Exploding stars, colliding stars, and hungry black holes. Talking about extreme cosmic objects is all in a day’s work for an astrophysicist visiting Tauranga today.

Studying the zoo of cosmic cataclysms and some of the largest explosions in the universe is being explored in a talk by Dr Ryan Ridden at the Tauranga Observatory at 7.30pm.

His talk is titled ‘Cosmic Cataclysms: A Dynamic and Changing Universe’.

“A bright flash outshines its entire galaxy, but only for a brief moment. The vast distance between us hides the true power of this cataclysm, but catching it with our telescopes allows us to piece together what exploded, and how it exploded,” says Ryan.

“We’ve discovered a zoo of cosmic cataclysms, each giving us new insights into the physics and evolution of our universe. In this talk we’ll explore the zoo of cosmic cataclysms, what they’ve taught us, and the ongoing search for rare and bizarre explosions.”

Dr Ryan Ridden is an astrophysicist at the University of Canterbury. He studies some of the largest explosions in the Universe that are caused by exploding stars, colliding stars, and hungry black holes. To study these extreme objects, he uses space telescopes like TESS, and the Hubble Space Telescope, as well as some of the largest telescopes on Earth.

Ryan grew up in Christchurch and got his start in astronomy during secondary school, helping the Canterbury Astronomical Society with their public nights.

After completing an Honours degree in Mathematical Physics at the University of Canterbury in 2015, he obtained a PhD in astronomy and astrophysics at the Australian National University.

During his PhD, he discovered several new cataclysmic variable stars. In 2019, he began a postdoc at the Space Telescope Science Institute, where he built data analysis tools for space telescopes.

In 2021 Ryan returned to the University Canterbury and is now leading a research group with the support of a Marsden Fast Start Grant, and a Rutherford Postdoctoral Fellowship. Alongside his research Ryan has given numerous public talks, helped build the Young Stars outreach programme, and produced educational videos on YouTube.

In January 2023, Ryan was awarded a Te Pūtea Rangahau Marsden Fast-Start grant of $360,000 to help extend knowledge of the fastest explosions in the universe. The Marsden grant will be used to kickstart a UC astrophysics research group, supporting a number of students.

As Ryan is on a speaking tour for the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, and only available to be in Tauranga on Wednesday night, the regular twice-monthly Tuesday meeting of the Tauranga Astronomical Society has been shifted to tonight. His tour is sponsored by the RASNZ Beatrice Hill Tinsley Trust.

Admission is $5 for visitors, and free for Tauranga Astronomical Society members. School age children are free.

“We gratefully accept koha / donations to help support running the observatory,” says the society’s president David Greig.

Tea, coffee and Milo will be available during the break for a gold coin donation. There is no EFTPOS available, so cash only please.

The Tauranga Astronomical Society observatory is located in the Otumoetai Sports & Recreation Club building in Fergusson Park, end of Tilby Drive, Matua, Otumoetai, Tauranga.

The RASNZ Lecture Trust says Ryan’s talk at 7.30pm, Wednesday July 26, will no doubt be entertaining and educational to all ages and backgrounds.