Heather Couper and Dr Nigel Henbest
Heather Couper is an international broadcaster and writer on astronomy, space and science. Although a trained scientist, researching at Oxford, she has spent the last twenty years working entirely in the media. She has hosted two C4 series on British television, several TV programmes, and many radio shows – including the long-running series Seeing Stars on BBC World Service. She has also written over 30 books, including the critically acclaimed Universe, Mars: the Inside Story of the Red Planet and The History of Astronomy (with Nigel Henbest). The International Astronomical Union has named asteroid number 3922 “Heather”, in her honour.
Dr Nigel Henbest is one of the UK’s leading science popularisers – and a Future Astronaut with Virgin Galactic! An award-winning author and television producer, he specialises in astronomy and space. Nigel’s 38 books and over 1000 articles have been translated into 27 languages; while his 60+ television programmes have been screened worldwide. Nigel is a columnist for The Independent newspaper, and his consultancies have ranged from New Scientist magazine to the Royal Greenwich Observatory. He has also chaired the popular BBC Radio 4 science quiz, The Litmus Test.
Heather and Nigel will be giving a talk about “Cosmic Quest: A History of Astronomy”.
Our glorious night sky is the ultimate landscape. But where do we fit in?
For thousands of years humankind has sought to find our place in the Cosmos. Starting with superstition, astronomy has flourished into the most all-embracing of the sciences.
Its progress has been lead by inspirational characters – and outright mavericks! – who have pushed our knowledge of the heavens forward, forever testing the limits of our imagination in the quest to understand the Universe.
This presentation concentrates on the people and personalities who have asked questions about the Cosmos over the millennia.
With each question answered, dozens appear as if from nowhere: black holes, dark matter, planets around other stars, and the ultimate future of our Universe.
And is there life out there?
You must be logged in to post a comment.