Noted Author And Astrophysicist To Discuss “Revolutions In Astronomy” At UC Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, CA–When thoughts turn to dramatic leaps forward in the history of astronomy, the names Copernicus and Galileo come to mind. But Freeman Dyson would like us to remember Bradley and Zwicky as well.

Dyson, a visionary author and one of the world’s leading theoretical astrophysicists, will discuss advances inspired by these and other less famous figures during "Revolutions in Astronomy," a free public lecture on Thursday, May 26, at UC Santa Cruz. Dyson’s talk will begin at 8 p.m. in Classroom Unit 2.

James Bradley devised finely calibrated instruments in the 1700s for measuring the positions of stars and other objects, says Dyson. "Bradley was the first person who actually measured things accurately, and his accuracy was unbelievable for the time," he says. "He created the science of high precision." Later, Fritz Zwicky devised new ways of surveying the sky in the 1930s. "Zwicky was the discoverer of the universe’s missing mass," Dyson says. "He was a technician who understood tools. Revolutions are generally the results of new tools."

Dyson also plans to discuss more recent and current revolutions. For example, a technique known as "adaptive optics" promises to cancel out the blurring effects of the earth’s atmosphere, allowing telescopes on the ground to see as sharply as those in space. If time permits, Dyson may speculate about revolutions to come.

A native of Berkshire, England, Dyson has been a professor of physics since 1953 at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He has written numerous thought-provoking books, including Disturbing the Universe, From Eros to Gaia, Infinite in All Directions, and Weapons and Hope, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for nonfiction in 1984.

Dyson’s visit is sponsored by UCO/Lick Observatory and the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCSC. His talk is part of the ongoing Delphasus Lecture Series, funded by a private gift to UCSC to increase public appreciation of issues in astronomy and physics.