The 2014-15 Frontiers of Astronomy Lecture Series will continue with a talk by Josh Frieman, a senior staff scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and professor of astronomy and astrophysics and member of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago, on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. in the Murch Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
In his lecture, “Probing the Dark Universe,” Frieman will introduce the Dark Universe—explaining what we have learned about it and describing new experiments and observatories that aim to illuminate these enigmas. Over the last two decades, cosmologists have made a remarkable discovery about the universe: Only 4 percent is made of ordinary matter—atoms, molecules, etc. The other 96 percent is dark, in forms unlike anything with which we are familiar. About 25 percent is dark matter, which holds galaxies and larger-scale structures together, and may be a new elementary particle. And 70 percent is thought to be dark energy, which is driving the expansion of the universe to speed up.
The lecture, presented by the Case Western Reserve University Department of Astronomy through the support of the Arthur S. Holden Sr. Endowment, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the Cleveland Astronomical Society, is free and open to the public. There is a $6 parking fee. Light refreshments will be served.
Earlier in the day, Frieman will give a special astronomy colloquium, titled: “Probing Cosmic Acceleration with the Dark Energy Survey.” Frieman will provide an overview of the project, which achieved “first light” in September 2012 and is in its second of five survey seasons, and describe early science results. This colloquium will be held in the Sears Library, room 552, at 4 p.m.
For more information on the lecture series, visit the Department of Astronomy’s website.