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Gravitation

Star Formation

Stars form in huge clouds of gas and dust called nebulae. These areas of space are sometimes known as 'stellar nurseries' or 'star forming regions'.

A wide column of red/brown cloud and gas rises upwards in the middle, splitting off into three separate vertical branches. The background is dark blue and black, though brighter around the edges of the branches. Throughout the image, there are bright red and white dots of stars scattered throughout. Three particularly large red stars are visible in the upper left quadrant of the image.
This work by NASA/ESA,/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
A small region of the Eagle Nebula. This structure has been named the 'Pillars of Creation'.

Blackholes

Black holes are very strange objects. They are made during supernova explosions. These take place when very massive stars come to the end of their lives.

A fuzzy orange and yellow ring-like shape with a fuzzy black circle in the centre. The shape is against a black background.
This work by EHT Collaboration/ESO is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
The black hole at the centre of Messier 87

Gravitational Lensing

Space is not flat. It is 3D, and we say that everything in it is held together on an imaginary surface we call spacetime. The idea of spacetime was put forward in Einstein's theory of relativity.

A white meshed grid against a black background. Three spheres of different size and mass sit on the grid, appearing to distort the grid beneath it. The largest sphere is yellow and causes the most distortion, with the next smallest being orange that causes less distortion. A red sphere is the smallest, with the mesh around it barely being distorted.
This work by ESA–C.Carreau is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Artists impression visualising space-time being distorted by three spheres with different masses. 

Gravitational Waves

Gravitational waves are tiny, invisible ripples in space. They travel for huge distances at the speed of light. The waves squeeze and stretch any objects they pass, but only by a tiny amount.

An artists impression of gravity waves caused by binary neutrons stars. The stars are blue dots towards the upper right of the image. There appears to be ripples extending out from them, moving through a blue and yellow lattice grid.
This work by R.Hurt/JPL-Caltech is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
Artist impression of gravitational waves caused by two orbiting neutron stars.

Relativity

Gravity is the force we are most familiar with in everyday life. It has been studied for longer than the other forces of nature. However, it is also the least well understood.

An image showing many galaxies within a cluster. Towards the centre, the light has curved, appearing to form the outline of a face and a mouth smiling whilst two bright galaxies look like the eyes.
This work by NASA/ESA is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
A galaxy cluster appearing to have two eyes and a nose to form a smiley face. The eyes are actually very bright galaxies, and the lines are arcs caused by an effect called gravitational lensing.

Arthur Eddington

Occupation

Astronomer, Physicist, Mathematician

Year Born 

1882

Research Areas

Nuclear fusion processes inside stars, General Relativity

 

A black and white portrait photograph of Arthur Eddington
This work by George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. is licensed under Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal