Astronomy on Tap

https://youtu.be/1MLDxRQZlzA

Members of the UCSC Astronomy Department will be hosting a virtual "astronomy on tap", an accessible, engaging, free science presentation on topics ranging from planets to black holes to galaxies to the beginning of the Universe. This week we'll be discussing "fast radio bursts" with Sunil Simha (UCSC) and Jay Chittidi (CU Boulder), mysterious interstellar eruptions likely related to neutron stars.

Title: Fast Radio Bursts: What are they and what can they teach us about the universe?

Description:
In 2007, astronomers discovered a peculiar class of objects now called fast radio bursts (FRBs). These events emit light at radio wavelengths for less than a few milliseconds, yet can release as much energy as our Sun does in a day. will talk about the discovery of FRBs, our current understanding of these mysterious events, and a new method that uses FRBs to measure the distribution of matter in the Universe.