Simply Einstein
Lecture 2, The Violent Death of Massive Stars Questions to Consider:
4. How do you think astronomers know roughly what the future evolution of the Sun will be 5. How compelling do you find the arguments that we are made of star dust? 6. For those who like math: If only 10 neutrinos from SN 1987A were detected by each of 2 underground tanks containing several thousand tons of water, and if a typical human consists of 100 pounds of water, what are your odds that your body directly detected a neutrino from SN 1987A? 7. If 1 or 2 supernovae occur in a typical galaxy every century, how many galaxies would you need to monitor to find 20 supernovae each year?
Suggested readings: Kirshner, The Extravagant Universe Marschall, The Supernova Story Pasachoff and Filippenko, The Cosmos Wheeler, Cosmic Catastrophes
