Secret Science Club Presents Astrophysicist Caleb Scharf

Black holes are so destructive and unforgiving that not even light can escape their deadly wrath. Yet, as astrophysicist Caleb Scharf reveals, these mysterious chasms in space-time don’t just vacuum up everything that comes near them. They also spit out huge energy beams and clouds of matter, profoundly shaping the universe around them.

Dr. Scharf takes a tour of the latest black-hole research, peers into the dark heart at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy, and asks:Would life on Earth even be possible without these celestial monsters?

Caleb Scharf is director of the Astrobiology Center at Columbia University. He writes the “Life, Unbounded” blog for Scientific American and is the author of the just-published new book, Gravity’s Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos.

—Groove to time-warping tunes

–Try our cosmic cocktail of the night, the Gamma Ray

–Stick around for the out-of-this-world Q&A

—Hot off the presses! Snag a signed copy of Gravity’s Engines