Royal Institution Public Talk - Galileo's gaze: The secrets of cosmic discovery
Saturday 6th July 2024 from 19:00pm to 20:30pm
The Royal Institution
21 Albermarle Street, London, London, W1S 4BS
David Jamieson delves into the revolutionary discoveries made by Galileo in the early 17th century.
Galileo unearthed Jupiter’s moons, Venus’s phases, and lunar landscapes using his groundbreaking telescope. However, hidden within his logbooks lie tantalising clues: the sighting of a mysterious “fixed star,” now recognised as the planet Neptune, observed long before its official discovery.
This talk explores the possibility that Galileo may have recognised Neptune’s planetary nature, potentially marking humanity’s first discovery in millennia. Join us as we unravel the enigma of Galileo’s observations and their profound implications for our understanding of the cosmos.
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Event darkness
The below chart shows if and when the skies will be at their darkest during this event. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing.
Sat 6th Jul
Local light pollution
The Royal Institution is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to an urban location based on the latest data from the VIIRS satellite.
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Dark site
The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.
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