Gravitational Lensing
Space is not flat. It is 3D, and we say that everything in it is held together on an imaginary surface we call spacetime. The idea of spacetime was put forward in Einstein's theory of relativity.
- How does Gravitational Lensing happen?
Lensing happens when light from directly behind a massive object, from our line of sight, can be bent around it. We call this gravitational lensing, and it is a way to see an example of the theory of relativity.
Edwin Hubble
Occupation
Astronomer, Cosmologist
Year born
1889
Research Areas
Galaxies, Extra-galactic astronomy, Observational cosmology
- Early Life
Edwin was born in Missouri, USA. As a child, he enjoyed reading science fiction books. When he won a scholarship to the University of Chicago, his father wanted him to study law, not astronomy. Following college, Edwin worked as a high school teacher and basketball team coach.
Mario Hamuy
Credit: By Puzhok (own work) at English Wikipedia - GFDL
Original text: I (Puzhok) created this work entirely by myself.
Occupation: Astronomer and Professor
Year born: 1960
Create An Expanding Universe
Timeline of Astronomy
Did you know that our understanding of science and space had gradually been built over thousands of years? Discover the people from the past whose observations and experiments helped us understand our Solar System and the
Carlos Frenk
Early Life
Carlos was born in Mexico. He is the son of a German-Jewish immigrant father and a Mexican-Spanish mother. Half of Carlos’ family are musicians, the other half are doctors. Carlos was interested in maths and nature when he was young. He did not feel that music or medicine would suit him. Carlos has an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Mexico. He started off studying engineering. He switched to physics when he realised that he was more interested in “why things work?” than “how?”.
Year born: 1951
Research Areas: Supercomputer Simulations, Galaxy Formation
"Scientists are sceptics. But the main thing is you have to be a rebel, because otherwise you don’t contribute to new ideas."
Stephen Hawking
Credit: Jim Campbell/Aero-News Network
Occupation: Physicist & Author
Year born: 1942
Research Areas: Cosmology, Theoretical Physics