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Leading Astronomer to Discuss How the Expansion of the Universe is Speeding Up
Dr. Robert P. Kirshner, one of the world’s leading astronomers, a professor of astronomy at Harvard University and an associate director of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, will visit Westminster School Nov. 15 and 16 to address students, faculty, alumni and parents about astronomy and cosmology.
Dr. Kirshner is known for his research on supernovae, vast explosions of stars. He has authored more than 200 research papers dealing with supernovae, the large-scale distribution of galaxies, and the size and shape of the universe.
“My colleagues and I have used supernovae from halfway across the universe to measure cosmic expansion, which was established by Edwin Hubble in 1929,” said Dr. Kirshner. “The results have turned this field of science upside down. Instead of seeing a gradual slowing due to gravity, we see that the expansion of the universe is speeding up.”
He is also the author of the popular book, The Extravagant Universe, an intriguing history of one of the most significant discoveries in modern cosmology. Michael S. Turner in his review of the book in Science magazine, wrote, “The Extravagant Universe tells the tale of this zany and very talented astronomer’s adventures in pursuit of supernovae. His quest led him to play a key role in one of the most stunning discoveries of the past quarter century; the determination that the expansion of the universe is speeding up, not slowing down.”
Dr. Kirshner’s work on the acceleration of the universe was called the “Science Breakthrough of the Year for 1998” by Science magazine. “The universe is wilder than we ordinarily dare to imagine,” said Dr. Kirshner.
Dr. Kirshner graduated from Harvard College and received a Ph.D. in astronomy at Caltech. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a frequent lecturer on science. Known as a lively and amusing speaker, he was featured prominently in the PBS Nova series Origins. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Scientific American, and Sky & Telescope.
For more information on the Nov. 15 event at 7 p.m., contact David Werner ’80, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations, (860) 408-6501 or dwerner@westminster-school.org.
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Dr. Kirshner is known for his research on supernovae, vast explosions of stars. He has authored more than 200 research papers dealing with supernovae, the large-scale distribution of galaxies, and the size and shape of the universe.
“My colleagues and I have used supernovae from halfway across the universe to measure cosmic expansion, which was established by Edwin Hubble in 1929,” said Dr. Kirshner. “The results have turned this field of science upside down. Instead of seeing a gradual slowing due to gravity, we see that the expansion of the universe is speeding up.”
He is also the author of the popular book, The Extravagant Universe, an intriguing history of one of the most significant discoveries in modern cosmology. Michael S. Turner in his review of the book in Science magazine, wrote, “The Extravagant Universe tells the tale of this zany and very talented astronomer’s adventures in pursuit of supernovae. His quest led him to play a key role in one of the most stunning discoveries of the past quarter century; the determination that the expansion of the universe is speeding up, not slowing down.”
Dr. Kirshner’s work on the acceleration of the universe was called the “Science Breakthrough of the Year for 1998” by Science magazine. “The universe is wilder than we ordinarily dare to imagine,” said Dr. Kirshner.
Dr. Kirshner graduated from Harvard College and received a Ph.D. in astronomy at Caltech. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a frequent lecturer on science. Known as a lively and amusing speaker, he was featured prominently in the PBS Nova series Origins. He has also written for National Geographic, Natural History, Scientific American, and Sky & Telescope.
For more information on the Nov. 15 event at 7 p.m., contact David Werner ’80, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations, (860) 408-6501 or dwerner@westminster-school.org.
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