Measuring the Largest Structures in the Universe with the Smallest Telescopes in Space
Michael Zemcov, Rochester Institute of Technology
"Observational astrophysics has frequently been driven by the need for ever increasing angular resolution, which has resulted in larger and more expensive telescopes. However, telescopes with very small apertures can sometimes perform cosmological measurements as important as their larger siblings. In this talk, I will present several examples of small aperture, space-based experiments providing unique views of the large scale structure of the Universe. I will discuss recent results from the Cosmic Infrared Background Experiment (CIBER) that has successfully measured the amplitude of the near-IR background fluctuations on arcminute scales, and recent work using the Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) on New Horizons to measure the cosmic optical background. I will close by discussing the future of this field with a discussion of SPHEREx, a mid-class NASA Explorer mission designed to probe the inflationary history of the Universe and the evolution of galaxies."
Michael Zemcov is currently Assistant Professor in the School of Physics & Astronomy and the Center for Detectors at the Rochester Institute of Technology. He received his Bachelor of Science at the University of British Columbia in 2002 and PhD at Cardiff University in 2006. After his PhD, Zemcov was a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow and then a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow at Caltech. His primary research focus is experimental astrophysics and cosmology, particularly the development of instruments and data analysis methods for a variety of platforms, including ground-based, sub-orbital rockets, and orbital observatories.
Pre-talk dinner with guest speaker Michael Zemcov will be held at 5:00 PM at Tandoor of India, 376, Jefferson Road, Rochester, Rochester NY- 14623, prior to the talk. Contact the House Committee by email for dinner reservations. Email: house@osarochester.org
