Space Lectures
Space Lectures run on the 2nd Wednesday of each month (excluding August). They are aimed at an adult audience. Full details & programme here.
Tickets are £6.50/£5.50 and usually sell out in advance. Pre-book by calling 01962 891925, booking online or in person.
We have added a 4:30pm slot for our May/June/July lectures in order to increase capacity. This lecture is less likely to sell out. We will continue this next year if there is enough interest.
Next lecture 12th June:
From a Simple Time-Ball to the Biggest Telescope in the World: 180 years of Astronomy in South Africa
Prof Malcolm Coe (University of Southampton)
This lecture will be presented twice: at 4:30pm and then again at 6:30pm.
Lecture: The first professional telescopes from the UK arrived in Cape Town with the formation of the Royal Observatory in 1820. Despite battling with snakes, leopards and assorted diseases the new observatory had half the universe waiting to explore. Though some astronomers didn’t last very long, those that did discovered a rich vein of new astronomical objects to explore. Vital for navigation with the increasing number of ships heading towards or from the East, the Observatory provided both a functional role as well as an exciting scientific one. This pioneering history has been reclaimed in the last decade with the construction of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) – the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere – and the very recent decision to build the major part of the colossal Square Kilometre Array (SKA) in southern Africa. Both of these will bring cutting-edge astronomical research to Africa and will allow it to establish itself, once more, at the scientific front line.
Prof 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 is a Trustee of INTECH Science Centre.