UM Astronomy graduate students participated in an outreach event for Chelsea Elementary's Parent-Teacher Organization Science Night on January 30th
Graduate students led a series of hands-on demonstrations covering a wide range of astronomy topics, including gravity, black holes, dark matter, and gravitational lensing. Using interactive models and visual demonstrations from the UM Physics Demonstration Lab, they illustrated how gravity shapes the universe, from the motion of planets in our solar system to the bending of light by massive objects.
In addition to exploring extreme cosmic phenomena, students learned about distances within the solar system, how astronomers detect exoplanets using the transit method, and how stars are born, evolve, and eventually die. Demonstrations on telescopes and spectra helped participants understand how astronomers collect and analyze light to uncover the physical properties of distant objects. The event provided an engaging and accessible introduction to modern astrophysics, sparking curiosity and excitement about the universe among young learners and their families.
