Nobel physics prize awarded to 3 scientists for expanding our understanding of the cosmos

(Image credit: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images)

published 8 October 2019

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday to James Peebles, Michel Mayor, and Didier Queloz for their "contributions to our understanding of the evolution of the universe and Earth's place in the cosmos."

Half the nearly $1 million prize was awarded to Peebles, a Canadian-born Princeton professor whose theoretical cosmological framework "is the foundation of our modern understanding of the universe’s history, from the Big Bang to the present day," the Swedish academy said. Mayor and Queloz, both Swiss, split the other half for their groundbreaking discovery of an exoplanet, or the first planet found outside our solar system. Since their 1995 discovery sparked "a revolution in astronomy, and over 4,000 exoplanets have since been found in the Milky Way," the academy said. You can read more about their work at the Nobel site.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.

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