Presenter: Professor Brian Schmidt (Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics, ANU College of Science, The Australian National University)

Venue: The Age Theatre, The Melbourne Museum, MELBOURNE

Time: Wednesday 22 August, 5.30 – 7 pm

Astronomers believe our Universe began in a Big Bang, and is expanding around us. Using optical, radio, and X-ray Telescopes, astronomers have pieced together a puzzling picture, where 96% of the Cosmos is made up of two unknown substances, Dark Matter and Dark Energy. These two mysterious forms of matter have been in a battle for domination of the Universe, with Dark Energy recently winning the struggle, and now pushing the Cosmos apart at an accelerating rate. Despite their profound effects on the Universe, cosmic observations are as of yet the only clues to the existence of the two principal components of the Universe.

Brian Schmidt will describe the life of the Universe that we live in, and how astronomers have used observations to trace our Universe's history back more than 13 Billion years. He will describe how new telescopes are being built to understand the birth of the first stars, galaxies, and black holes in our Universe, and will describe new experiments that are monitoring the struggle between Dark Energy and Dark Matter to better understand these elusive pieces of our Universe.

Presenter: Dr Christine Charles (Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, ANU College of Science, The Australian National University)

Venue: The Age Theatre, The Melbourne Museum, MELBOURNE

Time: Wednesday 22, 7 – 8 pm

Plasmas have existed since the very first moments of the Universe. It is the stuff of stars. It fills the space between stars. It gives us the beautiful northern and southern aurorae. Our houses have plasma TV displays, plasma lights (fluorescent tubes). Everywhere we look, there is plasma. But we stand on solid earth and the solid state accounts for less than one percent of the total mass of the Universe. The rest is plasma, a hot ionised gas containing positive and negative charges. By properly harnessing the plasma state we can make microchips for computers, we can make thrusters to get to the planets and we can make fuel cells to take people just down to the shops.

Melbourne venue & parking details

The Age Theatre, Melbourne Museum, Carlton Gardens, Carlton, Melbourne
T: 131 102

Parking

• Underground commercial parking (7 days). Enter via Nicholson or Rathdowne Streets (height restriction of 2.14 meters), designated disabled parking is on Level P2.
• Two hour street parking Rathdowne and Nicholson Streets.

How to get to the museum

• Tram 86 or 96 to Museum stop, corner of Nicholson and Gertrude Streets
• City Circle Tram to corner Victoria and Nicholson Streets
• City Loop train to Parliament Station
• Bus routes 250, 251, 253, 402 to Rathdowne Street
• Taxi drop off zones on Nicholson and Rathdowne Streets