December 21, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Mission To Explain Everything: UCLA Professor Talks About Astronomy At Santa Monica Rotary Meeting:

Four decades after Apollo 17 astronauts shot the “Blue Marble,” the first complete true-color image of the entire Earth, NASA released the updated version earlier this month of the fully sunlit Earth from one million miles away.

To view Earth in its most current state, wholly illuminated yet covered with expansive clouds, dangling in the blackness, provides equal parts amazement and a cosmic existential crisis. In this newest version of ourselves, our world, the Solar System cannot be seen. Our world is alone in the current Blue Marble, a visual definition of our remote place in the galaxy, at least for the time being.

When the famous British astrophysicist Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding, he essentially discovered the cosmos and supplanted one of the great intellectual revolutions of the 20th century.

About 25 years ago, scientists decided to name one of the most important science projects ever after the founder of modern cosmology: the Hubble Telescope. It was a joint ESA/NASA project with a mission allowing astronomers to make the very high-resolution observations that are essential to open new windows into planets, stars, and other galaxies.

The telescope has been responsible for supplying and unearthing some of the most awe-inducing photographs of the universe and for making over a million scientific observations.

The next generation of this successful but aging telescope will be the James Webb Space Telescope in 2018. During the final servicing mission in 2009, a docking device was fitted onto the base of the Hubble Telescope so that a rocket can easily attach and safely de-orbit the telescope once its mission is complete.

This is where Matthew Malkan comes in. The UCLA professor has been the principle investigator on low orbit Hubble Telescope projects more so than any other astronomer. He spoke to Rotarians on July 24 about what role these bigger-than-life telescopes have on the origins of the universe, and what plans the new telescope has in store for humanity, from the creation of the first galaxies to the evolution of young galaxies, observations about the Big Bang to galaxy surveys through cosmic time.

How we landed in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way galaxy is one of the most frequently asked questions people ask of Malkan. A leader in his field, he has published more than 250 published articles and peer reviews and has focused on his research on infrared radiation, investigating active galactic nuclei and quasars, and the evolution of young galaxies.

His UCLA astronomy department biography describes his research with activity in nearby galaxies as “using high-resolution imaging from the Hubble Space Telescope to analyze the properties of the galaxies which host the various types of active nuclei. One result is that these data do not support the popular model that the principal properties of the active galactic nuclei are determined by the orientation of a compact hypothetical thick torus which surrounds and is aligned with the accrediting black hole.”

Malkan was also a Mashall scholar at the University of Cambridge, received his PhD from Caltech, and has been a professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA since 1992.

As co-author of the undergraduate textbook, “The Origin and Evolution of the Universe,” Malkan provided a dense overview to Rotarians of the Big Bang Theory and what measurements led scientists to think it had occurred.

One of the “most frequent questions that an astrophysicist always gets: how did we get here. When people are asking that what they’re really asking is, why did it happen and why are we here. That’s what we really want to know. Where we’re at right now, science can’t possibly answer all those things. But it’s kind of fun to see how close we can get,” Malkan said.

It begins with the stars and measuring light received from each star.

Astronomers have spent lifetimes measuring the positions, speeds, temperatures, and chemical compositions of millions of stars. Because they have measurements, we know that stars of the universe are currently seen spreading apart from each other, which means they have been close enough together in the past.

With a big enough telescope, one could essentially look far enough into the galaxy to go back in time to the very beginnings of the universe.

There is “overwhelming evidence” that most of the mass in the universe is dark matter – more than 95 percent. Malkan said that it all must have started with dark matter.

“All you need just to give it something, just a little bit of small excess density, little less gravity, expand a little slower, gets a little bit relatively denser than the rest of the universe which means gravity is stronger,” he said. “Extra gravity. So then that region slows down as more deceleration eventually stops accelerating at all and it collapses. And you can see this process happening if you can turn back the clock. If you can turn back time, we’re just using the slowness of light and the bigness of telescopes.”

And that’s why the James Webb Space Telescope is critical to detecting the first stars and galaxies that formed right after the Big Bang, almost 14 billion years ago. With a bigger telescope come more distant objects. The launch of the James Webb telescope will have to be released in space in pieces.

It’s an “incredible gamble and outrageously expensive,” said Malkan, but one he sees as worth it.

For more information about the James Webb Space Telescope visit www.jwst.nasa.gov.

in News
<>Related Posts

Three-Bedroom Bungalow on N Beirut Ave. Lists for $2.8M

December 20, 2024

December 20, 2024

A Refinished Chimney Adds a Classic Touch, While Updated Interior Doors Bring a Fresh, Modern Look A stylishly updated family...

(Video) At Vistamar School – Discover the way high school should be

December 19, 2024

December 19, 2024

Students achieve remarkable outcomes with our strong academics, small classes, andpersonalized approach. Our graduates don’t just attend college—they excel. Vistamar’sunique...

Malibu Prioritizes Safety Over Access in Pacific Coast Highway Improvements

December 19, 2024

December 19, 2024

Efforts to Enhance Safety, Following Fatal Accidents on PCH, Are Necessary In a press release, sent via email by Matt...

Film Review: September 5

December 19, 2024

December 19, 2024

FILM/ REVIEWSEPTEMBER 5Rated R95 Minutes Limited Release December 13th, Wide Release January 17th This film is a documentary-style look at...

 (Video) See What’s Cooking at Bob’s Market’s Hot Food Bar

December 19, 2024

December 19, 2024

Bob’s Market is Located at 1650 Ocean Park Blvd Bob’s Market is Located at 1650 Ocean Park Blvd. pic.twitter.com/3nJVLFZ4L8 —...

California Governor Declares State of Emergency Amid Bird Flu Outbreak in Dairy Cattle

December 18, 2024

December 18, 2024

Governor Newsom’s Action Expands the State’s Response to the H5N1 Virus Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency today...

Fia Restaurant Honors Veterans with a Special Thanksgiving Lunch in Santa Monica

December 18, 2024

December 18, 2024

Chef Scott Erickson, a Former U.S. Marine, Leads Fia’s Efforts to Give Back This Thanksgiving, Fia Restaurant extended its commitment...

Santa Monica to Unveil Plaque Honoring Lloyd C. Allen, the City’s First Black Rec and Parks Commissioner

December 18, 2024

December 18, 2024

Allen Was Instrumental in the Creation of the Park Where the Plaque Will Be Displayed The city of Santa Monica...

Venice Beach’s Iconic “Declaration” Statue to Be Removed Within Months. There’s Still Time for a Patron to Save It

December 18, 2024

December 18, 2024

Declaration Is Now Months Away From Being Dismantled and Transferred to di Suvero’s Sculpture Park in Petaluma, CA. By Zach...

(Video) The Watermark at Beverly Hills Offers Boutique-Style Living for Seniors

December 17, 2024

December 17, 2024

For More Info, Go To Watermarkcommunities.com For More Info, Go To https://t.co/MYpWd0S4Gf pic.twitter.com/DvrpQInU5g — Santa Monica Mirror (@SMMirror) December 18,...

Best Christmas Dinners To Go and Very Special Christmas Treats for Your Holiday Celebration

December 17, 2024

December 17, 2024

Where to Order Some of the Most Delicious and Special Treats for Next Week Christmas is approaching soon and just...

AI-Powered Gym “Fred Fitness” to Debut in Santa Monica

December 17, 2024

December 17, 2024

Fred Fitness Is Part of a Broader Partnership With Clever Fit and Egym, Which Recently Secured $200 Million in Growth...

Red Flag Warning Issued for Malibu as Dangerous Fire Weather, Power Shutoffs Loom

December 17, 2024

December 17, 2024

Santa Ana Winds up to 60 MPH, Low Humidity, and Potential Power Outages Expected  A Red Flag Warning has been...

80 Firefighters Contain Brush Fire Near Murphy’s Ranch in Palisades

December 17, 2024

December 17, 2024

The Operation, Which Lasted Two Hours, Was Made Difficult with Rugged Terrain A small brush fire near Murphy’s Ranch in...

(Video) The Willows: 30 Years Going Strong

December 16, 2024

December 16, 2024

Founded in 1994, The Willows Community School, located in Culver City, California, is a Developmental Kindergarten through 8th grade non-profit, co-educational independent school...