Crystallising white dwarfs, spinning minor planets, and our Galaxy’s dark matter halo Professor Michael Perryman The image shows the integration of the M1 primary mirror on the torus of the Gaia spacecraft © EADS Astrium SAS, France Science populariser Ethan Siegel has described the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission as “One of the most remarkable […]
From the Discovery of Uranus to the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland Professor Michael Burton, Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium The image is a sketch of M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845. William Herschel’s discovery of Uranus in 1781– the first new planet found by humanity since […]
The Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture 2024 7.00 pm Wednesday 20th November 2024 at the 10E 0.17 Lecture Theatre, University of Bath and online via Teams Dr Heloise StevanceUniversity of Oxford Dr Stevance is in her second postdoc at the University of Oxford afterseveral years at the University of Auckland. Her range of astrophysicsexpertise is impressive. […]
Professor Mike Cruise The image is an artist’s impression of gravitational waves generated by binary neutron stars.Credit: R. Hurt/Caltech-JPL In 1916 Albert Einstein predicted that his new theory of gravitation, now called General Relativity, included wave modes which could propagate in vacuum a little like electromagnetism. These modes- the “gravitational” waves- were predicted by Einstein […]
Hugh Allen 2024 is the bicentenary of the birth of Sir William Huggins, the Victorian pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy. The talk is a celebration of William’s life and work, and also of the contribution of his wife and scientific collaborator Margaret Huggins. By using extracts from William and Margaret’s scientific papers and correspondence, and illustrated […]
Join us for a packed day of talks exploring the life and work of Victorian polymath, Sir John Herschel. Sir John Herschel (1792-1871), son of the astronomer William Herschel and nephew to Caroline Herschel, was the most influential natural philosopher of the Victorian period. His long career encompassed astronomy, mathematics, physics, geology, chemistry, as well […]
Richard Cox and Professor Mike Edmunds Image credit: Richard Cox Jantar Mantar translated means Instrument Calculation which refers to the functions of the instruments for astronomical measurements documenting the heavens based upon the principles of Galileo. The Jaipur site, the largest of the four existing Jantar Mantars has 18 instruments. This site was created in […]
Dr Emily Winterburn Wednesday 3rd April 2024 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom Meet John Herschel, much less famous today than either his father or his aunt yet in his day he represented the very definition of what a scientist should be. In 1824, as the […]
Monday 4th March 2024 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom Part of a BRLSI series of events around International Women’s Day to celebrate Extraordinary Women. The image is from the book cover (see below), credit: Bodleian Library Ada, Countess of Lovelace, (1815-1852), is sometimes called […]
Elisabetta Strickland Friday 1st March 2024 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom Part of a BRLSI series of events around International Women’s Day to celebrate Extraordinary Women. The image is at Somerville College, the artist is James Rannie Swinton (1844).Photo credit: Somerville College, University of […]