Hi folks,

Prepare yourself for a real treat.

I found this link to the International Astronomical Union Symposium : The Role of Astronomy in Society and Culture. Its was in January 2009 and was a UNESCO funded event as part of the International Year of Astronomy. The conference ran over several days and the good news is that its all on free video link!

I have worked my way through all the presentations of an historical nature. They average about 40-45 minutes in duration each. Go to the link and the select which talk you want to hear from the list on the left.

http://canalc2.u-strasbg.fr/video.asp?idvideo=8328

I have highlighted some of the talks below which I recommend. Many are by leading authorities in the field such Belmonte ( Ancient Egypt), Herman Hunger (Ancient Babylon). One of the highlights for me was Belmonte's talk on his recent fieldwork results linking sites in Egypt to fixed star and seasonal alignments. Most of us have heard of the links to Sirius but his research also shows connections to the fixed star Canopus, seasonal alignments of the Sun and certain circumpolar stars. As far as I am aware he is the first academic astronomer to undertake a major survey of pyramid and site alignments since the 19th century.

George Saliba's talk is well worth a look too as he claims the 9th century Arabic astronomers completely upgraded numerous errors in the the hellenistic model stemming from Ptolemy. He even suggests Copernicus got much of his material straight out of arabic astronomy. In fact every talk is worth checking out! The talk on Aboriginal astronomy for example.

Michael Hoskin's talk looks quite dry to begin with (visuals were not working). However, it really picks up in the last 20 minutes. He demonstrates a link between some Neolithic sites in the Balearic Islands s and the stars of the Crux. They are believed to have been healing centres. Its not often we hear an astronomer explain the myth of Chiron! When the crux was no longer observable through precession the sites were abandoned. Oh and if astronomy and politics grabs you we have none less than Nicholas Campion to discuss it. There is also some presentations on art and astronomy. Something for everyone I would say.

Here is a summary of the presentations that will probably most interest skyscript users:

Ancient History & Cultural Astronomy

Astronomy in the Cosmovision of Neolithic Europe -M. Michael HOSKIN

The Role of Astronomy in Babylonian Society and Culture-Hermann Hunger

In Search of Cosmic Order: astronomy and culture in ancient Egypt-
M. J. A. Belmonte

The Antikythera Mechanism, Astronomy and mathematics embedded in the gears of the oldest mechanical universe-M. Xenophon Moussas

Astronomy in Indian Cultures-M. Rajesh Kochnar

Connecting Heaven and Man: Astronomy in Ancient China-. Xiaochun SUN

Archaeoastronomy in the Pacific- Clive Ruggles

The Islamic reception of Greek astronomy -M. George Saliba

The African Cultural Astronomy Project-Mme Urama Johnson

Astronomy and its Role in Ancient Mesoamerica -M. Ivan Sprajic

The Astronomy of Aboriginal Australians -M. Ray Norris


Other talks of interest:

Astronomy in Political Theory -M. Nicholas Campion

Galileo, Kepler, and the Birth of Modern astronomy-M. Owen GINGERICH

Michelangelo, Copernicus and the Sistine Chapel-Mme Valerie Shrimplin

Astronomy, ?Art? and Artists-Mme Suzanne DEBARBAT

Mark, they are wonderful, I already saw (at work ) the one about Michelangelo and Cappella Sistina.

Thanks so much,
margherita

Hi Margherita,

I was thinking of you when I first noticed that talk. I thought you would go straight for it.

Mark

MarkC wrote:Hi Margherita,

I was thinking of you when I first noticed that talk. I thought you would go straight for it.

Mark

I should be a boring girl

Anyway thanks again, i shared your links with friends here and everybody loved it.

Margherita

thanks, MarkC