Stephen Hawking – Astronomy Now

Stephen Hawking’s final thoughts about the big bang

2 May 2018 Astronomy Now

In a paper billed as Stephen Hawking’s final theory on the origin of the universe, the famed physicist and co-author Thomas Hertog argue that the widely held concept of “eternal inflation” is incorrect.

Stephen Hawking 1942-2018

14 March 2018 Keith Cooper

Professor Stephen Hawking, who was probably the most renowned and recognisable scientist in the world, and famed for his work on black holes, has died aged 76.

Breakthrough Listen searches new-found nearby planet Proxima b for signs of ET

8 November 2016 Astronomy Now

Breakthrough Listen, the 10-year, $100-million astronomical search for intelligent life beyond Earth launched in 2015 by Internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking, has just announced its first observations of newly-discovered Earth-size planet Proxima b orbiting the nearest star to the Sun using the Parkes Radio Telescope in New South Wales, Australia.

Celebrating the golden anniversary of black-hole singularities

2 October 2015 Astronomy Now

When a star collapses forming a black hole, a space-time singularity is created wherein the laws of physics no longer work. In 1965, Sir Roger Penrose presented a theorem where he associated that singularity with so-called ”trapped surfaces” that shrink over time. That hypothesis — one of the results of the general theory of relativity — is now celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Lick Observatory joins search for intelligent life in the universe

21 July 2015 Astronomy Now

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced a $100 million initiative to dramatically reinvigorate the search for intelligent life in the universe over the next ten years. Lick Observatory’s Automated Planet Finder (APF) Telescope will undertake a new deep and broad search for optical laser transmissions from nearby civilisations, if any exist.

Black holes may reveal what lies within

6 April 2015 Astronomy Now

The “information loss paradox” in black holes — a problem that has plagued physics for nearly 40 years, since Stephen Hawking first proposed that black holes could radiate energy and evaporate over time — may not exist, according to University at Buffalo scientists.