Events

The Science Behind the Movie Interstellar with Nobel Prize Winner Kip Thorne

Friday January 05, 2018
07:00 pm - 08:30 pm
image credit: double negative
Did Hollywood do its science homework? Learn the story behind the creation of Gargantua, the massive black hole featured in the movie Interstellar, and find out whether its depiction is grounded in real science.

Mauna Lani Bay Hotel: 68-1400 Mauna Lani Drive, Kohala Coast, Hawaii – Hale Hoaloha Pavilion

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Theoretical astrophysicist Kip Thorne, 2017 Nobel Physics Prize Laureate, Executive Producer of Interstellar, Caltech Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, Co-founder of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO)

KECK OBSERVATORY ASTRONOMY TALK: How scientifically accurate is the blockbuster film Interstellar? Dr. Kip Thorne will take you behind the scenes of the movie and explain how he helped Hollywood turn science fact into science fiction.

Dr. Thorne is a world-renowned theoretical astrophysicist. He is one of three scientists who recently won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of ripples in spacetime called gravitational waves.

Learn how Dr. Thorne’s revolutionary work has made history and has helped usher in an exciting new era in astronomy.

FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Keck Observatory Astronomy Talks are supported by the Rob and Terry Ryan Foundation

LIVE STARGAZING

After Dr. Thorne’s Astronomy Talk is done, come stargaze with The Cliff and Don Show! Hosts Cliff Livermore and Don Rudny of the West Hawaii Astronomy Club will show live digital views of deep sky objects through their 11″ telescope and display them on a large monitor for the audience to enjoy. Check out these examples of the real-time images of the universe that you’ll see:

We hope to see you there!

MEDIA

W. M. Keck Observatory Director Hilton Lewis was live on Hawaii Public Radio’s “The Conversation” where he and host Chris Vandercook explored the intersection where science fiction meets science fact – a dimension in Dr. Thorne’s upcoming Keck Observatory Astronomy Talk.

HPR Interview with Hilton Lewis, Keck Observatory Director: Where Science Fiction Meets Science Fact from Keck Observatory on Vimeo.