Brian P. Schmidt

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Galaxy clusters like Abell 2744 can act as a natural cosmic lens, magnifying light from more distant, background objects through gravity. NASA's James Webb Space Telescope may be able to detect light from the first stars in the universe if they are gravitationally lensed by such clusters. (astronomy, space exploration, galaxies)

How Fast Is the Universe Expanding?

Where Did the Moon Come From?

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Arrangement of the phases of the moon in total eclipse with Blood Moon

9 Celestial Omens

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12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”

Discover

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?

Pluto. The Changing Faces of Pluto. Most detailed view to date of the entire surface of the dwarf planet Pluto, as constructed from multiple NASA Hubble Space Telescope photographs taken from 2002 to 2003.

10 Important Dates in Pluto History

In this aerial photo, structures are damaged and destroyed October 15, 2005 in Balakot, Pakistan. It is estimated that 90% of the city of Balakot was leveled by the earthquake. The death toll in the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on October 8, 2005 is believed to be 38,000 with at least 1,300 more dead in Indian Kashmir. SEE CONTENT NOTES.

6 of the World’s Deadliest Natural Disasters

Science & Tech

Brian P. Schmidt

American-born Australian astronomer

Written by Erik Gregersen

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 20, 2024 • Article History

Brian P. Schmidt

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Category: Science & Tech

Born:: February 24, 1967, Missoula, Montana, U.S. (age 57)

Awards And Honors:: Nobel Prize (2011)

Subjects Of Study:: dark energy

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Brian P. Schmidt (born February 24, 1967, Missoula, Montana, U.S.) astronomer who was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of dark energy, a repulsive force that is the dominant component (73 percent) of the universe. He shared the prize with American physicist Saul Perlmutter and astronomer Adam Riess. Schmidt held dual citizenship in Australia and the United States. Schmidt received bachelor’s degrees in physics and astronomy from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1989. He received a master’s (1992) and a doctoral degree (1993) in astronomy from Harvard University, where he shared an adviser, Robert Kirshner, ...(100 of 302 words)

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