John Pitchford – Dr David Morgan’s Project and RETRAM
OnlineDr Morgan and RETRAM are both working on the Recognition and Trajectories of Meteors using alternatives to Graves, Brams and Iper. This talk is an introduction to this topic and takes an historical approach to Radio Astronomy and the use of Passive Radar. You will meet the musical ‘Cats’ and the ‘Terminator’ on the way!
Russell Parry – The Appley Bridge Meteorite
OnlineThe fascinating story of the fall and find of the Appley Bridge Meteorite in 1914.
Mark Gibbons – Black Holes
OnlineFrom being theoretical curiosities predicted by mathematics, to objects we now have direct observational evidence of: black holes. They have a surprisingly wide-ranging effect on the structures we see in the Universe. We have some idea about what goes on inside a black hole, and a better idea what goes on around one. This talk examines how we first ... Read more
Mike Frost – Isaac Newton and The Surrey Pumas
OnlineAn offbeat look at Newton's theory of gravity - featuring hollow Earths, counter-Earths Trojan asteroids, Kirkwood gaps, Lagrangian nodes, the three-body problem, and those mysterious beasts rumoured to haunt Surrey playing fields and Bodmin Moor. Already delivered on two continents!
Paul Pope Lecture: Chris Lintott – The Crowd and the Cosmos
OnlineWolverhampton Astronomical Society is proud to present it’s annual free public talk, the Paul Pope Lecture. This year we are delighted to welcome Chris Lintott, co-presenter of the BBC’s Sky at Night program to talk to us about The Crowd and the Cosmos. Astronomer Chris Lintott explains how you could help astronomers sort through galaxies, explore the ... Read more
Paul Fellows – Children of Another Sun
OnlineIt is only in the last twenty years that we have been able to prove that the Sun is not unique in having a family of planets. This talk takes up the story of the discovery of planets beyond the solar system and described how we have gone about tracking down planets orbiting other stars ... Read more
Damian Hardwick – Inventor, Investigator and Innovator: The life of Sir John Herschel
OnlineThis talk looks back at the life of one the true greats of nineteenth century astronomy. An astronomer who was an inventor, he also investigated scientific problems, and found solutions as well as being an innovator and pioneer.
Paul Money – Why Are There No Green Stars?
OnlineWe often look up at the night sky and our first impression is one of white stars until we realise a few are actually coloured. Astro images clearly show coloured stars but one things stands out as being absent: Green stars. In this talk Paul takes a look at how we see colour, why we ... Read more
Robin Hague – Skyrora: Making space sustainable
OnlineRobin Hague is the Head of Launch at Skyrora
Andy Briggs – How to photograph a Black Hole: the Story of the Event Horizon Telescope
OnlineFREE PUBLIC TALK In 2019, humanity's first image of a black hole was revealed to the world. Join Andy Briggs as he reveals exactly how the image was acquired by the Event Horizon Telescope, and the technological challenges involved in producing what is undoubtedly one of the most iconic scientific images of all time. Andy ... Read more
Dr Steve Barrett – The ABC of Galaxy Evolution
OnlineWhat are the three factors (the ABC) that determine how galaxies form and how they grow? A = Accretion – Galaxies were formed by matter accreting; B = Black Holes – Supermassive black holes are at the centres of galaxies; C = Collisions – Galaxies grow by colliding and merging.
Steve Wootton – The Scale of the Universe
Online“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”Douglas Adams
Prof Ian Morison – Wonders of the Southern Sky
A talk which will look at some of the most interesting objects in the southern skies and how the Small Magellanic Cloud helped solve a fundamental question about the Universe.
Alex Binks – Young Stars in our Backyard
OnlineAge is a vital property to get right in astronomy, but it's really tricky! Correctly estimating the age of a star (or a cluster of stars) means we can test our understanding of the sequence of events throughout a star's life. On larger scales this leads to clues about the evolution and ecology of our ... Read more
Prof Rene Breton – Cosmic fireworks
OnlineA talk on astronomical transients, and in particular about supernovae research.