It took three sky surveys to prepare for a new project that will create the largest 3-D map of the universe’s galaxies and glean new insights about the universe’s accelerating expansion. This Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument project will explore this expansion, driven by a mysterious property known as dark energy, in great detail. The surveys, which wrapped up in March, have amassed images of more than 1 billion galaxies and are essential in selecting celestial objects to target with DESI, now under construction in Arizona.
For the 11th year in a row, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory is inviting families, scout troops and other youth groups to attend the Family Outdoor Fair on Sunday, June 9, from 1-4 p.m. The fair takes place outside the Lederman Science Center and highlights the plant and animal life found on the 6,800-acre Fermilab site in Batavia.
On Saturday, April 20, baby bison season officially began. The first calf of the year was born in the early morning hours, and mother and baby are doing well. Fermilab is expecting between 12 and 14 new calves this spring, and all of our neighbors are welcome to come on site to see and photograph the newborns.
The Event Horizon Telescope—a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration—was designed to capture images of a black hole. On April 10, in coordinated news conferences across the globe, researchers revealed that they have succeeded, unveiling the first direct visual evidence of a supermassive black hole and its shadow.
On Wednesday, April 17, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., Fermilab will offer high school students a valuable opportunity to ask STEM career questions in person. The annual STEM Career Expo, held in the atrium of Wilson Hall, will put students face to face with people actually doing the jobs they will be applying for in the coming years.
The optical lenses for the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument have seen their first light. Fermilab contributed key components to DESI, including the corrector barrel and its support structures, along with vital software that ensures the instrument’s 5,000 robotic positioners are precisely aligned with their celestial targets.
The March 15 ceremony marks the start of work on PIP-II, a major new accelerator project at Fermilab. The PIP-II accelerator will power the long-term future of the laboratory’s research program, including the international Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment.
If you know kids between the ages of 7 and 12, you know how hard it can be to get them excited about science from a textbook. Children love to be wowed and to experience physical phenomena with eyes wide and jaws dropped. That’s the thinking behind Fermilab’s annual Wonders of Science show, which will take place on Sunday, March 10, at 1 p.m. The show, organized and performed by award-winning high school teachers, is celebrating its 32nd year at Fermilab. Tickets are $5.00 per person.
Fermilab’s Family Open House is a chance for the whole family to spend an afternoon learning about science in a hands-on way and have fun doing it. This year’s event, running from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 10, will feature the Great Neutrino Hunt, live physics demonstrations, a memorial to Leon Lederman, and several activities for kids and their parents to enjoy.
Facio uses woven textiles to recreate the structure of the cosmos from astrophysical data. A textiles conservator at the Art Institute of Chicago, he sees parallels between an artist’s and a scientist’s work. Facio will be the fifth artist in the residency program, which Fermilab started in 2014.