By Zachary Dodson
Research at the University of Kentucky expands well beyond campus, and thanks to Physics & Astronomy professor Gary Ferland we have to measure the distance in light years instead of miles.
Ferland’s research focuses on theoretical atomic & molecular physics and how matter in space produces the light we see. Unlike other scientists, astronomers cannot perform experiments – they can’t reach out and touch another galaxy. But they have an advantage – a time machine – they can look into the past by observing galaxies far from the Earth. It’s a science driven by observation and analysis. For this reason, Ferland and his colleagues are experts in remote sensing.
“We take the light that we can receive here on Earth and figure