Explore the night sky with astronomers from the Faculty of Science and Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. The Perseids meteor shower will be at its most spectacular, so let's gather to learn something and then enjoy the view! We will meet first at 7:30pm in the nearby Optometry building for a short lecture by the Director of Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, Dr. Will Percival, who will discuss “How to measure the expansion of the Universe: the quest for the Hubble constant”.
How fast is the Universe expanding? The answer is encoded in the Hubble constant, one of the most important numbers in modern cosmology. Yet different methods of measuring it give conflicting results—a puzzle known as the Hubble tension. In this talk, we'll explore how astronomers measure the expansion rate using nearby stars, distant supernovae, and the afterglow of the Big Bang, why these measurements disagree, and what this discrepancy could reveal about the fundamental nature of the Universe. Is it a sign of hidden errors, or evidence for new physics beyond our current understanding?
This is a family-friendly event, but if your kids will have trouble sitting through a lecture, you're welcome to join us on the Columbia Fields around 8:30pm for the stargazing portion of the evening.
Note that if the skies are cloudy, the lecture will still take place on August 12th, but we will not gather on the fields for stargazing. Please register so that we can keep you updated.
Parking is available in Lot X ($10 payable through the AMP app) near the lecture venue, and in the OpenText lot (free) on Frank Tompa Drive, north of Brubacher House. It is an easy walk between both parking lots, the lecture, and the fields. Please do not park in the small gravel lot adjacent to the field, as your car lights interfere with stargazing.