The Physical Science (PS) Series offers events that showcase the current understanding of the origin of the Universe, properties of matter and energy and the relationships between them, and space exploration.
Previous PS events have covered dark matter, Switzerland’s CERN Laboratory, the Hubble Telescope, quarks and the cosmos, navigating earth and space, and the physics of baseball.
Distinguished speakers have included Astronaut John Grunsfeld; Nobel Laureate John C. Mather; and Laura Trouille, Astronomer, Northwestern University & Adler Planetarium.
“He pointed out to him the bearings of the coast, explained to him the variations of the compass, and taught him to read in that vast book opened over our heads which they call heaven, and where God writes in azure with letters of diamonds.” — Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Continue reading “Navigation Across the Oceans, Earth, and Space”
Everything we see today, our precious atoms and molecules, got here by traveling on swaths of dark matter. From the oscillations of the hot plasma of the primordial universe, to the formation and dynamics of modern galaxies, dark matter plays a necessary role. The very construct in which we sit is defined by its abundance. Our universe’s evolution is controlled tightly by a cosmic tug-of-war between dark matter and dark energy. Continue reading “C2ST Speakeasy: “Dark Matter — The Dark Path to our Being” with Dr. Ritoban Basu Thakur”
There’s a treasure at the edge of the Solar System. It’s a data recorder, aboard the New Horizons spacecraft, slowly sending to Earth several gigabytes acquired during last summer’s flyby of Pluto. That information is still coming down. At the mission’s home base in Maryland, William S. Higgins witnessed the excitement during the encounter. Now he reviews results, downlinked in recent months, that are illuminating the mysteries of Pluto, its five moons, and its neighborhood. Continue reading “C2ST Speakeasy: “Playback from Pluto: Recent News from NASA’s New Horizon Spacecraft” with William S. Higgins”
“Vandals of the Void: Damaging Meteors from Chelyabinsk to Chicago” with William S. Higgins
Two years ago, a window-shattering shock wave injured 1400 Russians, and startled the world, as a small asteroid hit Chelyabinsk. Violent meteors are rare, but they can be devastating—and meteors have assaulted Chicagoland at least twice. Continue reading “C2ST Speakeasy: “Vandals of the Void: Damaging Meteors from Chelyabinsk to Chicago” with William S. Higgins”
Community Cinema, presented by WTTW and ITVS in partnership with Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, is excited to offer an advance screening of MAKERS: Women In Space, tracing the history of women pioneers in the space program and featuring the next generation of women engineers, scientists, mathematicians and astronauts.
Continue reading “Community Cinema Showcases ‘Makers: Women In Space’”
Is Gravity a realistic view of the hazards of intergalactic travel, or just a reboot of old movie serials with weightlessness thrown in? Is it an examination of solitude and the human need to connect with others, or a soporific woman’s weepie about the pains of unfulfilled motherhood? Gravitas or grasping for meaning?
Continue reading “Cinema Slapdown Round 53: Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity”
