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F.R.A.S., F.H.E.A., A.R.C.S., D.I.C.
2024 August - the Sun and the Northern lights
2024 August - the Sun and the Northern lights
This stand-alone talk looks at our nearest star - the Sun. It explores the relationship between the Sun and our planet, looking at the impact the solar wind has on our lives. It explains how the Northern Lights are created, but also the threat a major solar storm represents to our technology.
Useful further resources:
Live view of the Sun, updated daily
Selection of great auroral images
Best predictions for aurora this week
There are many good free apps for phones to predict auroral displays. I don't have any preference myself, so just try for yourself. Maybe Aurora Watch or My Aurora ? But try others.
2024 - The Search for Life in the Universe
Talks that explore how we are searching for extra-terrestrial life in the Universe. Whether or not we are alone in the Universe has been a question that has intrigued Humankind for as long as they could look up at the sky at night. The answer might, finally, not be too far in the future.
The Big Picture. Why is this important? This will be an introduction to the series and will summarise the way in which scientists are thinking about the question of the search for life. How have astronomers and space scientists have been seeking clues for extra-terrestrial life over the last couple of decades?
Useful further resources:
The SETI Institute
Comets & asteroids as the bringers of life:
Star Birth & Death. In this talk will look at the way we think stars & planets get created and die. It will start by focussing on our own Solar System, and then look further afield at planets around other nearby star systems. How many of these star systems could be homes for life?
Useful further resources:
Home. When & how we think life started on Planet Earth. We’ll look with amazement at the extreme life-forms that survive on our planet – the extremophiles. How does that inform our search elsewhere? And, of course, talk a bit about the major hazards to all life on Planet Earth (beyond ourselves!).
Useful further resources:
Panspermia – the theory that life arrived on Planet Earth from outer space. The evidence for the existence of the building blocks of life all around the universe, and the possible ways they might have been delivered to Planet Earth 3-4 billion years ago. But we also must be aware of the dangerous parts of our Milky Way galaxy where wandering life would be under great threat.
Useful further resources:
Our neighbourhood. The planet on our stellar doorstep – Mars. We have every reason to believe that Mars started off as the Earth did, with oceans and an atmosphere. Though this changed over the first billion or so years there is great hope that life might have independently started here and could even possibly still be hiding in caves or crevices. To find clear evidence of an alternative form of life on Mars would open the door to astronomical possibilities for life elsewhere.
Useful further resources:
Mars rover exploration web page
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January/February 2023 - Astronomy at the Edge
Four talks that explore the current limits of our understanding of the Universe. Along the way we’ll take a side look at some of the telescopes & people that are challenging our scientific theories.
Talk 1 - Black holes - In this talk we will explore what exactly scientists mean by Black Holes. Are they really “black”? In what sense are they “holes” in the universe? Since they are thought to be the ultimate fate of many stars when they reach the end of their lives, they must populate the whole of space – but thankfully none are on our immediate doorstep!
Some useful links:
NASA site "What Is a Black Hole?"
Book by Brian Cox "Black Holes: The Key to Understanding Everything"
TED talk by Nobel Laureate Andrea Ghez "The hunt for a supermassive black hole"
Nice article on Worm Holes
Talk 2 - Tides in the Universe - From the Earth to Space, the effect of tides shapes our world. All tides are caused by massive objects (moons, stars etc) which exert a pull on any nearby companion. In our case, the rise and fall of colossally large amounts of water as the moon orbits our planet. But the same science exerts its influence on some of the most massive objects & biggest scales in the known Universe – galaxies.
Further reading:
Tidally locked planets and Life
National Geographic article on Tidal Energy
Review from Astronomy magazine on the Magellanic Clouds
Talk 3 - Past & Future Universes – the Biggest Possible Picture! - In this talk we’ll look at the evidence for the birth of the universe we see around use. Then we’ll fast track to the future and try and guess what might happen ahead of us. Quite probably there will no longer be any stars, thereby offering a possible very dark future. Or maybe it will all explode and the universe will start all over again. Either way it shouldn’t affect your summer holiday plans!
Further reading:
NASA page on the cosmic microwave back ground
Discussion on Hubble and Red Shift
Article about Dark Matter & Dark Energy
Smithsonian Magazine article on Future Universes
Two TED talks on expansion of the universe and the death of the universe
Explanation of Redshift (and other fun science concepts) from Sketchplanations by Jono Hey
Talk 4 - Astronomy from South Africa - From the early pioneers to one of the largest telescopes in the world. For two centuries astronomers have explored the southern sky from the viewpoint of the region around Cape Town. It was initially pretty challenging for the early astronomers – wandering around in the dark surrounded by snakes, leopards etc! But now South Africa provides astronomers with safe access to some of the very best telescopes in the world. And some of the clearest views of the Universe.
Further information:
Book : "Under Capricorn" by David Evans - a history of southern hemisphere astronomy
Book : "Cape Landscapes" by Brian Warner - the sketches of John Herschel
Southern African Large Telescope website
Royal Museum Greenwich article on Caroline Herschel
Good article about Henrietta Swan Leavitt
The current weather at the Sutherland Observatory
Website for the South African Astronomical Observatory
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October 2022 FRONTIERS OF ASTRONOMY
“How astronomy helps us understand the world around us”.
FRONTIERS OF ASTRONOMY - “How astronomy helps us understand the world around us”.
A series of three talks on Mirthy for this autumn. All on Tuesdays at 11.30am. Book them here.
Talk 1 – Asteroids – a waste of Space? 27 September 2022
On one hand there is indisputable evidence that the Earth has been bombarded from space by asteroids & comets over the past billions of years, and it hasn’t stopped yet! But on the other hand, as we are running out of resources on our planet, it is now believed that asteroids may contain extremely valuable materials for the future. Plus we will look at how they may play a key role in mankind expanding off our planet to explore elsewhere in the Solar System.
Useful further resources:
Good web site on asteroids: NASA Science asteroids.
A discussion on possibilities of mining asteroids.
Catalogue of impact craters on the Earth
The effect of the Chicxulub impact on our planet
Excellent book on the hopes for mining asteroids by Prof Martin Elvis
Talk 2 – Astronomical insights into the Pyramids & Stonehenge.4 October 2002
The talk will discuss the view of the sky seen by ancient people. It will look at how the appearance of the night sky has evolved over the millennia, and how ancient people over the past 5000 years may have made use of the constellations for both engineering and religious purposes. We will look at what tools modern astronomy gives us that allows us to predict accurately the star patterns and accurately to time events seen in the distant past.
Useful further resources:
English Heritage website on Stonehenge
Excellent discussion on the astronomical implications of Stonehenge by Prof Clive Ruggles
A review of Astronomy and the Great Pyramid by Prof J. Donald Fernie
Excellent book on the Pyramids by Mark Lehner "The complete pyramids"
Free planetarium software available for Apple & Windows machines - Stellarium
Talk 3 – The Search for Life in the Universe.11 October 2022
The talk will look at the way we have been searching for life, from nearby planets to distant star systems. In particular, we will look at SETI (Search for Extra-terrestrial Intelligence). This will be followed by an up-to-date view of what astronomers are doing & what exciting results are emerging from their work. We will be talking about the rovers on Mars, probes to the distant planets and the discovery of thousands of planets around other star systems.
Useful further resources:
The SETI Institute
Mars rover exploration web page
To visit my research web site at the University of Southampton click HERE.
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