ASTRONOMY GROUP 

‘The universe is made mostly of dark matter and dark energy, and we don’t know what either of them is.’

That’s a quote from astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter that one of our u3a members decided to challenge, and as a result has been honoured for his efforts. Brian Cluff, a key member of our Astronomy Group, has been awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Dark Matter is still a mystery to astronomers and physicists. We can’t see it but everyone accepts that it exists because of the effect it has on the universe. Brian’s in-depth research was presented as a thesis to the Royal Astronomical Society who accepted his hypothesis, and invited him to become a Fellow, one of its highest awards.

Brian says that this would never have happened if he had not been a member of the u3a.  The initial preparation for a presentation to his group encouraged him to do the research. The end result is Brian Cluff FRAS.

Congratulations Brian, a well-deserved award and the Group look forward to Brian’s next astronomical investigation which is… ah you will have to join the group to find out.

Gary Swain