Nobel Prize in physics awarded to 3 scientists for discoveries in cosmology

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The Nobel Prize in Physics was on Tuesday awarded with one half to James Peebles for his theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for discovering an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.

The prize was announced by Secretary-General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Goran K Hansson.

"The 2019 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded one half to James Peebles for theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology and the other half jointly to Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for the discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star," the official Twitter handle of The Nobel Prize tweeted.

Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed for outstanding work in fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, economics, and the promotion of peace.

The discovery by laureates Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz started a revolution in astronomy and over 4,000 exoplanets have since been found in the Milky Way, a statement read.

"Strange new worlds are still being discovered, with an incredible wealth of sizes, forms and orbits," it read. This year's Physics Laureates Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz have explored our home galaxy, the Milky Way, looking for unknown worlds.

In 1995, they made the first discovery of a planet outside our solar system, an exoplanet, orbiting a solar-type star, 51 Pegasi.

Another Nobel Prize winner -- James Peebles took on the cosmos, with its billions of galaxies and galaxy clusters.

"His theoretical framework, developed over two decades, is the foundation of our modern understanding of the universe's history, from the Big Bang to the present day," it said.

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

On Monday, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was jointly awarded to William G Kaelin Jr, Peter J Ratcliffe and Gregg L Semenza for their discoveries of how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.