ACA Lecture Series -- Dr. Karl Gebhardt: "'HETDEX', The Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment" 2012-07-01 In the last few years, astronomical observations have shown that our Universe is experiencing a rapid acceleration. This mysterious force is called dark energy. We have no idea about the nature of dark energy, even though it represents over 70% of the total energy in the Universe. Understanding Dark Energy is truly one of the most important endeavors of scientists today; it has implications for both how the Universe formed and how it will end. We have undertaken a campaign to use the HET to illuminate the nature of dark energy. Our project is called HETDEX, the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment. There are numerous world-wide teams targeting dark energy; our novel approach, however, gives us the advantage in both accuracy and speed. Dr. Gebhardt will overview the need for understanding dark energy, the basic observational approach for studying it, and the HETDEX project. The ACA Lecture Series (http://www.atheist-community.org/lectures/) is a monthly event in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. Lectures are generally free and open to the public. The ACA Lecture Series is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin (http://www.atheist-community.org/) is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals.
The Atheist Experience is a weekly cable access television show in Austin, Texas geared at a non-atheist audience. The Atheist Experience is produced by the Atheist Community of Austin. The Atheist Community of Austin is organized as a nonprofit educational corporation to develop and support the atheist community, to provide opportunities for socializing and friendship, to promote secular viewpoints, to encourage positive atheist culture, to defend the first amendment principle of state-church separation, to oppose discrimination against atheists and to work with other organizations in pursuit of common goals. DVDs of the Atheist Experience can be purchased via atheist-community.org/products. More shows and media types can be found in our archive and our fan page.
