From Big Think, Jan. 31, 2023: Fermilab researchers are part of a group who studied analysis from the South Pole Telescope and the Dark Energy Survey in a series of three scientific papers describing the expansion history of the Universe is tells a confusing tale. The predictions and measurements disagree slightly, it could be a hint that our theories about the Universe need to be revised.
South Pole Telescope
Their analysis combines Dark Energy Survey, South Pole Telescope data to better understand the evolution of universe.
When she’s not studying the Cosmic Microwave Background at the South Pole in subzero temperatures, postdoctoral researcher Sasha Rahlin warms up with beach volleyball in Chicago.
Astronomers have unveiled the first image of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. This result provides overwhelming evidence that the object is indeed a black hole and yields valuable clues about the workings of such giants, which are thought to reside at the center of most galaxies.
From UChicago News, Feb. 6, 2020: Fermilab and University of Chicago scientist Brad Benson and colleagues use a different method to calculate the masses of distant galaxies: the polarization, or orientation, of the light left over from the moments after the Big Bang. In doing so, they demonstrate how to “weigh” galaxy clusters using light from the earliest moments of the universe — a new method that could help shed light on dark matter, dark energy and other mysteries of the cosmos.
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.
The South Pole Telescope, specially designed to measure the cosmic microwave background, has recently opened its third-generation camera for a multiyear survey to observe the earliest instants of the universe.
From University of Chicago, Jan. 26, 2016: Argonne, Fermilab and the University of Chicago are among the dozen institutions that are working on upgrading the South Pole Telescope. Scientists are getting ready to install a new camera on the telescope later this year to plumb the earliest history of the cosmos.