Physics in the Forest - Gravity

In April 2018 we opened our new, state of the art Gillian Dickinson Astro-imaging Academy, to further our aims of inspiring and educating as wide an audience as possible about the Universe.

These new ‘Physics in the Forest’ events are designed for the guest that wants to learn that little bit more. We will delve deep into a current topic in Astronomy and discuss the science behind the headlines, while keeping things digestible and understandable.

We will take a look at our powerful new telescopes designed for deep sky imaging and astronomical data gathering, and weather permitting there’ll be a chance to gaze through eyepieces at some of the majestic sights of the Cosmos.

Gravity: From the Pendulum to Dark Energy 

Our studies of gravity started when Galileo became fascinated by the regular swinging of a pendulum around the turn of the 1600’s. Since then, we have come to understand how this ever-present attraction between objects has sculpted our Universe on scales large and small. But, despite over 400 years of investigation, there is still much about gravity we do not understand. Why is it so weak compared to the other forces of nature? Why is there ‘too much’ of it at the edges of galaxies, causing them to rotate more quickly than expected? And why is this force not slowing down the expansion of the Universe? 

Tonight we journey to the edge of the Universe and the edge of human understanding, all from the comfort of the tranquil Kielder Forest.