Born in Oxford exactly three hundred years after the death of Galileo Galilei, Stephen Hawking was a great British astrophysicist; a professor of mathematics and physics, he held the Cambridge chair that had belonged to Isaac Newton.
Famous for his theory of black holes, he also studied the origins of the universe, confirming the existence of regions where matter has an infinite density, where the concepts of space and time lose their meaning.
An undisputed genius of cosmology, he wasn’t very good at school as a child, his grades were low and he only stood out for the fact that he loved watches, radios and all objects with a mechanism to discover.

At the age of 21, he discovered that he had a severe form of sclerosis with a life expectancy of only a few years.

Forced into near immobility, he continued to research and popularize science for everyone until the age of 76.

He died on Einstein’s birthday, and as a tribute, his voice was beamed into space through the European Space Agency’s Cerebros antenna until it reached the closest known black hole to Earth, called 1° 0620-00, about 3500 light years away from us.

Once the message reaches its destination, it will remain trapped inside the black hole for billions of years and then evaporate, emitting the Hawking radiation he discovered.

Here is his message:
“I am well aware of the preciousness of time. Seize the moment. Act now.
I have spent my life traveling through the universe in my mind.
Through theoretical physics, I have tried to answer some of the big questions, but there are other challenges, other big questions to be answered, and these too will require a new generation of interest, engagement, and understanding of science.

How will we feed an ever-growing population, provide clean water, generate renewable energy, prevent and cure disease, and slow global climate change?

I hope that science and technology will provide the answers to these questions, but it will take people, people with knowledge and understanding, to implement the solution.

One of the great revelations of the space age has been the perspective it has given humanity on itself. When we see the Earth from space, we see ourselves as a whole; we see unity, not division.
It is such a simple image with a powerful message: one planet, one human race.

We are here together and we must live together with tolerance and respect. We have to become global citizens.

Through my work I’ve had the tremendous privilege of contributing to the understanding of the universe, but it really would be an empty universe if it weren’t for the people I love and who love me. We are all time travelers traveling together to the future. But let’s work together to make that future a place we want to visit.

Be brave, be determined, beat the odds.

It can be done.”

This and other interesting facts can be found in the Art and Science album.
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