Cosmology

Johns Hopkins University professor Charles L. Bennett has been awarded the Gruber Foundation's annual cosmology prize for research he led that formed the foundation for what scientists know about the makeup, origins and expansion of the universe. Bennett led a team of two dozen researchers from across the country and globe that used NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe to study what conditions were like about 380,000 years after the birth of the universe. The probe launched in 2001, scanned space until 2010 for data on microwave radiation, said to be a remnant of the "big bang" that scientists say marked the birth of the universe.

Johns Hopkins University professor Charles L. Bennett has been awarded the Gruber Foundation's annual cosmology prize for research he led that formed the foundation for what scientists know about the makeup, origins and expansion of the universe. Bennett led a team of two dozen researchers from across the country and globe that used NASA's Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe to study what conditions were like about 380,000 years after the birth of the universe. The probe launched in 2001, scanned space until 2010 for data on microwave radiation, said to be a remnant of the "big bang" that scientists say marked the birth of the universe.

Baltimore astronomer Adam Riess, the lead author on the 1998 paper that first reported that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, will share in the $500,000 Peter Gruber Cosmology Prize for 2007. The unrestricted cash award and gold medal are given annually to scientists for "theoretical, analytical, or conceptual discoveries leading to fundamental advances in the field," according to the foundation's Web site, where the selection was made public yesterday.

The picture on Adam Riess' computer monitor arrived fresh from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. It was the fading light from an exploding star, potentially a key piece of evidence in his yearslong investigation of one of the greatest of all cosmological mysteries - dark energy. But as the Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist waited for the next image to arrive, an e-mail message popped onto his screen. In an instant, he tumbled into what he describes as one of those "uh-oh" moments when everything changes.

Brave New Universe: Illuminating the Darkest Secrets of the Cosmos Paul Halpern and Paul Wesson Joseph Henry Press / 264 pages / $27.95 "Not another book about the Big Bang!" I hear you say. Well, yes, in a way, but there's much to recommend Brave New Universe. In the first place, there is (depending on how close your ear is to the ground) a lot of new news about the universe; in the second, this book makes an excellent primer. The authors, Paul Halpern and Paul Wesson, are both physics professors but not the kind who don't care whether the public understands them or not. They're blessedly lucid.

Virginia Trimble, professor of physics at the University of California at Irvine, will present a lecture entitled, "Cosmology: Man's Place in the Universe," Tuesday at Western Maryland College.The event is free and is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. in the McDaniel Lounge. It is part of a lecture series sponsored by the Delta of Maryland Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa at Western Maryland.Dr. Trimble, who is also a visiting professor of astronomy at the University of Maryland, is involved in several specialized fields of study in astronomy, including stellar evolution; supernova, white dwarf, neutron and binary stars; and galactic evolution.

Consider this:* Nobel Prize-winning chemist Ilya Prigogine's "The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos and The New Laws of Nature," (The Free Press. 228 pages. $24) trumpets a revolution in science equivalent to relativity and quantum mechanics.* Cosmologist Stephen Hawking maintains that the "big bang" that purportedly created the universe billions of years ago may never have happened, and that the "big crunch" ending the universe may not happen either. "A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to the Black Holes" (Bantam.

One of the world's leading theoreticians on cosmic evolution, black holes and galaxies, Sir Martin Rees believes the world is ready for a new Copernican shake-up. Copernicus said the sun and not the Earth was the center of the solar system. Rees goes much further, arguing in his new book, "Before the Beginning," that our universe is but one among an infinite number.Q. Most people have enough problems dealing with the everyday world. What is cosmology and why should people care?A. People clearly are interested in seeing themselves in a broader context.

Thomas S. Whittingham, 71, a retired systems engineer for Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, N.Y., who grew up in Baltimore, died Friday of heart failure. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today at Pearce Memorial Church in North Chili, N.Y.He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Whittingham; two daughters, Elizabeth Newhall of Rochester and Marlena Wetherwax of Hamburg, N.Y.; two sisters, Elsie Zimmerman and Olive Gassaway, both of Baltimore; and two grandchildren.Milton K. Munitz, 82, who retired as distinguished professor of philosophy at the City University of New York, died yesterday of prostate cancer at his home in Scarborough, N.Y. Dr. Munitz, who joined the CUNY faculty in 1973, often discussed in his writings the philosophical implications of cosmology, which has sometimes been defined as an inquiry into the universe as a whole.

If you've ever wanted to ask an astronomer to explain black holes, or the big bang, or to tell you why looking out into space is the same as looking back in time, get to College Park this weekend.The University of Maryland is host to "Universe '95," a two-day national astronomy festival designed mostly for amateur astronomers, backyard stargazers and people who are just plain curious.Among the attractions:* An "Ask the Astronomer" exhibit. Astronomers from the staff of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore will answer questions about the Hubble Space Telescope and the cosmos.

Baltimore astronomer Adam Riess, the lead author on the 1998 paper that first reported that the expansion of the universe is accelerating, will share in the $500,000 Peter Gruber Cosmology Prize for 2007. The unrestricted cash award and gold medal are given annually to scientists for "theoretical, analytical, or conceptual discoveries leading to fundamental advances in the field," according to the foundation's Web site, where the selection was made public yesterday.

Brave New Universe: Illuminating the Darkest Secrets of the Cosmos Paul Halpern and Paul Wesson Joseph Henry Press / 264 pages / $27.95 "Not another book about the Big Bang!" I hear you say. Well, yes, in a way, but there's much to recommend Brave New Universe. In the first place, there is (depending on how close your ear is to the ground) a lot of new news about the universe; in the second, this book makes an excellent primer. The authors, Paul Halpern and Paul Wesson, are both physics professors but not the kind who don't care whether the public understands them or not. They're blessedly lucid.

It is fitting that Vine Deloria Jr.'s spirit chose to pass on Nov. 13, so close to Thanksgiving. Mr. Deloria, famous for his acerbic wit as he punched holes in American Indian stereotypes, would have appreciated the irony of dying days before a holiday that mythologizes the American Indian. A Standing Rock Sioux, he was nearly as influential to contemporary American Indians as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was to blacks. Mr. Deloria hit mainstream America's radar in 1969 with the publication of his book Custer Died for Your Sins, a scathing review of Indian and American relations.

Has the Flying Spaghetti Monster touched you with His Noodly Appendage? Bobby Henderson hopes so. Henderson was honked off, to put it mildly, by those urging the teaching of Intelligent Design in high-school science courses (as is being considered in Kansas), a position recently supported by President Bush. After a 4 a.m. stroke of inspiration, the 25-year-old, who has a degree in physics from Oregon State University, conceived the Flying Spaghetti Monster as the fount of a new religion.

One of the world's leading theoreticians on cosmic evolution, black holes and galaxies, Sir Martin Rees believes the world is ready for a new Copernican shake-up. Copernicus said the sun and not the Earth was the center of the solar system. Rees goes much further, arguing in his new book, "Before the Beginning," that our universe is but one among an infinite number.Q. Most people have enough problems dealing with the everyday world. What is cosmology and why should people care?A. People clearly are interested in seeing themselves in a broader context.

Consider this:* Nobel Prize-winning chemist Ilya Prigogine's "The End of Certainty: Time, Chaos and The New Laws of Nature," (The Free Press. 228 pages. $24) trumpets a revolution in science equivalent to relativity and quantum mechanics.* Cosmologist Stephen Hawking maintains that the "big bang" that purportedly created the universe billions of years ago may never have happened, and that the "big crunch" ending the universe may not happen either. "A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to the Black Holes" (Bantam.

The picture on Adam Riess' computer monitor arrived fresh from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. It was the fading light from an exploding star, potentially a key piece of evidence in his yearslong investigation of one of the greatest of all cosmological mysteries - dark energy. But as the Johns Hopkins University astrophysicist waited for the next image to arrive, an e-mail message popped onto his screen. In an instant, he tumbled into what he describes as one of those "uh-oh" moments when everything changes.

Has the Flying Spaghetti Monster touched you with His Noodly Appendage? Bobby Henderson hopes so. Henderson was honked off, to put it mildly, by those urging the teaching of Intelligent Design in high-school science courses (as is being considered in Kansas), a position recently supported by President Bush. After a 4 a.m. stroke of inspiration, the 25-year-old, who has a degree in physics from Oregon State University, conceived the Flying Spaghetti Monster as the fount of a new religion.

Thomas S. Whittingham, 71, a retired systems engineer for Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, N.Y., who grew up in Baltimore, died Friday of heart failure. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. today at Pearce Memorial Church in North Chili, N.Y.He is survived by his wife, Dorothy Whittingham; two daughters, Elizabeth Newhall of Rochester and Marlena Wetherwax of Hamburg, N.Y.; two sisters, Elsie Zimmerman and Olive Gassaway, both of Baltimore; and two grandchildren.Milton K. Munitz, 82, who retired as distinguished professor of philosophy at the City University of New York, died yesterday of prostate cancer at his home in Scarborough, N.Y. Dr. Munitz, who joined the CUNY faculty in 1973, often discussed in his writings the philosophical implications of cosmology, which has sometimes been defined as an inquiry into the universe as a whole.

If you've ever wanted to ask an astronomer to explain black holes, or the big bang, or to tell you why looking out into space is the same as looking back in time, get to College Park this weekend.The University of Maryland is host to "Universe '95," a two-day national astronomy festival designed mostly for amateur astronomers, backyard stargazers and people who are just plain curious.Among the attractions:* An "Ask the Astronomer" exhibit. Astronomers from the staff of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore will answer questions about the Hubble Space Telescope and the cosmos.