Royal Institution Public Talk - How stars built our world
Monday 31st March 2025 from 19:00pm to 20:30pm
The Royal Institution
21 Albermarle Street, London, London, W1S 4BS
We are made of stardust. The atoms in our bodies were produced by stellar explosions that occurred billions of years ago. But the stars haven’t just given us life; observing the sky has guided Homo Sapiens since prehistoric times. Who would we be had our ancestors been fated to live on a planet without stars? Without their guidance, human society would have been unrecognisable. Astronomy was the midwife of all the sciences, precursor to the technology that today shapes every aspect of our lives.
Join theoretical physicist Roberto Trotta as he uncovers the unexpected connections between the sight of the heavens and human history. From the role of stars in establishing our supremacy over the Neanderthals to navigation. From measuring time to the achievements of the Scientific Revolution. From astrology to artificial intelligence, to discover that stars made us who we are in more ways than we ever suspected.
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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.
Mon 31st Mar
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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