The Universe from beginning to end

Science

Coming Wednesday October 21 to the Bruce County Museum and Cultural Centre is the last of this year's series of lectures that originated at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo Ontario.  PI is one of the top theoretical institutes in the world.

The lecture will run from 2 pm to 3:30 pm.  Attendance by donation

Wednesday's lecture concerns highlights of the universe from the Big Bang to the Big Rip by Dr Brian Schmidt of Harvard University.

The Big Questions to watch for in Wednesday's lecture are:

•  How large is the universe as measured in light seconds and light years?  We are 30,000 Light Years from the Milky Way's centre for example.  
•  How empty is the universe and yet how much is actually out there?
• How far in the past has the Hubble looked?
• How does the universe evolve and what is its shape?
• If light is absorbed by a celestial object it tells us something about the objects composition.  What does it tell us?
• How do astronomers measure the past?
• How do supernovae tell us things about the expansion of the universe?
• What is Dark Energy and how does it 'play' with Dark Matter and regular matter?
• What is the Big Rip and how far in the future is it?

^{for world news, books, sports, movies ...}

Sunday, October 18, 2009