Everyone is invited to attend! I don't know what the plans are right
now for streaming and/or recording the lecture, but if we do anything
like that I'll forward the details.

Cheers,
Lara Eakins
UT Astronomy


John C. Mather, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (Nobel Prize in Physics, 2006)
"From the Farm to the Nobel Prize: Deciphering the Big Bang"
Antoinette de Vaucouleurs Public Lecture
October 11, 2007 in ACES Avaya Auditorium (room 2.302) 4:00 p.m.

Abstract:
The history of the universe in a nutshell, from the Big Bang to now, and on to
the future - John Mather will tell the story of how we got here, how the
Universe began with a Big Bang, how it could have produced an Earth where
sentient beings can live, and how those beings are discovering their history.
Dr. Mather grew up on the Dairy Research Station in Sussex County, New Jersey
where he developed his strong interest in science. At Nasa, he was Project
Scientist for the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) satellite, which measured
the spectrum (the color) of the heat radiation from the Big Bang, discovered hot
and cold spots in that radiation, and hunted for the first objects that formed
after the great explosion. He will explain Einstein's biggest mistake, show how
Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe, how the COBE mission was
built, and how the COBE data support the Big Bang theory. He will also show
NASA's plans for the next great telescope in space, the James Webb Space
Telescope. It will look even farther back in time than the Hubble Space
Telescope, and will look inside the dusty cocoons where stars and planets are
being born today. Planned for launch in 2013, it may lead to another Nobel Prize
for some lucky observer.