Viewing single post of blog So don’t rely on the starry skies

Image right: BICEP2 Science Images

Image left: BICEP2 telescope panorama image

[see below links for research background]

New work inspired by ‘B Mode’ – twisted patterns of light believed by many scientists to be evidence of activity at the very beginnings of our Universe.

B Mode signals were created by primordial gravitational waves.

Gravitational waves are ripples in the curvature of spacetime. B Modes were the very early gravitational waves that were produced by inflation in the early universe – watch gravitational wave astronomy – Martin Hendry TEDxGlasgow

An amazing coincidence happened when I went along to a talk at the Hunterian Art Gallery in June. The speaker from the School of Physics and Astronomy, is heavily researching Gravitational Waves…right at my door step! Could not believe this and was very excited at an invite to the Institute for Gravitational Waves at Glasgow University. Mr Killow explained it is an international effort to directly detect gravitational waves. Little did I know that a team is making a detector of high precision – functional by laser beams to measure them in space. There is a 1:20 chance of direct detection – if found – will be amazing result to our understanding of the universe. And create a new science.

If detected – “unique view at the first moments of the universe”

Physicist Michael

It was at this lunchtime Insight talk were I found out 2015 is the international year of light. The website is rich with resources and exciting events going on across the world: www.light2015.org

 

 

Links:

January 2015: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4469

March 2015: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31798012

March 2015 BBC Horizon documentary – unavailable to watch see clips bottom of webpage: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b055knk1

March 2014 Sean Carroll blog (“in truth only atoms and the void”):

http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2014/03/16/gravitational-waves-in-the-cosmic-microwave-background/

Images & sound file NASA:

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-109

List of NASA BICP2 images for download (used in this post): http://bicepkeck.org/visuals.html

Sound file: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/spaceimages/details.php?id=PIA16881

Astronomy Picture of the Day: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

July 2013 blog: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/seeking-the-cosmic-dawn/

Touching Space-Time is a research project in Glasgow University – a collaboration between Designers, Artists and Scientists: http://touchingspacetime.tumblr.com/

 


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