NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz and the HFF Team (STScI)
Sowmaydeep Dwivedi
Dark matter is one of the great mysteries in modern physics and cosmology. While the Standard Model describes the fundamental constituents of matter and their interactions, visible matter appears to account for only a small fraction of the Universe.
Join Sowmaydeep Dwivedi for a review of the discoveries that led us to our current understanding and current thinking about dark matter.
The asymmetry of matter and antimatter is one of the greatest puzzles in physics. All particles have antimatter versions that are nearly identical, but with mirrored properties such as the opposite electric charge. When an antimatter and a matter particle meet, they annihilate in a flash of energy.
If antimatter and matter are mirrored copies of each other, they should have been produced in equal amounts in the Big Bang. But today there’s nearly no antimatter left in the universe. We only see it in some radioactive decays and a fraction of cosmic rays. So what happened to it?
Dr. Mike Snow, IU professor of physics will talk about this mystery.
The universe is a dynamic environment where collisions and close encounters play a significant role. For instance, we will take a closer look at collisions responsible for the birth of our planet Earth and life itself, but also those that nearly destroyed it. Is our Solar system safe? Are there any hidden dangers we can expect in the future? Let’s find out.
Dr. Vaclav Pavlik is our speaker this month
Gravitational waves were detected for the first time just a couple of years ago. 
Already the information from the violent events which makes these waves is giving us new insights into physics and astronomy. Michael Snow will explain what a gravitational wave is, describe how they are detected, and report on the latest news: the discovery of where the heavy chemical elements in the universe are made.
We’ll be in the back room of Bears Place (1316 E 3rd St) at 6:30 pm. As always, Bloomington Science Cafe is free and open to anyone (over 21)!
