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This event will take you on a journey from the beginning of the universe with the Higgs boson and its role in the big bang, to the evolution, formation, and future of our galaxy. We will also hunt for exoplanets! A space-inspired musical composition will be performed by neuroscientist Dr Phillip Smethurst and there will be goodies to be won! The event is held in the basement.
The Large Hadron Collider: Latest news from the energy frontier
Professor Jon Butterworth
(Professor of Physics)
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva, continues to explore the structure of matter at the smallest distances and highest energies. I'll describe what we have learned from it so far – including the discovery of the Higgs boson – how we did it, and why it matters. I will also discuss what might happen next…
Measuring the Universe: the Gaia, Euclid and Plato space missions
Dr Dave Walton
(Senior Research Fellow)
Are there other habitable planets? How much dark matter is there? What’s the future of our galaxy? The UCL Mullard Space Science Lab explores space through missions Gaia, Euclid, and Plato. Gaia measures the positions and velocities of 250 million stars in our galaxy, so we can figure out the future of our galaxy. Euclid measures the amount of dark matter in the Universe, by looking at minuscule distortions in galaxy shapes. Plato hunts for exoplanets using changes in brightness when a planet crosses in front of its parent star.
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