It's the 200th anniversary of the birth of the famous and controversial Victorian polymath, Charles Piazzi Smyth. As Astronomer Royal for Scotland, he created the One O'Clock Gun tradition, started the idea of mountaintop astronomy, pioneered stereo photography, measured the Great Pyramid of Gizeh (and came up with some strange theories...), wrote many popular books, and created large numbers of beautiful watercolours. In this talk, Professor Lawrence will look at his legacy in Science, Art, Photography and Egyptology, and show rarely seen treasures from the archives of the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Andy Lawrence is the Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. Normally he studies supermassive black holes, but is also fascinated by the rich historical legacy of Edinburgh Astronomy.
All of our lecture mornings cost £9 and include a friendly lecture where you have the opportunity to meet our guest lecturer, have coffee and cakes and get a special tour.
Take advantage of our special offer, book 10 lectures for £80.
Stars, Time and Mountains: The legacy of Charles Piazzi Smyth