# Event Details - **Event Name**: Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 28 Jan, 2026 at 07:00 pm – Wed, 28 Jan, 2026 at 08:30 pm - **Event Description**: Dr Robert Kirshner gives a free, nontechnical talk on how astronomers discovered a puzzling energy speeding up the expansion of the universeAbout this EventDr. Robert Kirshner (Thirty-Meter Telescope Obs.) will give a free, illustrated, non-technical lecture entitled:“Discovering Dark Energy and New Developments in our Understanding"in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College, in Los Altos (see directions below)The talk is part of the Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series, now in its 26th year.Our Universe has provided many surprises to astronomers. One hundred years ago, Edwin Hubble showed it is expanding. In the 1990s, we found that the expansion is not slowing down as expected, but speeding up. This led to a Nobel Prize in Physics (for our speaker's students) and a consensus that we live in a universe that is made up of invisible dark matter, mysterious dark energy, and only a pinch of the atoms we, and everything we can see in the Universe, are made of. Recent observations indicate that even this picture may be too simple to account for all the evidence. Perhaps the dark energy is not the factor Einstein invented (and discarded) in his ideas about the universe, but something else that evolves with time. Nature is more inventive than human imagination!Robert Kirshner has served as the Executive Director of the Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory since 2022. Prior to that, he was the Head of Science at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Having spent 30 years on the Harvard Faculty, he is now Clowes Professor of Science Emeritus, and also Research Professor at the California Institute of Technology. His extensive work on supernova explosions led to his engagement in the pursuit of cosmic deceleration, with the astonishing result that the expansion of the Universe is not slowing down, but speeding up. Kirshner is an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the recipient of the 2025 Wolf Prize in Physics, and served as President of the American Astronomical Society. He is the author of the popular book, The Extravagant Universe.Foothill College is just off the El Monte Road exit from Freeway 280 in Los Altos.For directions and parking information, see: https://foothill.edu/parking/For a campus map, to find the Smithwick Theater (Bldg. 1000), see:https://foothill.edu/map/Note: Parking lot 1 is closest, with access to the theater by stairs. Parking lot 5 provides access from the same elevation as the theater.The lecture is co-sponsored by:* The Foothill College Science, Tech, Engineering & Math Division* The SETI Institute and* The Astronomical Society of the PacificPast lectures in the series can also be found on YouTube at: http://youtube.com/svastronomylecturesand as audio podcasts at: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1805595 - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/los-altos-hills/free-public-talk-on-the-discovery-of-and-whats-new-with-dark-energy/100001980887202948 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, theatre - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Los Altos Hills - **state**: CA - **country**: United States - **location**: Smithwick Theater - **lat**: 37.360308 - **long**: -122.126705 - **full address**: Smithwick Theater, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events6/banners/beb911c17145be62be43edf2aa36ceec60cbaa12b45047be5407c2ba21e60ea2-rimg-w1200-h799-dc1b1a19-gmir.jpg?v=1769227244 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy being held? - **A:** Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy takes place on Wed, 28 Jan, 2026 at 07:00 pm to Wed, 28 Jan, 2026 at 08:30 pm at Smithwick Theater, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy? - **A:** Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy is organized by Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Los Altos Hills, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. If Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy sounds like your kind of event, don't wait - spots fill up fast. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "Free Public Talk on The Discovery of, and What's New with, Dark Energy", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events6/banners/beb911c17145be62be43edf2aa36ceec60cbaa12b45047be5407c2ba21e60ea2-rimg-w1200-h799-dc1b1a19-gmir.jpg?v=1769227244", "startDate": "2026-01-28", "endDate": "2026-01-28", "url": "https://allevents.in/los-altos-hills/free-public-talk-on-the-discovery-of-and-whats-new-with-dark-energy/100001980887202948", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "Smithwick Theater", "address": { "@type": "PostalAddress", "streetAddress": "Foothill College", "postalCode": "94022", "addressLocality": "Los Altos Hills", "addressRegion": "CA", "addressCountry": "US" }, "geo": { "@type": "GeoCoordinates", "latitude": "37.360308", "longitude": "-122.126705" } }, "eventAttendanceMode": "https://schema.org/OfflineEventAttendanceMode", "description": "Dr Robert Kirshner gives a free, nontechnical talk on how astronomers discovered a puzzling energy speeding up the expansion of the universe", "offers": [ { "@type": "AggregateOffer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-10", "availabilityEnds": "2026-01-28", "validFrom": "2026-04-10", "lowPrice": "0.00", "highPrice": "0.00", "price": "0.00", "url": "https://allevents.in/los-altos-hills/free-public-talk-on-the-discovery-of-and-whats-new-with-dark-energy/100001980887202948" }, { "@type": "Offer", "availability": "https://schema.org/InStock", "priceCurrency": "USD", "availabilityStarts": "2026-04-10", "availabilityEnds": "", "validFrom": "2026-04-10", "url": "https://allevents.in/los-altos-hills/free-public-talk-on-the-discovery-of-and-whats-new-with-dark-energy/100001980887202948", "price": 0, "name": "General Admission" } ], "organizer": [ { "@type": "Organization", "name": "Silicon Valley Astronomy Lecture Series", "url": "https://allevents.in/org/silicon-valley-astronomy-lecture-series/18380864", "description": "Now in its 19th year, the Silicon Valley Lecture Series at Foothill College offers six free nontechnical talks each year on new developments in our exploration of the universe.  The talks are ponsored by the Foothill College Astronomy Department, NASA's Ames Research Center, the SETI Institute, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific." } ] } ] ```