Public lecture 'Telescopes on the Moon' given by Professor Joseph Silk
In the framework of the International Conference Dark Matter & Stars 2026
Monday 13 July 2026 at 6:30pm
Centenary Building, Highfield Campus, University of Southampton
We have the honour of welcoming world-renowned astrophysicist Professor Joseph Silk to the School of Mathematics to give a public lecture.
Our Speaker
Professor Joseph Silk is a British-American Astrophysicist with affiliations to the Institute of Astrophysics of Paris in France, Oxford University, and Johns Hopkins University in the USA.
Abstract
Terrestrial telescopes are in crisis mode because of the imminent deterioration in the darkness of the night sky. The lunar surface allows a unique way forward that will be actively explored in the next decades. Gravitational wave telescopes will address the unexplored decihertz gravitational wave signals that will capture the history and growth of merging massive black holes, complementing the science achievable by current and planned gravitational wave observatories. The far side provides a unique radio-quiet environment for exploring our ultimate frontier, the dark ages, some 50 million years after the Big Bang, via low-frequency 21 cm interferometry to probe the beginnings of structure formation with the assembly of the first hydrogen clouds. Dark ages maps at unprecedented resolution will eventually probe the very nature of inflationary cosmology. Optical interferometers, operating at ultrahigh resolution and sensitivity in a space-like environment, will provide targets for the Habitable Worlds Observatory and eventually explore nearby Earth-like exoplanets for imaging and biological tracers to pose the ultimate question of whether we are alone in the Universe. Permanently cold and dark polar craters will provide potential sites for far-infrared telescopes to study the most distant galaxies in the universe. We will also use the spectrum of the cosmic microwave background radiation at terahertz frequencies to probe our cosmic origins.
RSVP
Attendees must book a place to attend this event. Please book early to avoid disappointment. Bookings close at 9:00pm on Thursday 9 July.