Pre-history to 1000 CE: Stone circles, star catalogues, and early observatories
Stone circles and early writings are the first remnants we have of ancient humans and their relationship to the cosmos. Stone circles like Stonehenge, the Goseck Circle in Germany, and similar circles in Egypt, may have been constructed to mark events like solstices and to act as early calendars. Humans were also writing about celestial objects for as long as we’ve had writing, including star catalogues from ancient Babylon.
1608 to 1850: The telescope
In 1608, a Dutch spectacle maker named Hans Lipperhey files a patent for the first telescope. With a new way to look deeper into space, and building on earlier Islamic discoveries, European thinkers propose radical ideas about the Solar System, wandering stars called planets, and even our place in the universe.
1850 to 1956: Technology takes us further
The 19th century witnesses an explosion of new observational technologies. Photography, spectroscopy, and radio telescopes, plus major insights into theoretical physics, help us see beyond what the human eye can detect. New tools also help us create permanent records of the sky.
1957 to 2000: Escape velocity
The Space Age officially kicks off on October 4, 1957, when Sputnik 1 is successfully launched into space. What follows is an explosion of new discoveries that challenge our assumptions about the universe.
2000 – present: Accelerated expansion
Since 2000, major advancements in technology and physics have gone hand in hand, confirming theories and using them to probe further than ever. New tools like LIGO are detecting gravitational waves from black holes while global initiatives and large-scale surveys offer new images and insights.
À propos de l’IP
L'Institut Périmètre est le plus grand centre de recherche en physique théorique au monde. Fondé en 1999, cet institut indépendant vise à favoriser les percées dans la compréhension fondamentale de notre univers, des plus infimes particules au cosmos tout entier. Les recherches effectuées à l’Institut Périmètre reposent sur l'idée que la science fondamentale fait progresser le savoir humain et catalyse l'innovation, et que la physique théorique d'aujourd'hui est la technologie de demain. Situé dans la région de Waterloo, cet établissement sans but lucratif met de l'avant un partenariat public-privé unique en son genre avec entre autres les gouvernements de l'Ontario et du Canada. Il facilite la recherche de pointe, forme la prochaine génération de pionniers de la science et communique le pouvoir de la physique grâce à des programmes primés d'éducation et de vulgarisation.
