An astrophysicist at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) continues to draw attention for her achievements. PhD student Dr Alexia Lopez, 28, discovered the Giant Arc - a gigantic, ring-shaped structure in space. It is made up of galaxies and galaxy clusters that scientists say is so big - it challenges our understanding of the universe.
She also discovered another colossal finding in the sky, the Big Ring. Her observations – presented at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) – appeared to challenge the cosmological principle, which states that on a large scale, the universe should look roughly the same everywhere.
Remarkably, the Big Ring and the Giant Arc - which is 3.3 billion light-years across - are in the same cosmological neighbourhood – they are seen at the same distance, at the same cosmic time, and are only 12 degrees apart on the sky.
Now, Sir Roger Penrose, a scientist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on black holes - has invited her to meet him at Oxford University, where he is an Emeritus Professor.
The BBC reported that Ms Lopez, said she "thought someone was playing a joke at first" when she heard he got in touch to say he was "fascinated by my findings".
"I couldn't believe someone of such gravitas was interested in my work," she exclaimed, adding that - he is "so passionate about his research and it's infectious to see how excited he is about the possible links" between their discoveries.
Sir Roger is a world-renowned mathematician and physicist. He mentored Professor Stephen Hawking and has a strong interest in cosmological discoveries. This is because these findings could show signs of his theory of the origin and the development of the universe.
Sir Roger cited Ms Lopez in his latest research publication - The Physics of Conformal Cyclic Cosmology.
He said: "Alexia Lopez has discovered a remarkable effect which appears to substantiate the conformal cyclic cosmological model that I originally suggested in the early years of the 21st Century. Her observations provide what appears to be a very strong challenge to conventional cosmology which had not been previously anticipated."
Ms Lopez, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at UCLan in Preston, has been with the university since 2015. She first started there when she began an undergraduate degree in physics - with astrophysics. Ms Lopez then went on to complete a Masters and PhD with the University's Jeremiah Horrocks Institute for Maths and Physics (JHI).
Professor Derek Ward Thompson, director of the JHI, said: "We're very proud of what Alexia has achieved so far and she's still only at the beginning of her scientific career. To have the backing of Sir Roger Penrose is amazing and really highlights the significance of her research."
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