Dr. Kristine Spekkens, of the RMC Department of Physics and Space Science, presented the Cowan Prize lecture titled Galaxies, Cosmology and the Radio Telescope Revolution on 28 November 2022.
Understanding how galaxies form and evolve within the standard cosmological framework that describes the universe is one of the biggest challenges in astronomy today.
The properties of gas-rich, star-forming nearby galaxies are key to this picture, both because they resemble the Milky Way in which we live and also because they dominate the galaxy population in most cosmic environments.
The lecture by Dr. Spekkens described the connection between galaxies, dark matter and cosmology, how the atomic gas in galaxies can be a powerful cosmological probe, and how a revolution in our view of these objects and others in the night sky is underway with a new generation of powerful radio telescopes.
Presented with the support of the RMC Alumni Association, Inc.