Past Lectures
Details of past Space Lectures:
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11 Jan 2012 PAST |
Gravitational lensingProf Jerry LaSala (University of Southern Maine)
Lecture: Einstein’s theory of gravity, the Theory of General Relativity, tells us that gravity bends light, much the same way that a glass lens bends light. In fact, the bending of starlight around the Sun, observed by Eddington during in an eclipse in 1919, was the first confirmation of Einstein’s theory.
Just as a glass lens can form images by bending light, so can the gravity of a massive object. Astronomers have learned to take advantage of this to discover unseen objects, to measure the distance to quasars, and to search for the mysterious “dark matter” that forms about a third of the Universe. This talk will explore the workings of gravitational lensing and some of the techniques used and discoveries made with this powerful new astronomical tool.
Jerry LaSala, visiting astronomer at INTECH, is Professor of Physics and Director of the USM Southworth Planetarium at the University of Southern Maine, Portland, Maine, USA. He is spending the autumn term at INTECH and also conducting research as a visiting scientist in the Division of Astrophysics at Oxford while on sabbatical from his position at USM.
Professor LaSala holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, an M.S. in Physics from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and a B.A. in Physics and Astronomy from Yale University. His research interests include stellar spectral classification and the study of x-ray binary stars.
He has been at the University of Southern Maine for 25 years; previous to that he taught at the College of Wooster, Ohio, USA. He has been a Visiting Senior Fellow at the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, Visiting Scientist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and Visiting Scientist at the Division of Astrophysics, Oxford. He is a member of the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, the Middle Atlantic Planetarium Society, and the International Planetarium Society.
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13 & 14 Dec 2011 PAST |
The star of BethlehemDr Robin Catchpole (Cambridge University)
Lecture: Despite only being mentioned in St Mathew's Gospel, the Star of Bethlehem continues to be one of the most popular images of Christmas. Was it, a miracle, a myth included to fulfill a prophecy, a near contemporary astronomical event later brought into coincidence with Jesus' birth, or a less obvious event of great astrological significance? In trying to answer these questions, we will dip into ancient astronomical records in search, comets, novae and supernovae as well as considering the way planets group, as they move arround the sky.
Endorsement: Ernie Rae (BBC Radio 4's Beyond Belief) said "Robin Catchpole's lecture on the Star of Bethlehem is absolutely fascinating and fair, and he delivers it with enormous panache. He brings to life this familiar story which has resonated down through the ages and uses all his scientific expertise to give it contemporary significance. He held me riveted."
Robin Catchpole has given some of the most popular lectures since we started this series. He recently retired as Senior Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. He spent much of his career in South Africa, has used the Hubble Space Telescope and done research on stars and galaxies.
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9 Nov 11 PAST |
Digital Static: Hampshire's new world-class radio telescopeDerek McKay-Bukowski (Rutherford Appleton Laboratory)
Lecture: Were you aware that part of the world's newest and most powerful radio telescope is located in Hampshire? Did you know that this telescope can switch the direction in which it is looking in less than one thousandth of a second? And yet this telescope doesn't have any moving parts!
This lecture introduces Hampshire's new facility that is part of the LOFAR (Low-Frequency Array) network. It explains how this next-generation radio telescope actually works and the amazing story of its construction. Finally, it elaborates on the ambitious science programme that this telescope is undertaking and the first results that have already surprised us.
Derek McKay-Bukowski is an expert on deploying and commissioning radio telescope arrays. During 2010 he was responsible for building the LOFAR-UK radio telescope at Chilbolton and in 2011 for the construction of the LOFAR-Finland radio telescope at Kilpisjärvi. Currently based at Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, he is working on the Square Kilometre Array and the EISCAT_3D atmospheric radar.
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12 Oct 11 PAST |
Apocalypse in 2012? Myth and scienceDr Francisco Diego (UCL)
Lecture: Many ancient myths and philosophies teach that nothing is eternal, that if our world had a beginning, it must also come to an end. In this lecture, we review past apocalyptic prophecies and deal with the current one about the year 2012, when the end of the Mayan calendar and a few cosmic coincidences are expected to conspire towards the destruction of our planet. But what does the end of the world really mean? Placing the idea in a cosmological context, we explore the formation, development and eventual destruction of entire solar systems as part of the natural evolution of the Universe. Along this process, a distinction must be made between the fragile and insignificantly thin paradise that today supports humankind, and the long-term stability of planet Earth as a whole. Modern science may well provide a reliable description of how and when the entire world will eventually come to an end, but the short-term survival of humankind is a completely different story... Francisco Diego is Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Physics and Astronomy University College London, vice president of the UK Association for Astronomy Education and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is a keen populariser of astronomy and has extensive experience as a planetarium producer/presenter, lecturer, author and broadcaster. He has appeared on TV series like Stephen Hawking's Universe, BBC's The Planets and more recently, the world-wide version of BBC's Wonders of the Universe. Veteran of 19 solar eclipse expeditions. Founder and director of Your Universe, the UCL festival of Astronomy. Producing and delivering The Mind of the Universe, a collection of public and school lectures and teacher workshops on astrophysics, cosmology and life in the Universe. |
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14 Sept 11 PAST |
Collecting rocks from spaceDr Matthew Genge (Imperial College London)
Lecture: Each year around 10,000 tonnes of rocks fall from space to Earth. Some of these fall as meteorites, occasionally announcing their arrival through dents in cars or spectacular fireball. Most of these rocks, however, fall quietly as dust and accumulate all around us. The majority of these rocks are from asteroids and comets formed in the early history of our solar system and their study reveals the details of how our planetary system formed.
Collecting meteorites and cosmic dust for study is no easy matter. Although some meteorites are recovered immediately after their fall, most are collected from deserts, both hot and cold. Cosmic dust is also not easy to collect since although it falls everywhere, it cannot be collected everywhere, there is just too much terrestrial dust present.
In this talk, Matthew will describe exactly why meteorites and cosmic dust are so interesting and the lengths that scientists go to collect them.
Dr Matthew Genge is a planetary scientist working in the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. He is an expert on the study of cosmic dust and meteorites and has searched from these materials in deserts all over the world as well as being involved in their collection in the stratosphere and by space missions.
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13 July 11 PAST |
Astrobiology: the hunt for Alien Life Dr Lewis Dartnell (University College London) 'Astrobiology' is a brand new field of science, encompassing research into the origins and limits of life on our own planet, and where life might exist beyond the Earth. But what actually is 'life' and how did it emerge on our own world? What are the most extreme conditions terrestrial life can tolerate? And what would an alien actually look like - how realistic are the life-forms envisaged by science fiction novels and films over the years? Join Dr. Lewis Dartnell on a tour of the other planets and moons in our solar system which may harbour life, and even further afield to alien worlds orbiting distant stars, to explore one of the greatest questions ever asked: are we alone...?
Dr. Lewis Dartnell (lewisdartnell.com) is a researcher based at University College London, studying how life, and signs of its existence, might survive the intense cosmic radiation on the surface of Mars. Alongside his research he writes regular science articles in newspapers and magazines, and has published a popular science book introducing astrobiology, Life in the Universe: A Beginner's Guide. |
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8 June 11 PAST |
June 8 Dark Energy and the Ever-Expanding Universe Dr Carolin Crawford (Cambridge University) In 1998, everything we thought we knew about the Universe was turned on its head with the discovery that the Universe is not just expanding, but that this expansion is accelerating. We reconcile the observations and theory by invoking Dark Energy - its exact nature is unknown, yet it must account for three-quarters of the contents of the Universe. Come along and find out more about the evidence for dark energy, ideas for what it can be, and what these might say about the eventual fate of the Universe. Carolin Crawford researches the properties of the most massive galaxies in the Universe, using a combination of the largest ground-based and space telescopes. Carolin combines her research and teaching with her other passion, communicating her love of astronomy to as wide an audience as possible. She runs an ambitious outreach programme at the Institute of Astronomy (which inspired this lecture series), and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4. In 2009 she was noted as one of the UKRC's Women of Outstanding Achievement for the communication of science with a contribution to society. During her lecture, Carolin recommended the following books: "Big Bang" (Simon Singh), "The Extravagent Universe" (Robert Kirshner, re discovery of dark energy), "The Fabric of the Cosmos" (Brian Greene, re astro/particle-physics). |
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11 May 11 PAST |
May 11 Songs of the Stars Prof Donald Kurtz (University of Central Lancashire) The ancient Greeks believed that the planets and stars were imbedded in crystal spheres that hummed as they spun around the heavens, making the "Music of the Spheres". But it was only in the 1970s that we discovered its reality. The stars sing: they ring like giant musical instruments with sound waves in them that cause them to vibrate, get hotter and cooler, brighter and dimmer, bigger and smaller and change shape. This lecture will introduce sound and the physics of musical instruments, and show the seismology of the stars (including an amazing group of the strangest stars in the sky discovered by the lecturer). You will discover how some singing stars, the Cepheids, helped Hubble discover the expansion of the Universe. You will hear about stars that are giant diamonds the size of the Earth. And you will have the chance to hear the stars with their very low frequency sounds shifted up into the audible range. After 2000 years we now know that there really is Music of the Spheres: come hear what the stars sound like! (Although you may still prefer Mozart.)
Don Kurtz travelled for his first postdoctoral position and for adventure to the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where it was his intention to spend 1 year. Twenty-five years later he left Cape Town as Professor of Astrophysics to the Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées in France and then on to the University of Central Lancashire, where he has now worked for 9 years.
Don is a past-president of the Commission on Variable Stars of the International Astronomical Union, serves on many international scientific boards and observes with some of the largest telescopes in the world. He is an enthusiastic and popular public speaker; “Songs of the Stars: The Real Music of the Spheres” has been heard by audiences on all continents except Antarctica (and he is working on that).
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13 Apr 11 PAST |
April 13 What's Wrong with the Sun? Dr Stuart Clark The Sun goes through a cycle of behaviour, is it now behaving in ways not explained by our models? Stuart Clark is a former academic who turned to writing full time in 2011. He is the senior editor for space science for the European Space Agency producing web stories, press releases and brochures. His articles are printed in New Scientist, BBC Focus, BBC Sky at Night magazines and many other publications. He has broadcast on radio, TV, podcasts and given talks all around the world. Twenty books written by Stuart have been published, ranging from textbooks to coffee table highly illustrated ones, books for children as well as adults. One of his most successful, The Sun Kings, was shortlisted by the Royal Society for their general science prize. Stuart is currently writing a trilogy of novels dramatising three great turning points in cosmology. The first The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth, published by Birlinn, is available spring 2011. Copies of his books, including Big Questions: The Universe are available after the talk. |
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9 Mar 11 PAST |
March 9 Aurora - Amazing Light Shows in the Sky Prof Betty Lanchester (University of Southampton)
A talk on the origin of the Aurora and how measurements both from space and ground are used to investigate the processes that accelerate particles from the sun into our atmosphere. Betty Lanchester is interested in the coupling beween the magnetosphere and the ionosphere. She is based in the Space Environment Physics Group in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Southampton, where her research involves studies of the aurora using radars, optical detectors and theoretical models |
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9 Feb 11 PAST |
In the Beginning... Assembling the Universe from the simplicity of pure energy to the complexity of the Human Brain.
Dr Francisco Diego
How old is the Universe? How did it appear and why? What is our place within it? The human mind always faced the deep mysteries of existence by developing imaginative myths, superstitions and religious beliefs. Modern science has found evidence for a Universe that develops by assembing the few fundamental building blocks that emerged from a very simple and unique instant of creation. The broad perspective of a linear time line will illustrate how essential that seemingly eternal process has been, for the Universe to achieve the high level of complexity found in a bio-chemical organism that despite its physical insignificance, is able to show awareness and emotions and to question and explore the very Universe that assembled it. Franscico Diego is Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Physics and Astronomy University College London, vice president of the UK Association for Astronomy Education and a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. He is a keen populariser of astronomy and has extensive experience as a planetarium producer/presenter, lecturer, author and broadcaster. He has appeared on TV series like Stephen Hawking's Universe and BBC's The Planets. He is producing and delivering The Mind of the Universe, a collection of public and school lectures and teacher workshops on astrophysics, cosmology and life in the Universe, initiated under a Science in Society fellowship from the Science and Technology Facilities Council. |
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12 Jan 11 PAST |
Life on Mars Dr Steve Cutts
An exploration of Mars itself, following how our perceptions and understanding of the planet have changed through history, leading to the possibilities of finding alien life or establishing our own colonies on this planet. Steve Cutts is an orthopaedic surgeon and science writer. His recent novel VIKING VILLAGE decribes a future settlement on Mars. |
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8 Dec 10 PAST |
Infrared Astronomy
Dr Paul Roche (Faulkes Telescope Project)
Astronomers use many wavelengths of light when studying the Universe. Discover the power and possibilities of the infrared light that lies just beyond the limits of our eyes. Paul Roche is Director of the Faulkes Telescopes Project, and the UK National Schools' Astronomer (funded by the STFC research council). He is based jointly at the University of Glamorgan and in the School of Physics & Astronomy at Cardiff University, he has spent almost 20 years researching massive stars, neutron stars and black holes. After studying for a PhD at Southampton, he was a Lecturer at Sussex University and then Head of Education at the National Space Centre, Leicester. His current role involves promoting educational use of robotic, Internet-based telescopes, and developing better links between researchers and schools. |
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11 Nov 10 PAST |
Planetarium Show: Tour of the Night Sky Ninian Boyle (Astronomy Know How, BBC Sky at Night Magazine)
A tour around the many fascinating objects visible at this time of year. Using constellations as signposts to discover a mix of nebulae, galaxies and more. This will be a full planetarium show. Please note the later start time (this lecture follows an earlier FREE stargazing event, from 6:30pm). Ninian Boyle is an experienced astronomer and Equipment Expert for the BBC Sky at Night Magazine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the British Astronomical Association. He runs courses and gives talks through Astronomy Know How. |
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13 Oct 10 PAST |
What's New in the Solar System
Dr Robin Catchpole (Cambridge University)
A description of the origin and content of the solar system, with a particular focus on all the exciting new imaging that is coming out from Mercury, Mars, Saturn and its moons. Robin Catchpole, a popular lecturer back from last season, recently retired as Senior Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. He spent much of his career in South Africa, has used the Hubble Space Telescope and done research on stars and galaxies. |
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8 Sept 10 PAST |
The Case for our Cosmic Ancestry Prof Chandra Wickramasinghe (Cardiff University)
A diverse set of evidence points to the origin of life on Earth being exogenous. Life most probably originated on a cosmic scale quite early in the history of the Universe. Comets carry this legacy of cosmic life, and seed planets like our Earth. Earth was seeded for the first time some 4 billion years ago, but this process of seeding continued and contributed to the evolution of life on our planet. Chandra Wickramasinghe is Professor of Applied Mathematics and Astronomy at Cardiff University and together with Fred Hoyle has been the pioneer of panspermia in the 20th century. His main astronomical interests are the physics and chemistry of interstellar dust grains and in the optical characterisation of interstellar and cometary dust. He was the first to propose an organic polymeric composition for cosmic dust in 1974. His other interests include the modelling of the cosmic microwave background in non-standard cosmologies. This lecture did not go ahead, and was replaced by a planetarium show. |
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14 July 10 PAST |
Space for the Rest of Us Lecture: Piers will be discussing the latest developments in civilian space tourism and rocket exploration. Piers Bizony is the author of Atom, the best-selling book linked to the recent BBC TV series. His other books include The Man Who Ran the Moon, an investigation into the politics of the space age, and 2001: Filming the Future, an award-winning account of the making of the world's greatest space fiction film - Stanley Kubrick's 2001. |
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9 June 10 PAST |
The Mystery of Galaxy Formation Lecture: The universe is a cold place dominated by curious particles and forces such as dark matter and dark energy. Galaxies are the beacons that light up this darkness and make structure in the universe accessible to us. They are islands in a universe filled with invisible dark matter and are the sites where stars and planets form, live and evolve.
The beauty of the formation and evolution of galaxies is its mystery. Galaxies form in highly complex processes involving dark matter, complicated baryon physics, the formation of stars, the heating and cooling of gas, the formation and evolution of supermassive black holes, the enrichment of chemical elements, and even galaxy collisions. This lecture takes you from the very beginning of time when the first stars have formed through eras of vivid galaxy formation many billion years ago to the beauty of today's universe filled with a zoo of galaxies of different types, sizes, shapes, and colours. Dr Daniel Thomas studies the birth and death of stars in galaxies at various places and times of the universe, their stellar dynamics, and the activity of central supermassive black holes in galaxies. He is active in a number of large-scale international collaborations such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Dark Energy Survey and Galaxy Zoo with the aim to lift the mystery of galaxy formation by analysing the light emission not from ten, hundred or thousand but millions of galaxies. |
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12 May 10 PAST |
The Science and Beauty of Nebulae Lecture: Carolin will discuss interstellar space; not truly a vacuum devoid of matter, but inhabited by vast large clouds of gas and dust that appear as glorious and complex multicoloured structures. She will showcase some of the most spectacular images of such 'nebulae', including many taken by the Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes. A few of these may be familiar - such as the iconic 'pillars of creation' - but we shall look at them with new eyes, dissecting the pictures and learning how to 'read' what they tell us about the turbulent story of the birth and death of stars. Indeed, revealing the science behind the beauty. Dr Carolin Crawford researches the properties of the most massive galaxies in the Universe, using a combination of the largest ground-based and space telescopes. Carolin combines her research and teaching with her other passion, communicating her love of astronomy to as wide an audience as possible. She runs an ambitious outreach programme at the Institute of Astronomy (which inspired this lecture series), and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4. In 2009 she was noted as one of the UKRC's Women of Outstanding Achievement for the communication of science with a contribution to society. |
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14 April 10 PAST |
Do we need a new Theory of Gravity? Lecture: For much of the twentieth century astronomers have believed that large quantities of unseen matter must exist in the universe. Their evidence for this ‘dark matter’ comes from the peculiar motions of some celestial objects. But why can’t we find the dark matter? Could it all be a mirage? If dark matter does not exist, astronomers and physicists will be forced to reappraise their understanding of gravity. This is a monumental undertaking, but perhaps there is a clue in the trajectory of two old NASA space probes – both currently off course for unexplained reasons. This talk will survey the mounting evidence that we do not understand gravity as completely as we thought we did, and that perhaps a revolution in gravitational physics is in the offing. Dr Stuart Clark is a former academic who turned to writing full time in 2001. He has a contract with the European Space Agency producing web stories, press releases, brochures and so on. His articles are printed in New Scientist and BBC Focus magazine and he has written for many other publications. He has broadcast on radio, TV and podcasts and he has given talks all over the world. Nearly twenty of his books have been published, ranging from text books to coffee table books; books for children as well as adults. One of his most successful is The Sun Kings, on which another of his lectures is based. It was shortlisted by the Royal Society for their general science prize. Stuart is currently writing a trilogy of novels based in fact about the men involved in the three greatest turning points in cosmology. His latest book Big Questions in Cosmology will be available after the talk. |
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10 Mar 10 PAST |
In Pursuit of Pulsars Lecture: an accessible introduction to pulsars (pulsating radio stars), and their amazing properties. Like lighthouses in the sky they may one day be used as navigation beacons for interstellar travel. Meanwhile they have stretched our understanding of the behaviour of matter and serve as very accurate clocks to check out Einstein's theory of relativity. Jocelyn Bell-Burnell, as a postgraduate student, discovered the first radio pulsars with her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish, for which Hewish was awarded a Nobel Prize. Since this time she has had a successful academic career studying stars and astronomical bodies, has championed women in science, been president of the Royal Astronomical Society and is current president of the Institute of Physics (IOP). She has received many honours for her scientific research and for engaging the public; she was made a CBE in 1999 and a Dame in 2007. This evening is run in association with the IOP. |
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10 Feb 10 PAST |
The Violent Universe: the search for Black Holes Lecture: Black Holes represent some of the most extreme conditions that exist anywhere in the Universe. Material falling on to a Black Holes gets heated up to 10-100 million degrees before falling inside the Event Horizon. This talk presents the fundamental properties of Black Holes in terms that are easily understood. It also presents the overwhelming observational evidence for their existence. Professor Malcolm Coe obtained his PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London before going off to work for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center for several years. Subsequently he moved to Southampton University where he has been since. He has given over 200 talks to non-specialist audiences of all ages and we had audience members specifically requesting that we should invite him back this season. |
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13 Jan 10 PAST |
Our Mysterious Moon Lecture: We have looked at it since the dawn of man, studied it through telescopes for 400 years and walked upon its surface 40 years ago but how well do we know our moon? Dr David Whitehouse, author of “The Moon: A Biographyż traces the moon’s history from the Stone Age to the Space Age revealing many strange and previously unknown facts. Using archaeology, artists, astronomers and astronauts Dr Whitehouse will tell the remarkable story of the moon and its influence on our lives. Using the latest spaceprobe data he will also ask when and how will we return. |
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9 Dec 09 PAST |
Are We Alone Lecture: We live in a galaxy of one hundred thousand million stars, many with planets and yet it is possible that we are the only self-aware observers of our Universe. Come and hear the arguments for and against and why this may be so. Dr Robin Catchpole, another popular lecturer back from last season, recently retired as Senior Astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich. He spent much of his career in South Africa, has used the Hubble Space Telescope and done research on stars and galaxies. |
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11 Nov 09 PAST |
Telescope Amnesty Special: a tour of the Night Sky The November lecture will be at the later time of 8:30pm and will be a full planetarium show about our view of space from Earth and different objects you can view using your eyes and amateur equipment. This lecture will be preceded by an unticketed FREE Telescope Amnesty event where you can bring your telescope/binoculars to get advice and support from regional astronomy societies, or use their equipment to take a look at objects visible at this time of year. The cafe will be open all evening so come anytime from 6:30pm to explore how you can develop your interest in astronomy. |
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14 Oct 09 PAST |
Our Dynamic Sun Lecture: the Sun, our nearest star, provides just the right environment for life on Earth. However, the Sun is not constant, it goes through cycles of activity. During an active phase, the Sun produces violent explosions, solar flares, which can impact on the Earth's environment. The nature of the Sun has been studied both from the surface of the Earth and from space. The talk will include some amazing images and movies of the Sun taken in X-rays and UV. The intimate relationship between the Sun and the Earth is explored, together with space weather and climate change. Dr Helen Mason studies the Sun and its effect on the Earth's environment. She has worked on many solar space missions - Skylab, Solar Maximum Mission, SoHO and more recently Hinode. |
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16 Sept 09 PAST |
Looking for the Invisible - the Birth and Rise of Dark Matter Astronomy Lecture: Modern telescope and satellite technology has allowed astronomers to study the Universe in a completely new light: from infrared to gamma rays, from microwaves to X-rays, the cosmos looks very different than it does in visible light. We are now on the verge of a new revolution in astrophysics, one that will exploit new messengers from the Universe to try and unveil some of its deepest mysteries: neutrinos, gravitational waves and dark matter particles are about to become part of the astronomers' toolbox. In this lecture we will explore some of the exciting new possibilities that dark matter astronomy brings for our understanding of the Universe. Dr Roberto Trotta studies the characteristics of the Big Bang and works to determine the properties of dark energy and dark matter in the Universe. He takes part to many public engagement with science activities, involving children, students and adults and he regularly gives talks about astronomy and cosmology to very diverse audiences. He is a very experienced lecturer and presenter, and his science communication activities have won several awards, including the BA Lord Kelvin award and the Michelson Prize at Case Western Reserve University. |
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8th July 09 PAST |
They Really Did Land: Apollo at Forty Lecture: In this stunningly illustrated talk, Piers Bizony, one of Britain's leading space historians, talks us through the momentous events leading up to the first lunar landing in July 1969. Using high-definition photos taken during the mission, Bizony explains why Apollo 11 was such an amazing achievement. he also looks at NASA's plans to send people back to the moon by the year 2020. THEY REALLY DID LAND is a truly thought-provoking cultural exploration of this great adventure. Piers Bizony is the author of Atom, the best-selling book linked to the recent BBC TV series. His other books include The Man Who Ran the Moon, an investigation into the politics of the space age, and 2001: Filming the Future, an award-winning account of the making of the world's greatest space fiction film - Stanley Kubrick's 2001. |
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10th June 09 PAST |
Toys in the Sky: The Challenges of Space to the Human Mind Lecture: Our exploration of the Final Frontier is almost entirely reliant on our skills in engineering & design of spacecraft; sometimes manned, sometimes unmanned, but always autonomous. So we will take a brief look behind the scenes. Some spacecraft fly low, usually looking at our planet; others fly high and provide us with incredible quality TV pictures or with mobile phone communications; some even travel the Universe in search of the Ultimate. All are ultra reliable. But how do you design structures when there’s no gravity? How do you point spacecraft in the right direction when there’s no north or south? And how do you control them? Neville Poulton is a Systems Team Leader at EADS Astrium Services located at Portsmouth. He has been designing spacecraft, both scientific and telecommunications, for over twenty years. Most recently he has designed a spacecraft infrastructure for the EU to provide communications in times of distress and for peace-keeping intervention. It will cost you about £20billion! Neville also lectures at university, sixth-form colleges, and provides career guidance for those who feel challenged!
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13th May 09 PAST |
Impacts from Space and the Death of the Dinosaurs Lecture: What killed the dinosaurs, and should we be worried about going the same way? Astronomers regularly discover huge lumps of rock (asteroids) and ice (comets) hurtling past the Earth. If any of them were to actually hit us, the consequences would be terrifying - tidal waves hundred of metres high, massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and disruption of the atmosphere, with dramatic consequences for all life on Earth. Dr Paul Roche is Director of the Faulkes Telescopes Project, and the UK National Schools’ Astronomer (funded by the STFC research council). Based in the School of Physics & Astronomy at Cardiff University, he has spent almost 20 years researching massive stars, neutron stars and black holes. After studying for a PhD at Southampton, he was a Lecturer at Sussex University and Head of Education at the National Space Centre, Leicester. His current role involves promoting educational use of robotic, Internet-based telescopes, and developing better links between researchers and schools. |
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8th April 09 PAST |
Black Holes, Black Magic and Interstellar Travel Please book ahead - we expect this lecture to sell out. Tickets still available (54 spaces left at 9am Monday 6th April). Lecture: Addressing the topics of gravity and relativity, their role in various cosmic bodies including black holes and their implications for travel over cosmic distances, illustrating some of the issues using magic effects. Professor John Brown is Regius Professor of Astronomy and leader of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Group in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. As Astronomer Royal, he gives frequent planetarium shows and talks for schools, the public and amateur astronomical societies, and is also involved in using conjuring and other art forms to promote interest in science. |
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11th March 09 PAST |
What Can We Know About the Universe? Lecture: An introduction to the remarkable advances that have been made in our understanding of the universe, and also to the questions that remain - some of which might never be answered. Professor Russell Stannard is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the Open University. A high energy nuclear physicist, he has carried out research at CERN in Geneva and at other laboratories in USA nad Europe. He is a trustee of the John Templeton Foundation - an organisation promoting better relationships between science and religion. A prolific writer for both adults and children, his books are translated into 20 languages and have been shortlisted for many religious and scientific book prizes. He is particularly known for his "Uncle Albert" books. He has been a frequent broadcaster on TV and radio and has been a regular contributor to Radio 4's Thought for the Day. |
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11th Feb 09 PAST |
Tour of the Universe This lecture will use our planetarium system to provide stunning visuals! Also the cafe will be open for one last trial run before it's decided whether there is adequate demand to repeat this regularly. Hot and cold food and drink available. Lecture: Go on a mind-expanding journey through space and time. From Earth, we travel through the solar system, out of our galaxy and beyond. As we go, Maggie gives details of the objects observed, considers the probability of finding life, and undertakes demonstrations with the audience. A great overview of the wonders of the Universe. Dr Aderin-Pocock has spent her career making bespoke instrumentation ranging from land mine detectors to telescopes systems. Maggie works for Astrium Ltd where she leads the optical instrumentation group, where she works as a space scientist monitoring the variables of climate change. Maggie received a fellowship from the STFC enabling her do more science communication, and was recognised in this year New Years honours with an MBE. She is a great speaker who simply oozes enthusiasm. |
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14th Jan 09 PAST |
The Search for Extraterrestrial Life in the Universe The cafe will be open before this lecture. Please note this is a trial and will not be repeated unless there is sufficient demand! Hot and cold food and drinks will be available from 5pm to 6:15pm. Lecture: Perhaps the biggest question facing humankind is whether or not life exists elsewhere in the Universe. In the last 10 years there have been huge strides by astronomers and others towards answering this question….but we are not yet quite there. Probes to other parts of our Solar System, astronomical observations of planets around other stars, and theoretical understanding of how stellar systems evolve are all greatly helping in this quest. This talk will provide the latest scientific ideas and thoughts on this important topic. Professor Malcolm Coe obtained his PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London before going off to work for NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center for several years. Subsequently he moved to Southampton University where he has been since. He has given over 200 talks to non-specialist audiences of all ages. |
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11th Dec 08 PAST |
A (Potted) History of the Telescope As an experiment, the INTECH cafe will stay open until 6:30pm this evening. Come early for hot and cold food and drinks. If there is demand, this may be repeated on other lecture dates. Lecture: The telescope is the tool of astronomers, but was it Galileo who invented it? How did it develop and where is it heading? Ninian will guide you through the myths and reality of this most extraordinary and versatile of scientific instruments. Ninian Boyle is an experienced astronomer and Equipment Expert for the BBC Sky at Night Magazine. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of the British Astronomical Association, and runs the telescope dealership 'Venturescope' based here in the South. |
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12th Nov 08 PAST |
Are we Star-dust or Nuclear Waste? The Story of the Birth and Death of Stars Lecture: Stars are the origin of almost everything around us and their deaths, either by slowly fading away or in giant explosions, represent the ultimate triumph of gravity over matter. |
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8th Oct 08 PAST |
Galaxy Zoo Before the lecture: as part of World Space Week, satellite engineers from EADS Astrium are bringing displays and objects to INTECH and will be available to chat to visitors before the lecture. Find out how satellites navigate, their part in your daily life, and how to design and build something to survive 15 years in space without any maintenance. Lecture: There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the Universe, each one different. A telescope photographed a million of them and the Galaxy Zoo team invited the public to help them classify the pictures. It now has over 150,000 volunteers and has been so successful that other science projects might start using volunteers in the same way. What have they discovered? And how can you take part in this project - and be part of real science? Alice Sheppard got into astronomy not by qualifications but by interest - and so can all of you. She looks after the discussion forum of the Zoo, answers questions and hopes to help make citizen science available for everyone |
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10th Sept 08 PAST |
Voyage to the Edge of the Universe... and Beyond Lecture: One of the most surprising discoveries in cosmology is that most of the Universe's contents are dark - i.e., 25% of the "cosmic recipe" is made of the mysterious dark matter, while 70% is in the form of an even more puzzling "dark energy", which appears to be ripping the Universe apart. Recent cosmological observations have revealed the existence of this "dark Universe", and shown that the stuff we are made of is only a tiny fraction of the cosmos. This spectacularly illustrated lecture will take you to the edge of the visible Universe, and beyond, into the mysterious realm of the Multiverse. Join the astronomers' and particle
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