DLR Astro Seminar 2019: 50th anniversary of the Moon landing – and since (part 3)

Picture: NASA

3. The Moon as a test bed for the General Theory of Relativity

Please note that all lectures of the 2019 Astroseminar are fully booked. Registration is no longer possible at this point. In case you wish to be waitlisted, please send an email to Rebecca.Bartkowski@dlr.de.

+++ Alternative Date: 15 may 2019 10:00 to 12:00 a.m. at Karl Rahner Akademie, Jabachstraße 4-8, 50676 Köln +++

Predicted by the general theory of relativity, the deflection of light rays in the Sun’s gravitational field was confirmed 100 years ago. Since the astronauts on the Apollo 11, 14 and 15 missions placed laser reflectors on the surface of the Moon, it has also been possible to measure its trajectory precisely and hence verify the Moon’s relativistic equation of motion.

The Earth and the Moon move around their shared centre of gravity, which itself moves in the Sun’s gravitational field. The task of developing a theory of lunar motion that is consistent with observations has occupied astronomers since the earliest days of celestial mechanics. Measuring the Moon’s trajectory by means of lunar laser ranging has enabled scientists to verify the effects predicted by the theory of relativity for the last 50 years.

Professor Hans-Joachim Blome was a research fellow at the Institute for Astrophysics, University of Bonn, and at DLR for many years. As professor at FH Aachen – University of Applied Sciences, he taught and researched at the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering until 2016. His work focuses on gravitational physics, the dynamics of space flight and cosmology. Professor Blome is the author of numerous scientific and popular works in these fields, including “Der Urknall”, Blome/Zaun, published in C.H. Beck-Verlag.

The event will be held at the Air Force Conference Centre, Wahn Air Force Base. Information on how to enter the Base complex and the parking facilities will be published ahead of the event on www.dlr.de.

For more information on the topic of the Astro Seminar, please contact Dr Manfred Gaida.