Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
3 Win Nobel Prize in Physics for Work to Understand Cosmos
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
October 8, 2019

Share

STOCKHOLM — A Canadian-American cosmologist and two Swiss scientists won this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday for exploring the evolution of the universe and discovering a new kind of planet, with implications for that nagging question: Does life exist only on Earth?

“This year’s Nobel laureates in physics have painted a picture of the universe far stranger and more wonderful than we ever could have imagined. Our view of our place in the universe will never be the same again.” — Ulf Danielsson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Canadian-born James Peebles, 84, an emeritus professor at Princeton University, won for his theoretical discoveries in cosmology. Swiss star-gazers Michel Mayor, 77, and Didier Queloz, 53, both of the University of Geneva, were honored for finding an exoplanet — a planet outside our solar system — that orbits a sun-like star, the Nobel committee said.
“This year’s Nobel laureates in physics have painted a picture of the universe far stranger and more wonderful than we ever could have imagined,” said Ulf Danielsson of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which selected the laureates. “Our view of our place in the universe will never be the same again.”
Peebles, hailed as one of the most influential cosmologists of his time who realized the importance of the cosmic radiation background born of the Big Bang, will collect one half of the 9-million kronor ($918,000) cash award. Mayor, who is an astrophysicist, and Queloz, an astronomer who is also at the University of Cambridge in Britain, will share the other half.
The Nobel committee said Peebles’ theoretical framework about the cosmos — and its billions of galaxies and galaxy clusters — amounted to “the foundation of our modern understanding of the universe’s history, from the Big Bang to the present day.”
Photo of Michel Mayor
FILE – Wednesday, May 17, 2006 file photo of Swiss professor Michel Mayor, astrophysicist and director of the Geneva Observatory. The 2019 Nobel prize for Physics was given to James Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology,” and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star,” said Prof. Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences that chooses the laureates. (Salvatore Di Nolfi, Keystone via AP)

Starting a Revolution in Astronomy

His work, which began in the mid-1960s, set the stage for a “transformation” of cosmology over the last half-century, using theoretical tools and calculations that helped interpret traces from the infancy of the universe, the committee said.
A clearly delighted Peebles giggled repeatedly during a phone interview with The Associated Press, recalling how he answered a 5:30 a.m. phone call from Stockholm thinking that “it’s either something very wonderful or it’s something horrible.”
Peebles said he told his wife about the award, “And of course her reaction was, ‘Oh my God!'”
“I have a peaceful life,” he said. “It’s somehow now totally messed up!”
Mayor and Queloz were credited with having “started a revolution in astronomy” notably with the discovery of exoplanet 51 Pegasi B, a gaseous ball comparable with Jupiter, in 1995 — a time when, as Mayor recalled — that “no one knew whether exoplanets existed or not.”
“Prestigious astronomers had been searching for them for years, in vain!” Mayor quipped.

More Than 4,000 Exoplanets Have Since Been Found in the Milky Way Since Then

The committee said more than 4,000 exoplanets have since been found in the Milky Way since then.

“Mayor and Queloz pioneered the path that will allow our generation to address one of the most exciting questions in science: Are we alone?” — Avi Loeb, chair of the Harvard University astronomy department
“Mayor and Queloz pioneered the path that will allow our generation to address one of the most exciting questions in science: Are we alone?” wrote Avi Loeb, chair of the Harvard University astronomy department, in an email.
“We now know that about a quarter of all stars have a planet of Earth’s size and surface temperature, with the potential of hosting liquid water and the chemistry of life on its surface,” he said.
Queloz was meeting with other academics interested in finding new planets when the press office at Cambridge University interrupted to tell him the big news: He had won the Nobel. He thought it was joke at first.
“I could barely breathe,” Queloz told the AP. “It’s enormous. It’s beyond usual emotions. My hand was shaking for a long time. I’m trying to digest it.”
Swedish academy member Mats Larsson said this year’s was “one of the easiest physics prizes for a long time to explain.”
“If there are a hundred billion planetary systems, with maybe 10 billion planetary systems with Earth-like planets, it would be highly unlikely and against all physical theories to assume that life only developed on our planet,” he added.
Photo of James Peebles
In this 2016 photo provided by Princeton University, James Peebles speaks at the 43rd annual Donald R. Hamilton Lecture, at the university in Princeton, N.J. Peebles was among three scientists who won the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2019, for their work in understanding how the universe has evolved, and the Earth’s place in it. The prize was given to Peebles “for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology” and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz “for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.” (Mark Czajkowski/Princeton University via AP)

This Was the 113th Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded Since 1901

The cash prize comes with a gold medal and a diploma that are received at an elegant ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of prize founder Alfred Nobel in 1896, together with five other Nobel winners. The sixth one, the peace prize, is handed out in Oslo, Norway on the same day.
This was the 113th Nobel Prize in Physics awarded since 1901, of which 47 awards have been given to a single laureate. Only three women have been awarded it so far: Marie Curie in 1903, Maria Goeppert-Mayer in 1963 and Donna Strickland in 2018, according to the Nobel website.
On Monday, Americans William G. Kaelin Jr. and Gregg L. Semenza and Britain’s Peter J. Ratcliffe won the Nobel prize for Physiology or Medicine, for discovering details of how the body’s cells sense and react to low oxygen levels, providing a foothold for developing new treatments for anemia, cancer and other diseases.
Nobel, a Swedish industrialist and the inventor of dynamite, decided the physics, chemistry, medicine and literature prizes should be awarded in Stockholm, and the peace prize in Oslo.
The Nobel Prize for Chemistry will be announced Wednesday, two Literature Prizes will be awarded on Thursday, and the Peace Prize comes Friday. This year will see two literature Prizes handed out because the one last year was suspended after a scandal rocked the Swedish Academy.

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

DON'T MISS

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

DON'T MISS

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

UP NEXT

7-Year-Old Girl Was Killed by a Falling Boulder at a Lake Tahoe Ski Resort

UP NEXT

Israel’s Operations in Gaza Expands to Seize ‘Large Areas.’ Palestinians Say Dozens Killed

UP NEXT

Elon Musk Reclaims Top Spot on Forbes’ Billionaires List

UP NEXT

A Palestinian From the West Bank Is First Detainee Under 18 to Die in Israeli Prison, Officials Say

UP NEXT

UN Agency Closes Its Remaining Gaza Bakeries as Food Supplies Dwindle Under Israeli Blockade

UP NEXT

Lakers Hold Off Rockets With 6 3-Pointers Apiece From Dorian Finney-Smith, Gabe Vincent

UP NEXT

Athletics Bat Boy Stewart Thalblum Takes Down Drone in Left Field

UP NEXT

NFL Postpones Tush Push Decision but Passes Other Rule Changes, AP Source Says

UP NEXT

March Madness: It’s South Carolina vs. Texas and UCLA vs. UConn in Women’s Final Four

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

12 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

12 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

12 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

12 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

13 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

14 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

14 hours ago

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

14 hours ago

Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US

14 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family

14 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, ...

7 hours ago

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
7 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

11 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

11 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
12 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

12 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

12 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

12 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

13 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend