Astronomy on Tap - Stellar drama: Relationships between planets and stars

Our next event will take place on Monday, June 23rd at Culture Café Leidse Lente at 20:00 CEST!

Join us to discover how stars and planets interact: First, we will discover that auroras also happen on planets other than Earth, with the talk by Dag Evensberget; then, we will dive into orbits and gravitational interactions with the talk by Sérgio Alves Gomes.

As always, there will be fun games with which you can test your knowledge and try to win cool science prizes!

----------------------------------------------------------------------

• Dag Evensberget: “Alien Auroras and the search for radio signals from distant worlds”Auroras are not just an Earthly light show. We can observe auroras on Jupiter and Saturn as well. These displays are not limited to visible colors; they also produce ultraviolet light, X-rays, and powerful bursts of radio waves. In this talk, we will travel from the Northern Lights on Earth to the intense radio auroras of Jupiter. Then we will look beyond our solar system, hunting for auroral signals from distant planets and magnetically active stars. You will see how radio telescopes and detailed modeling are used to reveal interactions between worlds and their stars, and what these signals tell us about space weather in distant planetary systems.Dag Evensberget is a postdoctoral researcher at Leiden Observatory interested in stellar magnetism, stellar winds and space weather, and the effect of space weather and winds on extrasolar planets, including aurorae and radio emissions.

• Sérgio Alves Gomes: “A Love story between stars and planets”Stars and planets have a deep orbital connection and are constantly dancing together. Each couple - or multi-partner relationship - is unique. Several factors contribute to the stability of their relationship: How close the bodies are, whether they are an eccentric couple, how fast they rotate, and more. Like the ever-changing tides of the sea, a relationship can drift apart, grow closer, or even result in one partner being completely changed. So how do we quantify this? We measure their interiors with Love.Sérgio is a postdoctoral researcher at the Anton Pannekoek Institute. His work focuses on reconstructing the orbits of planets and moons over long timescales and exploring how their internal structures influence their motion.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Logistical information: We start at 20:00 sharp, so please arrive earlier to enter the venue, save a seat, and grab a drink. We are not planning to stream the event live but will be uploading a recording of the talks on our YouTube channel after the event.

Join us for an evening of astronomy and fun games where you can win cool science prizes! All ages and backgrounds are welcome!

For more information check out http://astronomyontap.nl