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Wednesday 1 February, 7:00pm After travelling to the far reaches of the cosmos last year,
we return to our own neighbourhood and take a close look at our own natural satellite - The Moon. Where did it come from? What are it's physical properties? These questions and many more will be explored about our companion in space. Wednesday 1 February, 8:00pm Presented by Kevin Davey
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2011 was awarded to three people, including Brian Schmidt of the ANU, "for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae". As soon as supernovae were identified as far more luminous events than the much less powerful classical novae, methods have been sought to use them to measure large distances in the universe. Rare Type Ia supernovae have been accepted as supreme distance indicators of the galaxies in which they occur. Kevin will outline how SN Ia became established as standard candles, leading to Professor Schmidt's determination that the Universe is expanding at an accelerating rate, and the award of his prize.
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