Public Talk - Joe Silk - The Dark Side of the Universe
The emergence of cosmic structure is an outcome that has been studied by peering back through the mists of time to the remote depths of the universe as well as by deciphering the fossil structure of nearby galaxies. One of the greatest mysteries in the cosmos is that it is mostly dark. That is, not only is the observed night-sky dark, but also most of the matter in the universe whose existence is directly inferred from the observations - is dark. For every atom visible in planets, stars and galaxies today there exists at least five or six times as much "Dark Matter" in the universe.
Astronomers today are seeking to unravel the nature of this mysterious, but pervasive Dark Matter, and determine whether it can be detected. Nor does the mystery rest only with dark matter, as there is also a dark force, dubbed "Dark Energy" and originally postulated by Einstein in the form of the cosmological constant, that is systematically accelerating the universe. Indeed, Dark Energy accounts for two-thirds of the mass-energy density of the Universe, and understanding its origin and nature presents one of the greatest challenges in physics. Joe Silk will review the status of ongoing searches for the dark components of the universe.
Who should attend: general public
Date: Friday 24 August
Time: 6.30-7.30pm
Location: Macquarie Theatre, Macquarie University
Bookings required: contact Rachel Rizk 02 9850 6045, rachel.rizk@mq.edu.au
Cost: free
Parking: The best parking for this event is in carparks W1, W2 or C1. Parking is free for this event.
Maps of campus: http://www.ofm.mq.edu.au/maps_campus.htm
Professor Joseph Silk is Savilian Professor of Astronomy and
directs the Beecroft Institute for Particle Astrophysics and
Cosmology at the University of Oxford. He was previously tenured
professor of astronomy and physics at the University of California
at Berkeley, United States. Most of his scientific research is
related to the cosmic microwave background and cosmology. He is
author or co-author of more than 400 papers in refereed journals,
as well as of many popular articles and books including "The Big
Bang", "The Left Hand of Creation", "Cosmic Enigmas", "A Short History of
the Universe", "On the Shores of the Unknown", and "The Infinite
Cosmos". He is a fellow of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society, the
Institute of Physics, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1999.
Joe's homepage is located at http://www-astro.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/silk.shtml
"Macquarie - Centre of the Universe" is a joint project between CSIRO and Macquarie University for National Science Week and National Engineering Week, 2007.