What is our place in the universe? The universe is a vast expanse of space that contains everything! It contains all the galaxies, stars, and planets. The exact size of the universe is unknown while scientists believe that the universe is still expanding outwards.
Our “Cosmos”, the Universe, contains billions of galaxies, each of them having billions of stars, with most stars having several planets turning around them. Since the distances among the stars are astronomical, unlike the explorers of planet Earth, who sailed across the oceans to discover new worlds, it is impossible for one to become a new-age explorer of the Universe in one’s lifetime.
To reveal new worlds, we thus need to rely on the study of the faint light emitted from distant stars and understand the information encrypted in it. The new age explorers are the astronomers and their tools of the trade are big telescopes on remote mountaintops or even in space.
At the talk titled “Discovering new worlds across the Universe”, professor Vassilis Charmandaris will discuss how astronomers expand our knowledge about the Cosmos using the best telescope currently available, the James Webb Space Telescope.
The discussion with the professor will be moderated by actor, director, and screenwriter Antonis Kafetzopoulos.
Organization: Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas
Vassilis Charmandaris
He is a Professor of Astrophysics at the Department of Physics of the University of Crete and Director of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas and the Skinakas Observatory. He has served as a member of the Astronomy Working Group of the European Space Agency, is a member of the Scientific Council of the Institute of Universe Sciences of the CNRS (France), Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the scientific journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” and President of the Hellenic Astronomical Society.
He has studied and worked at universities and research centers in the USA and France and his scientific work focuses on understanding the mechanisms of energy production in galactic nuclei in the nearby and distant Universe, using mainly observations from space telescopes.
