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Light

Gravitational Lensing

Space is not flat. It is 3D, and we say that everything in it is held together on an imaginary surface we call spacetime. The idea of spacetime was put forward in Einstein's theory of relativity.

A white meshed grid against a black background. Three spheres of different size and mass sit on the grid, appearing to distort the grid beneath it. The largest sphere is yellow and causes the most distortion, with the next smallest being orange that causes less distortion. A red sphere is the smallest, with the mesh around it barely being distorted.
This work by ESA–C.Carreau is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Artists impression visualising space-time being distorted by three spheres with different masses. 

Relativity

Gravity is the force we are most familiar with in everyday life. It has been studied for longer than the other forces of nature. However, it is also the least well understood.

An image showing many galaxies within a cluster. Towards the centre, the light has curved, appearing to form the outline of a face and a mouth smiling whilst two bright galaxies look like the eyes.
This work by NASA/ESA is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
A galaxy cluster appearing to have two eyes and a nose to form a smiley face. The eyes are actually very bright galaxies, and the lines are arcs caused by an effect called gravitational lensing.

Light and Telescopes

One of the first people to study light was Ibn al-Haytham (known as Alhazen). He was a Muslim, living in Egypt in the early 11th Century. Alhazen is first person we know of who used the scientific method. He wanted to know why our eyes could see things.

A simple experiment using paper and a light source to show light travels in straight lines..
This work by The Schools' Observatory is licensed under All rights reserved
A simple experiment using paper and a light source to show light travels in straight lines

Cecilia Payne Gaposchkin

Occupation

Astronomer

Year born

1900

Research Areas

Stars, Spectroscopy

 

A black and white photograph of Cecil Payne-Gaposchkin. She is standing and looking to one side.
This work by Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 90-105, Science Service Records, Image No. SIA2009-1327 is licensed under All rights reserved