Nobel Physics for the hands of three astronomers

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences today announced that three American and American scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering that the universe is expanding at an increasing rate.

AP said astrophysicist Saul Perlmutter, a professor at the University of California, shared half the prize with Brian Schmidt, the American astrophysicist of the Australian National University. The other half of the prize goes to Adam Riess, a professor of astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, USA.

Information about Nobel Prize winners appears on one
Big screen in the city of Stockholm, Sweden on October 4. (Photo: CNN)

"The three scientists won the Nobel Prize for Physics because they found the universe expanding at an increasing rate through observing super-massive explosions , " the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced.

Perlmutter, Schmidt and Riess have observed stellar explosions to test a hypothesis: The farther away objects are, the faster they move.

Their observations show that light emitted from more than 50 stellar explosions is much weaker than their calculations. This is a sign that the universe is expanding with increasing speed.

Astronomical physics professor Adam Riess, who won the Nobel
Physics in 2011. (Photo: Johns Hopkins University)

'For nearly a century the scientific world has learned that the universe is expanding as a result of the cosmic explosion of about 14 billion years ago. However, everyone was shocked to know that the rate of expansion of the universe gradually increased , 'commented the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

In 2006, three scientists shared the Shaw award in astronomy with their discovery.

Professor Schmidt spoke on the phone with the Nobel Prize Committee after the results were published.

'I feel happy just like when my children were born,' he said.