Astronomy Talk: “Understanding the Accelerating Universe” By Prof. Isobel Hook

“Understanding the Accelerating Universe”
by Professor Isobel Hook
Date/time: 24th April 2026; 19:30

Venue: Newchurch Pavilion, Newchurch, Sandown, Isle of Wight, PO36 0LX [nearest postcode] UK AND simultaneously over Zoom

Tickets to join the event online are available from Eventbrite (at £3.00 suggested donation) using the following link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/understanding-the-accelerating-universe-by-professor-isobel-hook-tickets-1986630246546

The Talk: “Understanding the Accelerating Universe” Over 25 years ago, two teams of astronomers discovered that the expansion of the Universe is accelerating. This discovery was based on careful measurements of supernovae (SN), and the unexpected result earned the Nobel Prize for physics in 2011. However, the cause of the accelerating expansion remains a mystery. One explanation is that the universe is being pushed apart by some mysterious "dark energy", acting against the pull of gravity. In this talk, I will describe the work that led to the original discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe. I will then describe the latest advances in observations of supernovae and some recent, tantalising results on the nature of dark energy. Finally, I will discuss the exciting prospects and challenges for the future as several new telescopes come into operation, including the ESA Euclid mission and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, and the future European Extremely Large Telescope, which will be the biggest optical telescope in the World.

The Speaker: Isobel Hook is a Professor of Astrophysics at Lancaster University. She gained her PhD from the University of Cambridge and went on to postdoctoral fellowships at U.C. Berkeley and at the HQ of the European Southern Observatory in Germany. She then held roles connected with the Gemini Observatory, including a 2-year position at the Gemini-North telescope in Hawaii. She later worked on the European Extremely Large Telescope project, based jointly in Oxford and Rome. In 2016 she moved to Lancaster to lead a new Observational Astrophysics group there.

Her current research is focused on the use of Type Ia supernovae for cosmology. As a member of Supernova Cosmology Project (SCP), she was involved in the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the universe, and was awarded a share of the 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize and the 2015 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics. She is now involved with planning a new generation of surveys to understand dark energy. She was recently awarded the Caroline Herschel Medal jointly by the Royal Astronomical Society and the German Astronomical Society, for her contributions to cosmology and to astronomical instrumentation.

The Host: Vectis Astronomical Society The Vectis Astronomical Society (http://www.wightstronomy.org) meets on the 4th Friday of most months, excluding December. The talks are open for non-members to attend. We have a suggested donation of £3.00 for non-members of VAS. The speakers come from all over the country and give a presentation for around 45 minutes, with a chance for questions and answers afterwards. Please see the calendar on our website for details of other events.