Light’s Path from Einstein’s 1919 Eclipse to Dark Matter and Black Holes

HYBRID: The [Rice Space Institute](https://rsi.rice.edu/) presents a Houston Spaceport Frontiers Lecture featuring [Mustafa Amin](https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/mustafa-amin), Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

Description: “[Observations of the total solar eclipse of 1919](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddington_experiment) famously confirmed Einstein’s prediction that light, like all matter, travels on ‘straight lines’ in curved spacetime. We will first delve into the fascinating story of the prediction and observational confirmation of how light travels in the curved spacetime near massive bodies like our sun. We will then see how, from 1919 to the present, our understanding of this behavior of light (gravitational lensing) has become an invaluable tool in probing the nature of dark matter and even the environs of supermassive black holes.”

Rice event page: [https://events.rice.edu/event/358685-lights-straight-path-from-einsteins-1919-eclipse](https://events.rice.edu/event/358685-lights-straight-path-from-einsteins-1919-eclipse)

The lecture will take place at Robert R. Herring Hall, Room 100.

Reception starts at 6 p.m. in Herring Hall 100.

Interactive map: [https://map.concept3d.com/?id=473#!ct/71276,71275,71277?m/120254?s/Herring%20Hal](https://map.concept3d.com/?id=473#!ct/71276,71275,71277?m/120254?s/Herring%20Hal)

This is a hybrid event. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please register here: [https://riceuniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7e28dRKGQKW3cprKMtZGlw#/registration](https://riceuniversity.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7e28dRKGQKW3cprKMtZGlw#/registration)

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Rice Space Institute: [Rice Space Institute | Rice University](https://rsi.rice.edu/)

RSI Space Frontiers Lecture Series: [Space Frontiers Lecture Series (rice.edu)](https://spacefrontiers.rice.edu/)

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*Top image: A view of the M87 supermassive black hole in polarized light, as captured by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration.*