"Nothing will stop us. The road to the stars is steep and dangerous. But we're not afraid . . . Space flights can't be stopped. This isn't the work of one man or even a group of men. It is a historical process which mankind is carrying out in accordance with the natural laws of human development."
— Yuri Gagarin, regards the first death in space (Vladimir Komarov), 1967.
Delve deeper into the enigma of dark energy. These sections will give you an even closer look at the importance of dark energy, theories about its existence, and the techniques and historical background that led into its discovery.
1.What Is Dark Energy?
Does it give us answers — or just reveal more questions?
1.What Is Dark Energy?
Does it give us answers — or just reveal more questions? 2.Fate of the Universe
Will dark energy eventually tear the universe's atoms apart? 3. Type Ia Supernovae
How exploding stars help measure the cosmos 4. Out of Space, Back in Time
How can we see what happened in the early universe? 5. Did Einstein Predict Dark Energy?
He called it his "biggest blunder." But was it? 6. Related Links
Find more topical dark energy information 7. Credits
Special thanks to these contributors The Nobel Prize in Physics 2011
Saul Perlmutter, Brian P. Schmidt, Adam G. Riess
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2011 was divided, one half awarded to Saul Perlmutter, the other half jointly to Brian P. Schmidt and Adam G. Riess "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae".
Photo: Roy Kaltschmidt. Courtesy: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Saul Perlmutter
| Born | 1959 (age 51–52) Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Residence | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | UC Berkeley/LBNL |
| Alma mater | Harvard (AB) / UC Berkeley (PhD) |
| Doctoral advisor | Richard A. Muller[1] |
| Known for | Accelerating universe / Dark energy |
| Notable awards | Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award (2002) Shaw Prize in Astronomy (2006) Gruber Prize in Cosmology (2007) Nobel Prize in Physics (2011) |
Photo: Belinda Pratten, Australian National University
Brian Schmidt
| Born | February 24, 1967 Missoula, Montana, United States |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Arizona (1989), Harvard University (1993) |
| Doctoral advisor | Robert Kirshner |
| Notable awards | Shaw Prize in Astronomy (2006) Nobel Prize in Physics (2011) |
Photo: Homewood Photography
Adam Riess
| Born | December 1969 (age 41) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
|---|---|
| Residence | United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Fields | Physics |
| Institutions | Johns Hopkins University / Space Telescope Science Institute |
| Alma mater | Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley |
| Known for | Accelerating universe / Dark energy |
| Notable awards | Shaw Prize in Astronomy (2006) Nobel Prize in Physics (2011) |
Written in the stars
(Photo by: Whisnu Trie Seno Ajie, Indonesia University of Education,
Former President at Cakrawala Asto Club)
Former President at Cakrawala Asto Club)
"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice..."
~Robert Frost, Fire and Ice, 1920~
~Robert Frost, Fire and Ice, 1920~
Probably it will end in ice, if we are to believe this year's Nobel Laureates in Physics. They have studied several dozen exploding stars, called supernovae, and discovered that the Universe is expanding at an ever-accelerating rate. The discovery came as a complete surprise even to the Laureates themselves.
In 1998, cosmology was shaken at its foundations as two research teams presented their findings. Headed by Saul Perlmutter, one of the teams had set to work in 1988. Brian Schmidt headed another team, launched at the end of 1994, where Adam Riess was to play a crucial role.
The research teams raced to map the Universe by locating the most distant supernovae. More sophisticated telescopes on the ground and in space, as well as more powerful computers and new digital imaging sensors (CCD, Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009), opened the possibility in the 1990s to add more pieces to the cosmological puzzle.
The teams used a particular kind of supernova, called type Ia supernova. It is an explosion of an old compact star that is as heavy as the Sun but as small as the Earth. A single such supernova can emit as much light as a whole galaxy. All in all, the two research teams found over 50 distant supernovae whose light was weaker than expected - this was a sign that the expansion of the Universe was accelerating. The potential pitfalls had been numerous, and the scientists found reassurance in the fact that both groups had reached the same astonishing conclusion.
For almost a century, the Universe has been known to be expanding as a consequence of the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago. However, the discovery that this expansion is accelerating is astounding. If the expansion will continue to speed up the Universe will end in ice.
The acceleration is thought to be driven by dark energy, but what that dark energy is remains an enigma - perhaps the greatest in physics today. What is known is that dark energy constitutes about three quarters of the Universe. Therefore the findings of the 2011 Nobel Laureates in Physics have helped to unveil a Universe that to a large extent is unknown to science. And everything is possible again.
| Read more about this year's prize |
| Information for the Public Pdf 4,9 MB |
| Scientific Background Pdf 1 MB |
In order to read the text you need Acrobat Reader. |
| Links and Further Reading |
1. Saul Perlmutter, U.S. citizen. Born 1959 in Champaign-Urbana, IL, USA. Ph.D. 1986 from University of California, Berkeley, USA. Head of the Supernova Cosmology Project, Professor of Astrophysics, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
www.physics.berkeley.edu/research/faculty/perlmutter.html
2. Brian P. Schmidt, U.S. and Australian citizen. Born 1967 in Missoula, MT, USA. Ph.D. 1993 from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Head of the High-z Supernova Search Team, Distinguished Professor, Australian National University, Weston Creek, Australia.
msowww.anu.edu.au/~brian/
3. Adam G. Riess, U.S. citizen. Born 1969 in Washington, DC, USA. Ph.D. 1996 from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Professor of Astronomy and Physics, Johns Hopkins University and Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
www.stsci.edu/~ariess/
Prize amount: SEK 10 million, with one half to Saul Perlmutter and the other half to be shared equally between Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess.
Contact persons: Erik Huss, Press Officer, Phone +46 8 673 95 44, mobile +46 70 673 96 50, erik.huss@kva.se
Annika Moberg, Editor, Phone +46 8 673 95 22, Mobile +46 70 673 96 90, annika.moberg@kva.se
"Aku sadar bahwa ada keindahan lain yang memukau di Alam Semesta ini selain dari 'Cinta' "
~Arip~
Sources:
1. http://hubblesite.org/
2. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2011/#
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