‘Astronomical’ opportunity on offer at Queen’s
A rare chance to hear from two of the world’s leading astronomers is on offer at Queen’s University Belfast next week.
Queen’s and the Irish Astronomical Association are inviting astronomy and science enthusiasts to attend The Great Cosmic Puzzle on Tuesday, 31 August; a free evening event featuring world-famous astrophysicists Professor Christopher Stubbs and Professor Carlos Frenk.
Chair of Physics at Harvard University, Professor Stubbs was part of the original team that discovered as our Universe is expanding it is also accelerating, suggesting the existence of mysterious dark energy. Professor Frenk, Director of the Institute for Computational Cosmology at Durham University, specialises in investigating how the Universe we see today could have formed from the Big Bang.
The renowned speakers are among an international group of scientists attending Queen’s to discuss a new project which is creating the largest ever image of the Universe.
The consortium, which features Queen’s astrophysicists, is using a new Hawaiian-based telescope known as Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) or PS1, which is equipped with the world’s most powerful digital camera, to gather detailed images of almost three-quarters of the night sky.
The project will enable scientists to assess wide areas of sky at a level of detail never seen before. Powerful computers will process the data from the telescope, which is expected to generate enough information over the three-year project to fill the equivalent of several thousand PCs.
During their week in Belfast, the consortium will be welcomed to Belfast at a special reception in Belfast City Hall, hosted by Lord Mayor, Cllr Pat Convery. Speaking about their visit, he said: “Queen’s ability to bring such renowned scientists to Belfast highlights our city’s capacity to compete at the highest level in global science. I am delighted to welcome such a stellar cast to the city and have no doubt that the discoveries made through this exciting project will continue to have a significant impact on our understanding of the Universe.”
Also known as PS1, the Pan-Starrs telescope, which took more than a decade to develop, will pinpoint new supernovae – stellar explosions – as well as near-earth asteroids. It is also able to track fast-moving objects and exploding stars across most of the sky, and will enable scientists to better understand the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy - the material that is thought to account for much of the mass of the universe but has never been proven to exist.
The Great Cosmic Puzzle is a joint Public Outreach venture by the Queen’s University and the Irish Astronomical Association. It takes place at 7.15pm on Tuesday, 31 August in the Larmour Lecture Theatre at Queen’s. Admission is free but pre-booking is required. Tickets are available by telephoning the Physics Reception 028 9097 3941 or 028 90 97 3219 or email the Irish Astronomical Association iaaastro@gmail.com
Further information on the event is available online at
star.pst.qub.ac.uk/ps/cosmicpuzzle.html
