Talking Telescopes
Virtual event description:
Telescopes then and now. We have been watching the stars for centuries and our tools have changed dramatically since the time of Ptolemy and early astronomers. This panel will explore how tools and practices have changed over time.
Sajjad Nikfahm-Khubravan will trace the history of tools and ideas down from Greek astronomers to Islamic observers, and from the golden age of Islamic astronomy to European observers. Dallas Wulf will balance this historical tour with a talk on the powerful tools used by astronomers today. Join ROAAr and the McGill Space Institute for this special collaborative panel, and get a peek at some of the history of astronomy treasures in the McGill Library's rare and special collections with librarian Lauren Williams.
About the Speakers:
Sajjad Nikfahm-Khubravan is a PhD candidate at McGill University. His research focuses on theoretical and mathematical astronomy in the Middle Ages. In his dissertation he studied the history of planetary latitude theories.
Dallas Wulf Dr. Dallas Wulf is an astrophysicist and postdoctoral fellow at the McGill Space Institute. He is currently working on building the next generation of radio telescopes to measure the expansion history of the Universe and reveal the nature of Dark Energy.
Lauren Williams is the curator of McGill library's Blacker-Wood collection of natural history.
Image: Foldout from The Wonders of the Telescope : Or, a Display of the starry heavens and of the system of the Universe. 1823. London: William Darton. Children's collection; McGill Rare Books and Special Collections.