STARGAZERS will be able to look up close and personal at black holes and red dwarfs at Stawell Library on August 12, through a virtual reality headset.
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Professor Alan Duffy and Dr Rebecca Allen will lead the stargazing party.
Professor Duffy is a computational astrophysicist at Swinburne University of Technology and lectures in physics at the university.
He also has a regular space segment on ABC Breakfast News TV and ABC Radio Melbourne with Clare Bowditch and is a regular on Ten’s The Project.
Dr Allen has a Doctorate of Philosophy in astrophysics at Swinburne University of Technology and now works at the university.
Professor Duffy collaborated with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery to develop a program.
The program uses custom-designed, three-dimensional headsets and a free app that walks the viewer through what he calls the invisible universe of neutron stars, gravitational waves and other stars.
Professor Duffy said virtual reality technology revealed how Australian astronomers were leading the world in mapping the galaxy.
“It’s unlocking a new window into the invisible using gravitational waves to study colliding black holes,” he said.
The stargazing party is part of the federal government’s National Science Week, which is from August 11 to 19.
Headsets will be provided for registered guests at the library, but spaces are limited.
Wimmera Regional Library Corporation’s Leanda Elliott said people could book via 5358 1274 or leanda@wrlc.org.au
