A Manitoba-born Nobel Prize winner is set to speak at the Manitoba Museum this month via a live video link, as part of a new program to teach people about what’s happening in outer space.
James Peebles, who was born in St. Boniface, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2019 for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology. He shared the prize with Michel Mayor and Didier Quelez, who won for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.
The scientist did his undergraduate degree at the University of Manitoba and currently works as a professor at Princeton.
Now, Peebles will be bringing his knowledge to the Manitoba Museum on Jan. 30 during ‘An Evening Celebrating Dr. James Peebles.’
“We knew Dr. Peebles lives in New Jersey now so it was unlikely that he could attend in person, but we thought we would try to get in touch with him anyway, to see if we could work something out,” said planetarium astronomer Scott Young in a news release.
“He was more than happy to take time from his continuing research into dark matter to participate in a live video chat with the people of Manitoba about his work.”
Peebles’s virtual visit is part of a new series at the museum called ‘Dark Matters,’ giving the public a chance to connect with researchers, scientists and experts to learn more about astronomy and related topics.
Other speakers in the series include Jayanne English, an associate professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the U of M, who will give a lecture on the Hubble Space Telescope, the most expensive telescope every created and launched into space.
Dark Matters also features an exclusive planetarium show and a cash bar.
Tickets are $15, $12 for members, and can be purchased online.
