Spacepoint hosts final Sci-Fest event of the year, featuring a talk on black holes and screening of Interstellar

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Despite their prevalence in science fiction, black holes have until fairly recently existed only in theory. That all changed eight years ago, thanks to a little known observatory in Hanford, Wash., working in collaboration with a colleague in Louisiana. The team in 2015 detected gravitational waves, which led to the discovery of the first confirmed black hole. 

To explore this groundbreaking advance in cosmic understanding, Spacepoint will host its final Sci-Fest event of the year Saturday, Sept. 30, hosting a presentation from University of Idaho Dr. Zachariah Etienne at the Panida Theater, followed by a screening of the film Interstellar, which imagines what it might be like to use a black hole to travel through space and time.

The event begins at 6 p.m., with doors open an hour before. Student ticket prices range from $5 to $10, adults are $15 and it’s $30 for a family of four or more. Get tickets at panida.org or at the door (300 N. First Ave.).

Courtesy photo.

Etienne is an associate professor specializing in numerical relativity and gravitational waveastrophysics — both critical fields of inquiry to understanding black holes.

Celestial bodies emanate gravitational waves as they move through space, creating ripples in space time. Often compared to a rock thrown into a body of water, the larger the rock the larger the ripples. While Albert Einstein conceded that these waves could exist, he suspected they were so infinitely small we could never detect them or measure them, much less see them.  

That’s where the observatories in Washington and Louisiana came in. Referred to as Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatories, these sites were able to move black holes from a theory to fact, and since 2019 we now even have photographic evidence of black holes, courtesy of the Event Horizon Telescope.  

“Black holes and gravitational waves are a whole new area of science, exploration and discovery,” Sci-Fest organizers wrote. “ The discovery is so unique that three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2017.”

One of those scientists was Dr. Kip S. Thorne, a professor of theoretical physics and CalTech and also the scientific adviser to Interstellar director Christopher Nolan.

Etienne’s presentation will focus on describing what are black holes, how many there are and where they’re located, and consider the space-time travel concept depicted in Interstellar. 

Spacepoint is a local nonprofit dedicated to science and aerospace education, which has hosted a series of presentations from scientific experts alongside screenings of iconic science fiction films. 

Since its launch in the spring of 2023, the organization has also been working toward the establishment of a small observatory at the University of Idaho Sandpoint Organic Agricultural Center at the base of Schweitzer Mountain on North Boyer Avenue, and put on competitions for local kids with the chance to win tickets to the Kennedy Space Camp. 

The Sept. 30 event — timed with the fall equinox — will feature another challenge for Space Camp tickets, and will also feature the inaugural sci-fi costume contest.

“This year has been quite the run for Spacepoint: Dragonfly, Europa Clipper, annual solar eclipse and now black holes,” Spacepoint organizer Kyle Averill told the Reader in an email, referring to previous presentations, including NASA space exploration missions, “and, coming soon, our very own observatory — stay tuned.”