Category Archives: The History of Astronomy

Monthly Meeting: Dr. Steve Barrett – “Fiat Lux II”

The November 2020 monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for the 2019 – 2020 (138th) session will be held on Friday, November 20th from 19:00 to 21:00. Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Steve Barrett of the University of Liverpool, with part two in his series of “Fiat Lux” talks, entitled: “Fiat Lux II” In this second of three talks, Steve picks up where Fiat Lux I left off, covering how the nature of light has influenced the design and construction of optical telescopes.     Please note, due to COVID-19 this meeting is ONLINE-ONLY. Society members have been […] Continue Reading »

Monthly Meeting: Mr. Pete Williamson – “From Myth to Moon”

The September 2020 monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for the 2019 – 2020 (138th) session will be held on Friday, September 18th from 19:00 to 21:00. Normally this meeting would have been the Presidential Address however as we’re still getting used to doing things online, and since we haven’t yet been able to have the AGM, we’ve opted to do this meeting more like a ‘normal’ one, albeit online. Our guest speaker this month is Mr. Pete Williamson FRAS, Astronomer & Broadcaster with the Faulkes Telescope Project Astro Radio & the BBC, whose lecture is entitled: “From Myth to […] Continue Reading »

POSTPONED – Monthly Meeting: Mr. Pete Williamson- “From Herschel to Hawkwind: Music and Astronomy” – POSTPONED

This event has been postponed due to the Coronavirus situation The April 2020 monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for the 2019 – 2020 (138th) session will be held on Friday, April 17th from 19:00 to 21:00. Our guest speaker this month is Mr. Pete Williamson FRAS, Astronomer & Broadcaster with the Faulkes Telescope Project Astro Radio & the BBC, whose lecture is entitled: “From Herschel to Hawkwind: Music and Astronomy” Join Pete as he takes us on a tour which demonstrates – vividly – how music and astronomy have intertwined across the ages. Please do not bring cigarette lighters […] Continue Reading »

Liverpool MakeFest 2019

The LAS will be at the annual MakeFest event again this year, on Saturday 29th June, with a selection of Apollo memorabilia (in the run-up to our own event at the Library in mid-July) as well as our Solar ‘scopes on the roof. The MakeFest event is FREE but you will need to book a ticket if you want to come along. MakeFest is always a great day and even if you’re not in the mood for astronomical activities, there’s plenty of other things to see and do such as: Cubert Cubert is a 8x8x8 RGB LED cube that is […] Continue Reading »

Liverpool MakeFest 2023

It’s Completely Free! The LAS is happy to return to the annual MakeFest event again this year, on Saturday 1st July in Liverpool’s Central Library. It’s a ‘Fab’ welcome back to the largest free Maker Event in the UK! If you’ve not attended before, Liverpool Makefest is a one day hybrid technology and arts & crafts participatory festival where lovely makers get together to show their projects to the public, with the hope of enthusing the next generation of creative technologists and artists. It’s a fun, educational, buzzing and often wacky day that takes place in the unusual setting of […] Continue Reading »

Mission to the Moon: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Join us on Saturday, 20th July at Liverpool’s Central Library for a day celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. We’ll be at the Library from 10am through to 5pm, along with a variety of guests, including regional astronomical societies, academics, interest groups and more. Lectures about the Apollo mission will run throughout the day and there’ll be an assortment of memorabilia, displays, desks and stalls where you can learn and have fun. The event is completely free to attend and no tickets are required – just walk in on the day. For more information please click […] Continue Reading »

LAS at World Museum – Apollo displays, activities

As part of our ongoing Apollo celebrations, the LAS will be present at the World Museum on Saturday with a set of Apollo-related displays in the area outside the lecture theatre where Dr. Bowman’s talk will take place, as well the area near the 5th floor balcony. We will also have Solar scopes on the balcony if the weather permits. If you would like to help out on the day, please contact Steve Southern by filling out the form below and let him know. Any assistance will be appreciated. In addition to the LAS displays, the museum is also hosting […] Continue Reading »

Monthly Meeting: Friday, 16th February, 2018

The February 2018 monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for the 2017 – 2018 (136th) session will be held on Friday, February 16th from 19:00 to 21:30. Our guest speaker this month is Prof. Ian Robson (BSc, Phd, FRAS, CPhys, FInstP) whose lecture is entitled: “The Discovery of Quasars” Quasars are the most powerful bodies in the Universe and we now know that they are the extreme of Active Galaxies, powered by a supermassive black hole at their centre. However, the story of their discovery is one of missed opportunities, the advent of radio astronomy, careful observational measurements, and a […] Continue Reading »

Monthly Meeting: Friday, 15th February, 2019

The February 2019 (Jeremiah Horrocks Memorial Lecture) monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for the 2018 – 2019 (137th) session will be held on Friday, February 15th from 19:00 to 21:00. Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Allan Chapman FRAS, whose lecture is entitled: “Islands in the Sky; Edwin Hubble, the Galaxies, and the ‘Star’ of Mt. Wilson” Dr. Chapman will talk about the impact of one of the greatest discoveries of the early 20th Century – the size of the known universe; that it was unimaginably larger than previously thought, and the implications and effects this discovery had […] Continue Reading »

Monthly Meeting: Friday 17th March, 2017

The March 2017 monthly meeting of Liverpool Astronomical Society for session 2016-17, will take place on Friday, March 17th 2017 from 7pm. Our guest speaker this month is Dr. Rene Breton of the University of Manchester, with a lecture entitled: “Einstein’s Relativity: Tested to the Limit with Pulsars” Dr. Breton writes: Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity was published in 1915. In over a century it has not failed a single time despite hundreds of tests and experiments. One of the most extreme environments in which to benchmark Relativity and possible alternative theories of gravity is around pulsars (after black holes, the […] Continue Reading »