Category for past lectures/events with recordings and/or text version available.

Saturday 8th June 2024 All-day Conference: John Herschel – the Last Polymath

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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 as art, literature, politics, and the invention of photography.

Herschel’s 1831 Preliminary Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy was the first book in English on the philosophy of science and had a formative influence on a generation of scientists, including Charles Darwin.

If being scientific in Victorian England meant to be as much like John Herschel as possible, this conference will explore what it meant to be John Herschel. This unique day of talks promises to explore all aspects of Herschel’s life from philosophy to art.

A panel of experts will examine the life and learnings of Sir John Herschel (1792 – 1871), the most influential natural philosopher of the Victorian age.

09:30 – 10:00 Welcome and introduction

  • Charles Draper, chairman of the Herschel Society
  • John Herschel’s Enduring Legacy, Stephen Case, Olivet Nazarene University

10:00 – 11:30 Herschel’s Life and Influence

  • A Biographical Sketch, Emily Winterburn, independent scholar
  • Herschel at the Cape, Steve Ruskin, independent scholar
  • Herschel’s Philosophy of Science, Charles Pence, Université Catholique de Louvain

11:45 – 13:15 Herschel’s Natural Philosophy

  • Herschel’s Mathematical Journey, Tony Crilly, Middlesex University, Emeritus
  • Herschel’s Astronomy, Stephen Case, Olivet Nazarene University
  • Herschel’s Geology, Gregory Good, American Institute of Physics, Emeritus

14:00 – 15:30 Herschel’s Methodology

  • Herschel’s Art of Drawing, Omar Nasim, University of Regensburg
  • Herschel’s Photographic Work, Kelley Wilder, De Montfort University
  • Herschel and Scientific Standardization, Edward Gillen, University College, London

15:45 – 17:00 External Perspective and Round Table

  • External Perspective, Mike Edmunds, Vice-president Herschel Society
  • Round table Q & A, all contributors plus Mike Edmunds

17:00 – 17:45 Drinks and Close

A complete video recording of the conference is available here.

Friday 3rd May 2024 Jantar Mantar

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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 the 1720s and recently underwent extensive renovation, the first major work since an earlier extensive renovation supervised by Chandra Dhar Sharma Guleri during the reign of Maharaja Sawi Madho Singh in 1901.

The Jaipur site contains the largest sundial in the World, Samat Yantra, 27 metres high and synchronised accurately to local Jaipur time.

The extraordinary series of Stone Observatories, Jantar Mantars were created and built by Sawa Jai Singh II (1688 – 1744). I will be presenting photographs taken, for the most part, from Jaipur,. There will also be brief references to the JMs in Delhi (the first observatory to be built) and in the holy city of Ujain.

This illustrated talk will present photo documentary images that I have observed and recorded over many repeated visits between 1993 – 2018, and will be assisted by Professor Mike Edmunds providing expert interpretive support as my background is in Fine Art not Astronomy.

Following the premature death of his father Bishan Singh, Sawa Jai Singh II became the Maharaja at the age of eleven . He was a keen and diligent scholar extensively studying Sanskrit and Persian, Mathematics and especially astronomy. His astronomical studies included Mirza Ulugh Begs astronomical table, Flamsteads Historia de Coelestis, De La Aires tabulae and syntaxes of Ptolemy. Some of these manuscripts can be viewed at the City Palace Museum. When designing the astronomical instruments Jai Singh II had Euchids Elements of Geometry translated into Sanskrit and based their interpretation upon the Tables of Zij Muhammadshahi.

Jai Singh II was remarkable in several other ways, in 1725 started relocating the Capital City replacing the Amber Fort in 1733 to the valley below. By doing so he created the new city based upon the Hindu grid pattern designed by the city planner Vidyadhar Bhattacharya. Jaipur, named after its founder later to become known as the Pink City. It is said that in celebration of the impending visit by Prince Albert the city was painted pink -the colour in reality being more akin to pastel brown – unfortunately the Prince died before he could see the city for himself. Jai Singh was a great warrior and distinguished himself in conflict, the period in which he lived was a very unsettled and turbulent time. He must have been a physically imposing man, judging by the size of his pyjamas on display in the Palace Museum and the size of his sword.

*Sawai Jai Singh and His Astronomy. Virendra Nath Sharma. 1995 ISBN 81-208-1256-x

Richard Cox studied Fine Art for 8 years moving to live in Cardiff in 1975 with a background in teaching in various Art Schools in UK and abroad. This included as VL at the RCA, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Kunstakademiet i Trondheim and Delhi College of Art.

Senior Arts Officer (Visual Arts) at SEWales Arts Assoc. and The Arts Council of Wales running the Artist in Residence programme (AiR) and international exchanges between 1983-98. SL Cardiff School of Art & Design 2003-2013.

Strong links with India and toured his exhibition Subterranean Architecture. Stepwells in NW India to 17 galleries In the UK, USA and India between 2008-2018. This tour included Jantar Mantar.

He has been AiR in the UK, Japan, India, Norway and the USA, exhibiting extensively with his work is held in 27 public and over 100 private collections.

Mike Edmunds is Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Cardiff University in Wales. Both his first degree (Natural Sciences) and Ph.D (Astronomy) were from the University of Cambridge. He moved to Cardiff University in 1974, where he was in succession Research Fellow, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor, serving as Head of School between 2002 and 2005. Prof. Edmunds. main areas of research have been in the determination and interpretation of the chemical composition of galaxies and the Universe, and on the origin of interstellar dust.

In recent years he has worked in the history of astronomy. He also has particular interests in physics education and public outreach. He has served on the Councils (and many committees and panels) of the UK Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council and the UK Science and Technology Council. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics and of the Royal Astronomical Society. He was the 2004 George Darwin lecturer on “The Elementary Universe” for the Royal Astronomical Society, and has just retired as Chair of their Astronomical Heritage Committee. He is also Chair of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, and Chair and Member of the Institute of Physics Curriculum and Welsh Education Committees.

He is also a Vice-President of our society – the Herschel Society and President of the Royal Astronomical Society.

A recording is available here.

Monday 4th March 2024 Ada Lovelace: the  Making of a  Computer Scientist

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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 the world’s first computer programmer and has become an icon for women in technology. But how did a young woman in the 19th century, without access to formal school or university education, acquire the knowledge and expertise to become a pioneer of computer science?   The answer lies in the archives in Oxford’s  Bodleian Library, which show a talented an inquisitive child growing into a serious scientist with a remarkable knowledge of cutting edge mathematics of the day, and a fascination with contemporary scientific developments – from mesmerism to photography.

Professor Ursula Martin CBE FREng FRSE is a fellow of Wadham College Oxford, recently retired from Oxford’s mathematical Institute, where she researched a variety of topics at the intersection of mathematics and computer science. Her work on Ada Lovelace’s mathematics has led to several papers and a recent book “Ada Lovelace: the making of a computer scientist” published by Oxford’s Bodleian Library.
https://bodleianshop.co.uk/products/ada-lovelace-the-making-of-a-computer-scientist

A video recording of this lecture is available here.

Friday 2nd February 2024 Johannes Kepler: his Life and Work

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Nicholas Pallett

Friday 2nd February 2024 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) – astronomer, mathematician, visionary, dreamer, explorer, astrologer is best known for his laws of planetary motion, providing one of the foundations for Isaac Newton’s theory of universal gravitation.
An illustrated talk focusing as much on the personal and family life of this ‘weird genius’, as on his towering scientific achievements and their impact.

Nicholas Pallett B.Sc. has worked mainly as a musician, singer, lyricist & composer in many genres including musical theatre, and in many parts of the world, and more recently as a music teacher/lecturer for the Bristol & Bath Education Authorities.
In the fields of Astronomy and the History of Science he considers himself an ‘amateur’, in the true sense of the word.

A recording of this lecture is available here.

Friday 5th January 2024 Decoding the biographies of binary black holes with gravitational waves

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Dr Isobel Romero-Shaw

Friday 5th January 2024 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom

The image is a still from a video simulation of merging balck holes © NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Gravitational waves — ripples in the space-time fabric of the Universe — were predicted by Albert Einstein in 1916. After 100 years of advancements in technology and theory, in 2015, the seminal first detection was made. That first signal came from two black holes, each 30 times more massive than the Sun, elegantly spiralling around each other before crashing together. That signal heralded a new era of gravitational-wave astrophysics, and almost 100 gravitational wave signals have been detected in the subsequent eight years. Yet even with this abundance of detections, there is one big unanswered question in gravitational-wave astrophysics: how do merging binary black holes form? Do the black holes live long lives in each other’s company, or meet only shortly before they merge? In this talk, we will explore the different possible formation channels for binary black holes. We will observe gravitational waves, and draw out details that contain whispers of the biographies of the binaries that produced them. Finally, we will review the most recent results as to the origins of our mergers, and look towards the data-rich future of gravitational-wave astrophysics.

Isobel is a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Cambridge, where she studies gravitational waves from the collisions of black holes (and sometimes neutron stars). Previously, Isobel did her PhD at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and has her MSci in Physics from the University of Birmingham.

Recording available here.

Friday 1st December 2023 Space debris

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Hazards, Situational awareness and responsible use of space

Dr Philippe Blondel

Friday 1st December 2023 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom

Lecture 4 of 4 on the theme ‘Conserving the Planet’ in association with the Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Image shows the distribution of space debris in orbit © ESA

Near-Earth space is littered with hundreds of millions of man-made objects rushing at very high speeds and risking collisions with each other and with every space platform. The new constellations of thousands of satellites will be at risk; they also increase the risks, through chain collisions, accidental deorbiting and other accidents. In 2021, the G7 Summit committed to “safe and sustainable use of space”. The UN Space2030 agenda recommended “enhanced information exchange on space objects”. But how do we detect objects mostly smaller than a centimetre, fast enough and far enough? This talk will present the current situation, from space collisions to intentional creation of space debris, the approaching Kessler Syndrome and the geopolitical context, in Earth and beyond. Drawing on the speaker’s direct experience, we will then look at technological solutions and policy implications.

Philippe Blondel is a remote sensing expert. Born and educated in France, his PhD was about the radar imaging of the planet Venus. He then worked in the US and the UK, mapping the oceans and designing new instruments. He enjoys seeing the applications of his research, from new commercial products to international standards, from de-risking marine renewable energies to addressing the effects of climate change on Arctic environments. Philippe edited “Solar System Update” (Springer, 2006) and he teaches planetary physics at the University of Bath. He co-authored the White Paper on “In-Space Utilisation of Asteroids” (2017) and experimented and published on imaging space debris and small targets (2018, 2019). His Knowledge Transfer activities include working with industry and participating to the UK Parliament Office of Science and Technology on “Defence of space-based assets.

A video recording of the lecture is freely available here.

Thursday 16th November 2023 Dying Stars Seeding the Universe

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The Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture 2023

7.00 pm Thursday 16th November 2023 at the 10E 0.17 Lecture Theatre, University of Bath and online via Zoom

Dr Marie van der Sande
University of Leiden

Dr Marie Van de Sande discusses why a multidisciplinary approach is necessary in understanding how stars like our sun die.

Astrochemistry is a vibrant and interdisciplinary field that brings together astronomy, physics, and chemistry. While there is an enormous effort in understanding the chemistry of stellar birth and youth, the chemistry of stellar death is as important: the death throes of sun-like stars enrich the galaxy with fresh material to form the next generation of stars and planets by losing their outer layers by means of a gentle outflow. The presence of a companion star or planet is thought to produce intricate structures within the outflow, giving rise to the beautiful shapes of planetary nebulae, the later stage in the star’s life and an important part of Caroline Herschel’s surveys. This opens up the question of the fate of our own Solar System. To understand exactly how stars like our Sun die and how they are recycled into the next generation of stars and planets, a multidisciplinary approach is necessary, with astrochemistry playing a leading role.”

Background of Speaker

Dr Marie Van de Sande is an Oort Fellow at Leiden Observatory at Leiden University, the Netherlands. She studies the chemistry around dying sun-like stars by developing novel chemical models and comparing their results to observations. Marie obtained her PhD in 2018 from KU Leuven (Belgium), where she stayed on as a fellow of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO). She moved to the University of Leeds as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow in 2021 and relocated to Leiden in September this year.”

The video recording of the lecture is freely available here.

The Caroline Herschel Prize Lectureship was established in 2018 by what is now the Herschel Society, in association with the Royal Astronomical Society, to celebrate Caroline’s memory by supporting promising women astronomers early in their careers. Caroline, William’s younger sister, started out as his assistant, but in time became recognised as an important astronomer in her own right, was the first to be paid as such, and was awarded the RAS Gold Medal in 1828. The Caroline Herschel Prize Lecture is hosted by University of Bath in November in cooperation with the Society as part of the University’s public lecture series. Charles Draper, Chairman, Herschel Society.

Friday 3rd November 2023 A cluttered and noisy sky?

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Meeting the challenge of satellite constellations (and why you should care)

Dr Robert Massey

Friday 3rd November 2023 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom

Lecture 3 of 4 on the theme ‘Conserving the Planet’ in association with the Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Image shows Signal pollution in a 333-second exposure image taken from the Blanco four-meter (13′) telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory © NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory/CTIO/AURA/DELVE.

65 years ago the Soviet Union placed the first satellite in space. There are now around 5,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO), the region up to 2,000 km above the ground, and their deployment is accelerating. 2019 saw the launch of Starlink, a satellite constellation built and launched by SpaceX, a system that on its own could soon have more than 30,000 spacecraft deployed. With other operators we could see up to 400,000 satellites in LEO by the end of this decade.

This is nothing less than a step change in our use of space. And like most paradigm shifts, it will have significant consequences. A key example is how it will affect the science of astronomy and our view of the sky. Some estimates suggest that the majority of ‘stars’ visible to the eye could be satellites, and professional and amateur astronomers alike now face significant challenges to our work. As a result our community has mobilised, working at a national, international and global level to tackle a complex problem, and to try to find a balance between the positive results of boosting communications and the impact on the space environment.

Robert Massey will set out the problem, what it means for scientists and the wider public, and what we can do about it.”

Dr Robert Massey is Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society. Before joining the RAS, his career took him from an undergraduate degree in Leicester and PhD research in Manchester to teaching in Brighton, and local politics in London alongside a stint as Public Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. In his spare time he enjoys running, cycling, hiking and cooking, and generally making the most of life in his new family home in Sussex. With a lifelong private and public passion for astronomy, he very much wants to avoid a world where satellites ruin our shared heritage of an unsullied night sky.

A link to a video recording of this lecture is available here.

Friday 13th October 2023 The Astrophysics of Earth: light-life interactions beyond photosynthesis (video recording and extended paper)

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Dr Robert Fosbury

Friday 13th October 2023 7.30 pm in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom

Lecture 2 of 4 on the theme ‘Conserving the Planet’ in association with the Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Image shows a chart of spectra and the effect on life © Bob Fosbury

Sunlight is the dominant energy source for Earth’s biosphere. There will be evolutionary advantages for life that make the most effective use of available photons before they finally degrade to heat and radiate back into space. Photosynthesis in cyanobacteria and in plants uses water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to synthesise the sugars that build plant structures. These can be used directly as food for animals to eat but can also be captured and stored for long periods as ‘fossil fuels’.

It has taken over two centuries to gain an understanding of the how photosynthesis works and yet we are only just beginning to appreciate the ways by which light interacts with animal life. Apart from the obvious use of light for vision — the evolution of which is thought to have driven the Cambrian explosion in life’s complexity — we now know that light performs other functions, many of which require photons with colours beyond the visual range but still reaching the biosphere from the Sun. Research is revealing which colours have beneficial effects and which are damaging. Over billions of years, the biosphere has adapted to thrive under the solar spectrum modified during its transmission through the atmosphere. The introduction of artificial lighting on a huge scale over the planet during recent decades is breaking this adaptation in ways that are damaging to life, including humans. This understanding allows us to suggest new lighting strategies that should have very significant health benefits and which could be less costly than the current extravagant overuse of energy-efficient but environmentally damaging white lights.

Robert (Bob) Fosbury is currently an emeritus astronomer at the European Southern Observatory and an honorary professor at the Institute of Ophthalmology at UCL.

A link to a video recording of this lecture is available here.

A link to an extended paper on this subject titled Light-life interactions beyond photosynthesis by Robert Fosbury and Glen Jeffery is available as a PDF file here.

Friday 8th September 2023 The Right Light at Night

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Steve Tonkin

Friday 8th September 2023 7.30 pm – in the BRLSI, can be attended either in the BRLSI or remotely on Zoom.

Lecture 1 of 4 on the theme ‘Conserving the Planet’ in association with the Herschel Museum of Astronomy

Image is of light polluted and pristine skies in Dorset © Bob Mizon

Light Pollution was first identified as a problem by astronomers, but its consequences reach far wider. It is now widely recognised that artificial light at night, especially bright white light, can have profoundly negative effects on human health, and this is just the tip of an iceberg of harm. The effects on wildlife have been devastating, leading directly to the death of billions of birds each year and being a major driver of the “insect apocalypse” (studies suggest that 40% of insects will be extinct within the next few decades).

The solutions are at hand, are simple to implement, will have a net saving (of money, energy use and carbon emissions) and need not compromise security or our ability to safely work, travel and associate at night. We need to act now before it is too late.

A video recording of this lecture is freely available here.