Public Lecture - Thursday 20th May 2021

Ms Sheri Lynn-Karl of the British Astronomical Association will present "Solar Observing on a Budget" and will discuss the imaging of solar features and simple ways that the sun can be monitored, either through basic equipment, projection and live feed websites.

Biography:  For her day job Sheri-Lynn Karl is an operations geophysicist projecting managing oil exploration surveys and an amateur astronomer with a MSc in astronomy.  For her involvement in astronomy and geophysics she was elected a fellow of the RAS and also an active member of the BAA (Solar Section) as well as the local Aberdeen Astronomical Society.  Over the past decade or so, she has been concentrating on the solar astrophotography side of astronomy as well as enjoying giving talks about the wonders of the universe to a variety of UK societies.

The lecture will start at 1930 and will be viewable on the ASG's YouTube channel

2 new Astronomy courses

Dr Alec McKinnon is offering a couple of Astronomy courses through Strathclyde University’s Centre for Lifelong learning.  It's hoped these would be interesting to ASG members and the public.  In the current circumstances they’ll be run online, using Zoom.
 
There are two courses, both six weeks starting 21 April:
 
Life in the Cosmos, 10.00 – 11.30
For centuries people have wondered if there might be living creatures in the Universe beyond Earth.  In this class we first ask, “what do we mean by ‘life’ anyway?” then look at the progress astronomers have made towards answering this question: the possibilities for life elsewhere in the solar system; the existence and nature of planets around other stars; the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).  We conclude by looking at future prospects for finding life elsewhere.
 
Astronomy as the skies get light, 18.00 – 19.30
As spring wears on, the nights in Scotland shorten very quickly but the sky does not lose its interest.  After reviewing the regular changes in the sky we take a look at: the bright constellations of spring and summer; The Milky Way; the Sun and the Moon; Northern lights and noctilucent clouds; meteors.  You will hear about the natures of the objects being discussed and learn how to see them for yourself.
 
Both classes are lecture style with plenty time for discussion and questions.  They’re most suitable for people with little to no previous knowledge. There’s a fee: £63 in both cases.  Enrol at https://mycll.strath.ac.uk/MyCLL/Classes?cid=148&cname=Astronomy

Public Lecture - Thursday 3rd June 2021

"What is THAT? The discovery of pulsars, their nature and their impact on physics"
Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who presented the ASG's Tannahill Lecture in January 2017, will give City University of London's 44th Edwards Lecture.  She is an astrophysicist who was responsible for the discovery of pulsars while a radio astronomy graduate student in Cambridge and has subsequently worked in gamma ray, X-ray, infrared and millimetre wavelength astronomy.  She was credited with one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century.

Full details and registration information is available at: https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/2021/06/44th-edwards-lecture-professor-dame-jocelyn-bell-burnell

Public Lecture - Friday 4th June 2021

HAPP will be holding a special online lecture by Zoom on "Scientific Thinking Across the Centuries and the Foundations of Physics" by Professor Carlo Rovelli (Aix-Marseille University) on Friday 4th June from 5.00-6.30 pm BST.

All the details and the weblink to register for the lecture are given on the webpage below:
https://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/event/scientific-thinking-across-the-centuries-and-the-foundations-of-physics

St Cross Centre for the History & Philosophy of Physics
http://www.stx.ox.ac.uk/the-happ-centre