Speaker: Amber Straughn (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center)

Our everyday experience with gravity is that of an attractive force: it pulls things closer. But we’ve discovered a very peculiar property about our expanding universe: the expansion is accelerating, as if some repulsive force is pushing it apart. Why and how does this unknown 'dark energy' push the cosmos?  This strange, fundamental question is one that NASA’s WFIRST telescope is designed to address. That same technology will also allow us to learn more about exoplanets in new ways, and will provide us with images that are ~100x larger in area than Hubble and Webb. The WFIRST mission will set the stage to usher in a new era of understanding about our universe.

The 2017 Public Lecture Series offers talks on a diverse selection of cosmic topics held the first Tuesday of every month in the STScI John N. Bahcall Auditorium. Admission is free and free parking is available in the lot across the street. Find information related to driving directions and relevant transportation resources on our Getting Here page. Further information and directions are available by calling 410-338-4700.

Live and archived recordings:

• News and Introductions
• Dark Energy and New Worlds: NASA's WFIRST Mission (YouTube)