The Most Distant Quasars and the First Super-Massive Black Holes, by Professor Daniel Mortlock

The event, chaired by Amy Scammell, had been widely anticipated. The audience members were warmed up by our own Yvonne Jacobs talking about Halley’s Comet, before Professor Daniel Mortlock of Imperial College took to the lectern to give us his talk on Quasars and Black Holes. The audience clearly enjoyed the pace, the content and the way both lectures were delivered. Both speakers were highly entertaining, informative and full of humour. Yvonne summoning up Chas & Dave’s 1986 hit Halley’s Comet, while Daniel revealed his boyhood passion for astronomy, despite confusing Saturn with Satan as a young boy.

Yvonne summoning up Chas & Dave’s Halley’s Comet - science, nostalgia, and a comet with a very long memory.

We learned from Yvonne that before Halley, it was believed comets made only one pass through the solar system. Halley predicted in 1705 that Halley’s Comet would return in 1758. The earliest confirmed observation of the comet was in 240 BC, and it was depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry. Considered a portent of doom as late as 1900, there was a fear of the comet crashing into the Earth. You can see its remnants in meteor showers during May and October. Yvonne is looking forward to observing the return of Halley’s Comet on 28th July 2061, and hoping many Flamsteed members will be joining her.

Professor Daniel Mortlock setting the scene for a journey to the most distant quasars and the earliest supermassive black holes.

Daniel combined a history of how quasars and black holes were discovered with taking us through the astronomy as well as the physics, presenting terms in an accessible way. For example, he compared the sound of an ambulance siren going away in the distance with the functioning of the Doppler effect. It was fascinating to learn the relationship between quasars and black holes. As a black hole grows, a hot disc is produced, which leads to a quasar. We saw an actual image of the event horizon of a black hole, which showed jets of energy coming from the hot, inner part of the disc. These jets of energy are the quasar. Daniel also explained how the ‘Eddington limit’ means black holes are not total machines of destruction. There was so much more. Speaking to Daniel afterwards, he was pleased that his humour had gone down well. ‘The jokes are the most important part of the lecture,’ he said. If you weren’t able to make the lecture in person, then viewing the recording is highly recommended.

Pictures from the evening (by Bobby Manoo and Mike Meynell):