Harvard Astronomer Presents: “Einstein’s Blunder Undone” | Los Altos
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Foothill College | 12345 El Monte Road, Los Altos Hills, CA
Event Details
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Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series | Los Altos
Founded in 1999, the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series lectures are presented on six Wednesday evenings during each school year at Foothill College. Speakers over the years have included Nobel-prize winners, members of the National Academy of Sciences and many other well-known scientists explaining astronomical developments in everyday language.
The series, moderated by Foothill College Astronomy instructor Andrew Fraknoi, is sponsored by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, the SETI Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Center and Foothill College. Topics range from the exploration of the planets to the speeding up of the expanding universe; from planets around other stars to black holes at the centers of distant galaxies.
Admission is free and the public is invited. Seating is first come, first served. Arrive early to locate parking.
As part of the 16th annual Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, Harvard University‘s Robert Kirshner, Ph.D. will discuss “Einstein’s Blunder Undone: The Runaway Universe,” an illustrated, non-technical lecture on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 pm in the Smithwick Theatre. Admission is free and the public is invited. Seating is first come, first served. Arrive early to locate parking.
Just 100 years ago, Einstein invented a new theory of gravity called “General Relativity” and applied it to the study of the universe as a whole. To match astronomers’ understanding at the time, he introduced the Cosmological Constant, a factor that would guarantee the entire universe itself was static—neither expanding nor collapsing. In the following decade, astronomers showed the universe was not static at all, but expanding, and Einstein banished his constant, even calling it his greatest blunder.
However, in the past 20 years, astronomers have shown that the universe is not only expanding, but speeding up. What drives this cosmic acceleration? We call it the Dark Energy, but it might be very similar to Einstein’s idea from a century ago.
In this talk, Dr. Kirshner will show the methods used to discover the cosmic acceleration and present the evidence that we live in a universe that is only 4 percent matter like the atoms of the periodic table, with the balance divided between dark energy, speeding up the universe, and equally mysterious dark matter, drawing things together.
Disclaimer: Please double check event information with the event organizer as events can be canceled, details can change after they are added to our calendar, and errors do occur.
Cost: FREE*
