The Scientific Odyssey

This week we look at the work of Vera Rubin and Fritz Zwicky that led to the idea that roughly 85% of the matter in the universe can't be detected except by the gravitational influence on the matter we can see.  We also consider alternative explanations and examine the evidence in favor of Dark Matter.

In the late 1960's and early 1970's, several problems arose with the Big Bang Theory's attempt to explain certain aspects of the early universe.  In 1979, Alan Guth worked out a solution to those known as the Inflationary Model that added a new layer of understanding of the physical processes that governed the earliest moments of the cosmos.

Wherein we discuss the detection of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.

This week we look at the work of a number of astrophysicists including Cecilia Payne, Arthur Eddington, Hans Bethe and Charles Critchfield, and Fred Hoyle and Willie Fowler to better understand how the elements are made within the cores of stars. Special introduction by Stephen Guerra of the History of the Papacy and the Beyond the Big Screen podcasts.

In 1948, one of the most important papers in the history of science was published in the pages of the Physical Review.  In it, authors Ralph Alpher, Hans Bethe (in absentia) and George Gamow not only perpetrated one of the greatest plays on words in the annals of science, they also put forward the physical calculations in support that the universe as we see it today began from a small, hot, dense state known as the Primeval Fireball. In this episode, we trace the development of that idea.

In our third and final installment of the life of George Ellery Hale, we look at the establishment of the Mt. Wilson Observatory and his other endeavors.  We also examine the psychological pressures that drove him and eventually lead to his mental breakdown.

In the decade between 1890 and 1900, George Hale went from being a promising graduate of MIT to the world famous director of the Yerkes Observatory.  In this episode, we follow his life and work during this critical time. 

This week we begin a biographical series on George Ellery hale by covering his life from his childhood in Chicago up through his graduation and marriage.

The shift from astronomy to astrophysics necessitated the development of new tools of observation at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century.  In this episode, we look at the rise of the reflecting telescopes and the men who use them including, James Keeler and George Ritchey, probably the greatest telescope designer in history.

In 1927 Fr. Georges Lemaitre published a paper in a little known Belgian scientific journal that described an expanding universe.  Two years later, Milton Humason and Edwin Hubble presented evidence to support support this model.  In this episode, we look at the development of the idea of a universe that was not static or steady.