Yesterday was the day of the spring conference of the SHA, and as luck would have it, it took place in York at Friends' Meeting House on Friargate. The society has generously funded an annual essay prize for young people to write on topics of astronomical history, and the Bootham GCSE group really rose to the challenge, presenting essays on topics ranging from the discovery of Neptune to the life and work of Gallileo. Some of our students and I enjoyed an afternoon of fascinating lectures covering (in order), the self-taught telescope making geniuses of Scotland, the bitter yet comic feud between two early pioneers of astrophotography and finally a wonderfully lively review of cosmic ray research from Sir Arnold Wolfendale, a former Astronomer Royal. After these talks, Sir Arnold awarded the first and second prizes to Luke Bussell and Annie Howard, both (of course) students at Bootham. The officers of the SHA said some very complimentary things about all the Bootham submissions and it is very good to get independent confirmation of what I have always believed about the academic prowess of our student body.
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Sunday 21 April 2013
Society for the History of Astronomy
The school has recently joined the Society for the History of Astronomy. It makes sense, given that we have such a lovely (and significant) old observatory. The Society aims to promote a wider understanding of how astronomy developed around the world, and perhaps in Britain in particular, and how this fascinating branch of science has made such a difference to the culture we all share.
Yesterday was the day of the spring conference of the SHA, and as luck would have it, it took place in York at Friends' Meeting House on Friargate. The society has generously funded an annual essay prize for young people to write on topics of astronomical history, and the Bootham GCSE group really rose to the challenge, presenting essays on topics ranging from the discovery of Neptune to the life and work of Gallileo. Some of our students and I enjoyed an afternoon of fascinating lectures covering (in order), the self-taught telescope making geniuses of Scotland, the bitter yet comic feud between two early pioneers of astrophotography and finally a wonderfully lively review of cosmic ray research from Sir Arnold Wolfendale, a former Astronomer Royal. After these talks, Sir Arnold awarded the first and second prizes to Luke Bussell and Annie Howard, both (of course) students at Bootham. The officers of the SHA said some very complimentary things about all the Bootham submissions and it is very good to get independent confirmation of what I have always believed about the academic prowess of our student body.
Yesterday was the day of the spring conference of the SHA, and as luck would have it, it took place in York at Friends' Meeting House on Friargate. The society has generously funded an annual essay prize for young people to write on topics of astronomical history, and the Bootham GCSE group really rose to the challenge, presenting essays on topics ranging from the discovery of Neptune to the life and work of Gallileo. Some of our students and I enjoyed an afternoon of fascinating lectures covering (in order), the self-taught telescope making geniuses of Scotland, the bitter yet comic feud between two early pioneers of astrophotography and finally a wonderfully lively review of cosmic ray research from Sir Arnold Wolfendale, a former Astronomer Royal. After these talks, Sir Arnold awarded the first and second prizes to Luke Bussell and Annie Howard, both (of course) students at Bootham. The officers of the SHA said some very complimentary things about all the Bootham submissions and it is very good to get independent confirmation of what I have always believed about the academic prowess of our student body.
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