Programme
The Ninth Conference on the
INSPIRATION OF ASTRONOMICAL PHENOMENA
'Tradition & Innovation'
All sessions will be held in Barnard’s Inn Hall, Holborn, London EC1N 2HH, unless otherwise stated. Lunch and tea/coffee breaks will be held in the room known and labelled as ‘The Headmaster’s Study.’ Keynote and invited talks by Gresham professors and INSAP Committee members are indicated in bold. The INSAP Committee reserves the right to make changes to the programme where absolutely necessary due to unforeseen circumstances.
Monday 24 August 2015
| 08.45 – 10.00 | Registration and Welcome by Chairman of INSAP, Ron Olowin |
| Morning Session: | Astronomy and Culture: Historical and Local Topics Chair: Nicholas Campion |
| 10.00 – 10.30 | Coffee/Tea (in the ‘Head Master’s Study’)
|
| 10.30 – 11.15 | Ronald Olowin, INSAP
Committee Chairman Eureka! Cosmic Explorations of Archimedes, Alexander von Humboldt and Edgar Allan Poe |
| 11.15 – 11.40 | Christopher J. Corbally and
Margaret Boone Rappaport, Vatican Observatory & University of Arizona When Hominins First Looked Up and Saw Constellations |
| 11.40 – 12.05 | Harald Gropp, Independent Scholar Prehistoric circles from Neolithic Times till Bronze Age: Was there pre-Euclidean geometry? |
| 12.05 – 12.30 | Safari F. Grey, University of
Wales Homer’s Odyssey: Astronomy and the influence of the Near East |
| 12.30 – 12.55 | George Latura,
Independent Scholar Zodiacal Light: Forgotten For A Thousand Years |
| 1.00 – 2.00 pm | Lunch
|
| Afternoon Session: | Inspiration and Music Chair: Ronald Olowin |
| 2.00 – 2.40 pm | Ian Morison,
Jodrell Bank (Invited) Proving Einstein Right |
| 2.40 – 3.05 pm | Paolo Molaro,
Astronomical Observatory of Trieste A new portrait of Galileo Galilei? |
| 3.05 - 3.30 pm | David Morgan,
Ross School Innovation Lab Einstein, Galileo, and Kepler: The Operas of Philip Glass |
| 3.30 – 3.55 pm | Angelo Adamo,
Bologna Astronomical Observatory Night is Sound: Concerts for starry nights and orchestra by John Cage |
| 3.55 – 4.20 pm | Tea/Coffee
|
| 4.20 – 4.45 | Marek Kukula, Royal
Observatory Greenwich Science, beauty and public engagement at the Royal Observatory Greenwich |
| 4.45 – 5.30 | Valerie
Shrimplin, Gresham College (INSAP Committee) Sir Christopher Wren: Architect-Astronomer |
| 6.00 – 7.00 pm | Nicholas Campion,
University of Wales, Book Launch and Reception
|
Tuesday 25 August 2015
| Morning Session: | Pre-Columbian and Other Cultures Chair: Valerie Shrimplin |
| 9.00 – 9.40 | Carolin Crawford, Institute
of Astronomy Cambridge When Galaxies Collide |
| 9.40 – 10.05 | Annette S. Lee,
St Cloud State University, Minnesota The Cosmos As Viewed Through the Lens of a Native-American Astronomer-Artist |
| 10.05 – 10.30 | Lynda Harris, Independent Scholar
Current understandings of the Milky Way: Scientific and Spiritual |
| 10.30 – 10.50 | Coffee/Tea (in foyer to auditorium)
|
| 10.50 – 11.15 | Duane Hamacher, University
of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia Dance machines and astronomy in contemporary Torres Strait Islander traditions |
| 11.15 – 11.40 | Nandivada Rathnasree, Nehru
Planetarium, New Delhi, India (by video) Inspiration of Celestial Phenomena in the works of Kalidasa (4th-5th century AD) |
| 11.40 – 12.05 | Segla D. Aimé,
University of Abomey-Calavi, Centre Universitaire d'Aplahoué - Benin Republic (west Africa) Yoruba Cosmological incorporations ‘here and there’ in Fon Culture (West Africa) |
| 12.05 – 12.30 | Roberto Trotta,
Imperial College London The Power of Simplicity |
| 1.00 – 2.00 pm | Lunch
|
| Afternoon Session: | Planetaria and Outreach Chair: Chris Impey |
| 2.00 – 2.40 pm | Andrew Fabian,
Institute of Astronomy Cambridge Invited speaker; Title to be confirmed |
| 2.40 – 3.05 pm | Reza Assasi,
McGill University, Quebec, Canada Mithraeum as a Symbolic Planetarium |
| 3.05 - 3.30 pm | Daniel Brown,
Nottingham Trent University Memories unlocked and places explored: Stellarium a canvas to explore the temporality of skyscapes |
| 3.30 – 3.55 pm | Melanie Vandenbrouck,
Royal Museums, Greenwich (in absentia) Collecting cosmic aesthetics: contemporary art for the Royal Observatory Greenwich |
| 3.55 – 4.20 pm | Tea/Coffee
|
| 4.20 – 4.45 pm | Daniela De Paulis,
PhD candidate Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam AstroArts: the Arts and Culture Programme of Astronomers Without Borders |
| 6.00 – 8.00 pm | Lord Rees of Ludlow,
Keynote Speaker A Cosmic Perspective: Four Centuries of Expanding Horizons NB To be held at the Royal College of Surgeons, and followed by panel discussion and a reception |
Wednesday 26 August 2015
| 08.45 – 09.00 | Announcements |
| Morning Session: | Philosophical, Religious and Spiritual Themes Chair: Ronald Olowin |
| 09.00 – 09.40 | Nicholas Campion, University of Wales (INSAP Committee) The Moral Philosophy of Space Travel |
| 9.40 – 10.05 | José Funes, Vatican Observatory,
Vatican City A Cosmic End: from the Earth to the Universe |
| 10.05 – 10.30 | Elizabeth Wallace,
Giraffe 'n' Ant Productions, Maryland, USA Effect of an Astronomical Narrative on the Brain |
| 10.30 – 10.50 | Coffee/Tea
|
| 10.50 – 11.15 | Stefano Sandrelli,
INAF OsservaTORIO Astronomico di Brera, Italy Cosmos as a permanent Utopia realm |
| 11.15 – 11.40 | Howard Carlton,
University of Birmingham Condensing from a fluid haze: John Pringle Nichol, the nebular hypothesis and nineteenth-century cosmogony |
| 11.40 – 12.05 pm | Rafael Gil Brand,
Head of DAV School in North Germany The Golden Mean, an Unexpected Rationale Underlying Ancient Astrological Patterns |
| 12.05 – 12.45 | Michael
Rowan-Robinson, Imperial College Invited speaker; Title to be confirmed |
| 1.00 – 2.00 | Lunch
|
| Afternoon Session: | Space Travel, ‘Otherworlds’ and the Unusual Chair: Rolf Sinclair |
| 2.00 – 2.40 | Chris Impey,
University of Arizona (INSAP Committee) Dreams of Other Worlds |
| 2.40 – 3.05 | Clive Davenhall,
Royal Observatory Edinburgh Mars and the Mediums |
| 3.05 – 3.30 | Jay M. Pasachoff,
Williams College Massachusetts, and
Kevin J. Kilburn,
Manchester Astronomical Society, UK John Bevis's 18th-century Atlas Celeste: An Oft-Overlooked Treasure |
| 3.30 – 3.55 | Michael Geffert,
Bonn University, Germany The photographic plate archive as an inspiration for art projects |
Thursday 27 August 2015
| Morning Session: | Astronomy and the History of Art Chair: Gary Wells |
| 09.00 – 09.40 | Richard Poss,
University of Arizona (INSAP Committee) The Cosmological Compass in Western Art |
| 9.40 – 10.05 | Frank Keim,
University of Ulm, Germany The Astronomical Meaning of Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus' |
| 10.05 – 10.30 | Giangiacomo Gandolfi,
Rome Planetarium The Strange Case of Raphael's Planetary Hours: How Astronomy and Iconography Reveal a Neoclassical Forgery |
| 10.30 – 10.50 | Coffee/Tea
|
| 10.50 – 11.15 | Liana De Girolami Cheney,
Universita di Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy Galileo Galilei's Commemorative Tomb in Santa Croce: Art, Light and the Stars |
| 11.15 – 11.40 | Michael Mendillo,
Boston University and Ethan Pollock Christ and the Celestial Sphere: A Unique Mosaic in St. Isaac's Cathedral? |
| 11.40 – 12.05 | Catherine Blackledge,
Independent Scholar When the Luminaries Meet |
| 12.05 – 12.30 | John Hatch,
Western University, London, Canada East Meets West: Shi Zhiying's Picturing of Italo Calvino's 'Mr. Palomar' |
| 12.30 – 12.55 | Tarja Trygg,
Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland Invisible / Visible |
| 1.00 – 2.00 pm | Lunch
|
| Afternoon Session: | Astronomy and the History of Art (continued) Chair: Richard Poss |
| 2.00 – 2.40 pm | Gary Wells, Ithaca College,
New York (INSAP Committee) Balla’s 'Transit of Mercury' and the Modernist Sun |
| 2.40 – 3.05 | Rolf Sinclair (founder and former INSAP Chairman), Centro de Estudios Cientificos, Valdivia, Chile Conference Summary and commentary |
| 3.05 - 3.45 pm | Discussion on the future aims, direction and meetings of INSAP Led by Chris Impey (INSAP Committee member) |
| 3.45 – 6.00 pm | The Hall will be set up for dinner and will not be available
|
| 6.00 – 7.00 pm | Drinks reception in the Courtyard (weather permitting)
|
| 7.30 – 9.00 pm | Conference Dinner (only those who booked in advance) With closing and concluding remarks by Ron Olowin INSAP Chairman |