David Spergel • The Edges of the Visible Universe

Wolf Humanities Center's 2012-13 Forum on Peripheries January 23, 2013 David Spergel Charles A. Young Professor of Astronomy Professor and Chair of Astrophysical Sciences Princeton University Because light travels at a finite speed, cosmologists observing the farthest peripheries of visible space are also looking backwards in time, seeing the universe in its earliest moments after the Big Bang. These observations enable them to tackle the most daunting questions that drive modern cosmology. What is the universe made of? What existed before the Big Bang? And, given the vast scales and durations at issue, what difference does the fact of human life make? MacArthur Award-winning astrophysicist David Spergel shares his latest thinking on these matters. For more information on this event: https://wolfhumanities.upenn.edu/events/edges-visible-universe