Michael Rowan-Robinson

Imperial College

Keynote Lecture

Abstract

The Invisible Universe

With our own eyes we can see the night sky of the stars, planets and the Milky Way, the arena of pre-telescopic astronomy. Modern optical telescopes have opened up the universe of galaxies and we are familiar with the superb images of the Hubble Space Telescope. But with the invisible wavelengths of radio, infrared and X-ray, a very different universe comes into view. The astronomy of the invisible wavelengths was inaugurated by William Herschel in 1800 but developed very slowly over the next 160 years. The past fifty years have seen an explosion in our understanding of this strange world.

Biographical Details

Michael Rowan-Robinson has worked in all the astronomical wavebands, but especially in infrared and submillimetre astronomy, and in cosmology. He was Head of Astrophysics at Imperial College from 1993-2007 and President of the Royal Astronomical Society from 2006-8. He was the first recipient of the Institute of Physics' Hoyle Medal in 2008. He is the author of texbooks, including Cosmology, and of popular astronomy books, including Universe and Ripples in the Cosmos.