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In addition to Friends-only lectures there will be escorted visits to places of interest such as
 the University of London Observatory at Mill Hill- ...the Royal Observatory Greenwich
- As well as guided tours of the RAS apartments in Burlington House including the Library's collection of rare books
Throughout the year information will be given about popular talks and events in which you may be interested - as well as special meetings arranged for Friends of the RAS in Burlington House - see below
Download a full colour guide to Stonehenge produced by the RAS Astronomy Heritage Committee.
UPCOMING PROGRAMME FOR FRIENDS OF THE RAS IN 2013
Tuesday 14th May 2013 13:00-14:00
'The search for gravity waves' - A Public Lecture by Professor Mike Cruise
Please note that this Public Lecture is being held in the RAS Lecture Theatre. Since this is a smaller theatre, Friends of the RAS may book their seats in advance. Please email Emily Down (ejd -AT- ras.org.uk) to book your seat if you haven't already.
The Universe has been explored by astronomers for over 400 hundred years, mostly using light, radio waves, X-Rays and the Infra-red to give some indication of what objects exist and how hot they are. For nearly one hundred years scientists have also been aware of the possible existence of another form of radiation, Gravity Waves, which, if detected, would tell us about the mass and motion of astronomical objects. Gravity Waves are minute ripples in the geometry of spacetime and were predicted by Einstein but the weakness of these waves has prevented their detection to date.
Large laser facilities in the US are now being upgraded in a new attempt to pick up and analyse the gravity waves emitted by black holes and neutron stars in our Galaxy and beyond. Progress on this challenging experiment will be described and some predictions will be made of the science that may result.
Professor Mike Cruise is Professor Emeritus at the University of Birmingham. He chairs committees on the Physical Sciences at the European Space Agency and is Treasurer of the RAS.
Friday 17th May 2013 13:00-14:00
Book launch of Heart of Darkness: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Invisible Universe with the authors Dr Simon Mitton and Professor Jeremiah Ostriker
At this special event for Friends, come and meet authors Jeremiah P. Ostriker and Simon Mitton for the launch of their book on the mysteries of the ultimate causes of cosmic structure formation and the real nature and origin of dark matter and dark energy. Both of them will give presentations lasting 20 minutes on the content of the book. Simon Mitton will cover the fascinating historical background of the intellectual puzzle: How did structure arise in the universe, and how did we learn about it? Jeremiah Ostriker will then give an insider's story on the importance of the cosmic microwave background for recovering the earliest history of structure in the universe.
The talks and the book too are accessible to a general audience and readership.
After the talks there will be an informal reception and book signing session, accompanied by light refreshments courtesy of the publisher Princeton University Press. Jerry and Simon will be pleased to meet as many of you as possible.
Jeremiah P. Ostriker is Professor of Astrophysical Sciences at Princeton University. His books include Formation of Structure in the Universe and Unsolved Problems in Astrophysics (Princeton). Simon Mitton is at the University of Cambridge where his research is in the history of astronomy. He is a Vice President (2012-2014) of the RAS, and a RAS Guest Lecturer on astronomy for Cunard's Queen Mary 2. His publications include a dozen books on astronomy, ranging from popular history and biography to academic monographs.
Please see http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9818.html for further details on the book.
Wednesday 29th May 2013 13:00-14:00
'Of how planetary interiors shape their outer surfaces' - A talk by Professor Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni
Professor Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni will show in her talk how the interior of the Earth (and other terrestrial planets) is extremely dynamic, giving rise to large changes in topography that can even control biogeographic dispersal. She will compare Earth to other planets and spend a few minutes covering the data and modelling techniques used to study Earth's and other planetary interiors.
Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni a professor of Geophysics at UCL with broad interests in solid Earth geodynamics and tectonics. She uses both computational and laboratory methods and she is deeply grounded in observations. Prior to her arrival at UCL in 2007 she was an associate professor with tenure at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
PAST PROGRAMME IN 2013
Tuesday 29th January 2013 - Trip to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd
A special visit was arranged to Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd for the morning of 29th January 2013 for 20 Friends.
The programme, courtesy of Dr Stuart Eves, Lead Mission Concepts Engineer, comprised:
* Introduction and presentation on small satellites
* Their application to Astronomy
* Visit to the SSTL Ground Station
* Visit to the SSTL manufacturing facilities.
The programme finished at 1pm and lunch followed at a simple self-service restaurant a few minutes' walk away.
Friday 8th February 2013 - Friends Discount for Astrofest
European Astrofest at Kensington is offering a discount to Friends on Friday 8th February (£20 as opposed to £26 for both the morning and the afternoon sessions).
Tuesday 9th April 2013 13:00-14:00
'Planetary Magnetic Fields' - A Public Lecture by Professor Richard Holme (Liverpool)
PDF of the Planetary Magnetic Fields lecture
External link to the PowerPoint presentation, including the movies and animation
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EVENTS IN 2012
Thursday 26th January 2012 18:00-19:30
'Isaac Newton and The Sensorium of God' - A talk by Dr Stuart Clark
Isaac Newton: quintessential scientist – also alchemist, maverick theologian, and arch-heretic. Dr Stuart Clark explores how this complicated man’s unscientific traits were essential in shaping the scientific revolution. Just what did Newton mean when he called the Universe: The Sensorium of God?
Dr Stuart Clark holds a first class honours degree and a PhD in astrophysics. He is a science journalist and author who specialises in bringing the complex world of astronomy to everyone. His latest project is The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth trilogy, a series of novels that dramatise the history of astronomy. The second volume, The Sensorium of God, covers the life and work of Isaac Newton. He will be signing books on the night.
Wednesday 7th March 2012 2012 13:00-14:00
‘Urban Stargazing Project’ - A talk by Oscar Lhermitte
This talk is about the Urban Stargazing project and why it started, including details of constellations that were made in London.
About the Project: The Urban Stargazing project has the ambition to reclaim the night stars back in the urban sky, through outdoor invisible installations. Each installation is a modern constellation that can only be observed at night. Instead of recreating existing constellations that tells stories about the Greek and Chinese mythologies, the Urban Stargazing team creates constellations that depict contemporary myths and facts of our modern society and that are directly linked to their geographical location. The installations are almost invisible during the day, and it is only at night that one can appreciate the spectacle.
Over the period of June-July 2011, twelve new constellations could have been observed across London. Like the Great Bear and Orion depicting stories from Greek mythology, these told us something about our city and culture. Some stood for historical events that happened in the city; whilst others were purely visual experiences. The public was invited to take on a stargazing walk and discover stories about our society through astronomical constellations.
The Urban Stargazing project is here to bring awareness of our vanishing nights and question the relation that nature has in an urban environment. It’s objective is to invest other cities of the world and add new constellations, each relating to its cultural location.
For more information, visit www.oscarlhermitte.com
Wednesday 2nd May 2012
Visit to the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
Wednesday 18th July 2012 13:00-14:00
'Search for Extraterrestrial Unintelligence' - A talk by Professor Jonathan Tennyson (University College London)
Since the mid 1990s over 800 extra solar planets have been detected and the likelihood is that exoplanets orbiting other stars are ubiquitous. The natural next step is to characterise these bodies and, of course, try to determine if any of them support life. This lecture will focus on current attempts to determine the composition of these bodies using the way their atmospheres interact with light from their host planet. It will discuss signatures of possible life and explain why looking for primative lifeforms is much more likely to succeed than searches for advanced life ("extraterrestrial intelligence"). Finally the prospects for future observations, and in particular dedicated space missions, will be discussed.
Wednesday 5th September 2012
Guided tours of the Exhibition "The Renaissance of Astronomy" at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford
There is a choice of one (per person) of two guided tours by Professor Jim Bennett. There will be room for a maximum of 20 Friends per guided visit, for which there is no charge.
The exhibition marks the 500th Anniversary of the birth of Gerard Mercator and is a collaboration between the Museum and the RAS. (See: www.mhs.ox.ac.uk).
Wednesday 7th November 2012 13:00-14:00
'Why is the universe accelerating?' - A talk by Professor Malcolm A.H. MacCallum (University of Bristol)
Last year's Physics Nobel prize was given to the discoverers of the universe's acceleration. Direct application of our standard cosmological models and gravity theory implies that the cause is that more than 70% of the matter in the universe is of a previously unknown type labelled "dark energy". After reviewing this chain of observation and reasoning, Professor MacCallum will discuss the alternative explanations available.
PDF of Malcolm's presentation.
Wednesday 21st November 2012 13:00-14:00
'Curiosity and the Exploration of Mars' - A talk by Dr Peter Grindrod (UCL)
One of the most fundamental questions that we can ask is whether we are alone in the universe. It is studies of the habitability of Mars that drive and constrain the search for life in the coming decade and beyond. Evidence of Mars’ evolution is recorded in the rocks that we see on the surface today. This talk will unravel the history of water and habitability of Mars by discussing the Curiosity rover mission, which touched down on Mars in August 2012, and the broader exploration of the planet.
Links from this lecture:
News is here: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/news/whatsnew/
Press release images here: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/images/
And raw images (updated daily) here: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/
Wednesday 5th December 2012 13:00-14:00
'The Star of Bethlehem, an astronomer's view' - A talk by Professor David W. Hughes
Tradition has it that a bright star guided the wise men to Jesus’ birthplace in Bethlehem. But was it a star or some other astronomical phenomenon? In 1976 I wrote a book explaining the biblical and astronomical clues as to the physical nature of the Star of Bethlehem. My conclusion was that the wise men had predicted and seen a close approach of the planets Jupiter and Saturn in the constellation of Pisces. This was the sign that a new king of the Jews had been born in Israel.
Other explanations of the star concern comets, new stars, and lunar conjunctions. One tentative conclusion of the Jupiter-Saturn hypothesis is that Jesus was born on Tuesday 15th September 7 BC. Another Biblical possibility is that St Matthew made the whole thing up!
Tuesday 18th December 2012 13:00-14:00
'Neutrino - the route to a new astronomy' - A Public Lecture by Professor Frank Close (Oxford)
Condensed PowerPoint of the Neutrino lecture
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EVENTS IN 2011
Thursday 27 Jan 2011 13:00-14:00
'40 years of Supercool Astronomy' - A talk by Professor Ian Robson (Royal Observatory, Edinburgh)
A personal reflection of the development of submillimetre astronomy, a field the UK has spearheaded. The talk will be fully illustrated along with personal anecdotes and show how technology has changed the game and subsequently how 'doing astronomy' has changed dramatically for the observational astronomer over this period. Following the half hour session there will be a reception during which Professor Robson will be free to answer more questions.
Tuesday 22 March 2011 13:00-14:30
'Red Sprites - the Hunt for an Elusive Upper Atmospheric Optical Phenomenom' - A talk by Peter McLeish (Montreal)
For over a century people have reported strange lights in the night sky associated with thunderstorms. Only in 1989 were images captured - no mean achievement when the blink of an eye last 250 milliseconds and sprites often last only 10.
Peter McLeish is a filmmaker who created the artwork for two videos about Sprites made by former President of the American Meteorological Society, Walter Lyons. He will present and show these films and describe how the public can become engaged in the search for new thunderstorm related electrical phenomena.
Wednesday 30 March 2011 13:00-14:00
'The Origin of Origins' - A talk by Dr Francisco Diego (Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, UCL)
The Origin of Origins, the amazing story of the Universe:
Starting with its basic primordial conditions Dr Diego will explain how a few forces and simple rules have put together something well beyond our comprehension.... for the time being. Following this he invites you to share your thoughts about the science of creation - and beyond ( myths, superstition, religion and philosophy -but not too deep!).
Francisco Diego is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Physics and Astronomy University College London and a keen populariser of astronomy (currently through the Science and Technology Facilities Council's funded 'The Mind of the Universe' project) .
This is one a series of meetings for 'Friends of the RAS' where, following a short lecture, over a drink and nibble you can discuss topics with distinguished scientists
Thursday 26 May 2011 18:00-19:30
'Unravelling Starlight; William and Margaret Huggins and the Rise of the New Astronomy' - A book launch by Dr Barbara J. Becker, University of California, Irvine
A long felt gap in the literature of the History of Astronomy has been an adequate account of the pioneering work of Sir William and Lady Huggins in analysing stellar spectra, which laid the foundations for Stellar Astrophysics. Dr Barbara Becker has now filled this gap with her new book which was published by Cambridge University Press in February. The book is both a chronicle of scientific achievement and of a touching human story. This ‘post launch’ celebration will give an opportunity to meet the author. It is hoped that copies will be available for purchase and Dr Becker will be willing to sign them.
Programme:
1800-1830 Guests arrive and meet author
1830 Brief introduction by Librarian
1830-1900 Talk by Dr Becker ‘Unravelling Starlight’
1900-1930 Light refreshments
1930 Close
Saturday 18 June: Visit to Hampstead Observatory
We have arranged an interesting programme with the Hampstead Scientific Society. This will include a demonstration and talk about their telescope, and a visit to John Harrison's tomb (inventor of the marine chronometer.)
Programme:
1130 Meet at Hampstead Underground Station to walk leisurely up to the Observatory to arrive by noon. For those going independently, please check the Hampstead Scientific Society website for directions www.hampsteadscience.ac.uk
1300 Lunch at the Holly Bush (5 minutes walk away - for those who have booked places)
After lunch there will be a 5 minute walk to the church to visit John Harrison's tomb
Thursday 23 June 18:00-19:30
‘Discoverers of the Universe; William and Caroline Herschel’ - Dr Michael Hoskin
There has not been an adequate biography of William and Caroline Herschel published for many years. Dr Michael Hoskin has now filled that gap; in a long lifetime of research in the History of Astronomy, including editing and publishing ‘Journal for the History of Astronomy’ from its inception in 1970, the lives and work of the Herschels has been a major thread, covered partly in several previous books, and this work, written with the active co-operation of the Herschel family, is surely the definitive statement on the subject. The book, published recently by Princeton University Press, is both a chronicle of scientific achievement and of a complex human relationship. This ‘post launch’ celebration will give an opportunity to meet the author. It is hoped that copies will be available for purchase and Dr Hoskin will be willing to sign them.
1800-1830 Guests arrive and meet author
1830 Brief introduction by Librarian
1830-1900 Talk by Dr Hoskin ‘Discoverers of the Universe’
1900-1930 Light refreshments
1930 Close
Wednesday 6 July 2011 13:00-14:00
'The Observatory as Architectural Object' - A talk by the RAS Librarian Peter Hingley
Historic Observatories can actually be quite standardised in form, the smaller ones conforming over the years to two main patterns which allow the structure to fulfil the requirements imposed by the instruments contained. Others have been designed in more imaginative and varied ways and indeed some Observatories can be regarded as a species of Folly. Some private observatories made substantial scientific contributions but many did not, being mainly used for ' fun' by their proud owners and their friends.
Modern Observatory buildings are (mainly) engineering structures rather than architecture as such, so the survey will end with the building of the Mount Palomar Observatory. Parallels can be drawn with Windmills and Lighthouses. The speaker will also describe some of the conservation problems which can arise from restoration without astronomical knowledge, and talk about ways of identifying supposed old Observatories as Astronomical buildings.
This is one a series of meetings for 'Friends of the RAS' where, following a short lecture, over a drink and nibble you can discuss topics with distinguished scientists
Wednesday 21 September 2011 13:00-14:00
'"One day, Sir, you may tax it": Why Society Needs Cosmology' - A talk by Dr Roberto Trotta (Imperial College London)
Faraday's famous reply to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when quizzed about the practical value of electricity in 1850, encapsulates the need for blue sky research even and especially at times of financial hardship. Advanced societies cannot afford to stifle the most powerful drive of technological and social progress, namely scientifc curiosity for its own sake. In this talk I will argue that fundamental research in cosmology is a luxury humankind cannot do without, discussing how the cultural, technological and scientific returns of such an enteprise far outweigh the (relatively small) costs. Illuminating and richly illustrated examples from the past and current centuries will also be presented.
This is one a series of meetings for 'Friends of the RAS' where, following a short lecture, over a drink and nibble you can discuss topics with distinguished scientists
Wednesday 19 October 2011 13:00-14:00
'Seeing the Invisible: Observing the Dark Side of the Universe' - A talk by Dr Sarah Bridle (University College London)
It seems that most of the universe is made up of mysterious ingredients which we cannot see directly. This lecture will describe in pictures "gravitational lensing", the bending of light by gravity, which is predicted by Einstein's General Relativity. The dark components of the universe do not emit or absorb light, but do exert a gravitational attraction, and it turns out that gravitational lensing is one of the most promising methods for finding out more about them. This is very similar to looking through a bathroom at streetlamps outside, and using the distorted images to learn about the patterns in the glass. This lecture will review the current observations and the upcoming surveys.
This is one a series of meetings for 'Friends of the RAS' where, following a short lecture, over a drink and nibble you can discuss topics with distinguished scientists
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