Scott Kay: Our Invisible Universe

Scott Kay is a Reader in the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics within the University of Manchester’s School of Physics and Astronomy. He works in the cosmology research group, running computer simulations of the universe. These simulations allow him to study the physics of how galaxies and clusters of galaxies form, and what these simulations can teach us about dark matter.

Talk: Dark Matter -Our Invisible Universe

Dark matter is now thought to make up most of the mass in our Universe; it would otherwise be very difficult to explain a wide range of astronomical observations, from the properties of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation to the motions of stars in galaxies and galaxies in clusters. In his talk, Scott will explain how these observations have led us to this conclusion. He will also present results from computer simulations of the universe, showing how the dark matter is predicted to form an invisible cosmic web that connects all the galaxies.