Nobel prize in physics awarded

The Nobel Prize in Physics has been jointly awarded to James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their work in furthering our understanding of the universe.

In a ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday, Peebles was awarded the prize for "theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology," while Mayor and Queloz won for "the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star."

"This year's Nobel Prize in Physics rewards new understanding of the universe's structure and history, and the first discovery of a planet orbiting a solar-type star outside our solar system," tweeted the Nobel committee.

"The discoveries have forever changed our conceptions of the world."

Over two decades Peebles developed a theoretical framework that forms the basis of our understanding of the history of the universe, according to the committee.

Mayor and Queloz focused their research on looking for unknown worlds in the Milky Way, and in 1995 discovered the first planet outside our solar system.

Note that the amount of each of the Nobel Prizes this year is 9 million SEK (more than $ 900 thousand).