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Astronomy in the Middle Ages – laying the foundations of modern science

Modern astronomy is usually considered to have started in the Enlightenment, largely as a result of the invention of the telescope. But when we look back into the Middle Ages, we find a richness of thought that is preserved today in the art and manuscripts of the time, which are often of exquisite quality. Those ideas, in turn, owed their origin to Islamic scholars in the tenth and eleventh centuries, who had built on the work of the ancient Greeks. In this richly illustrated talk, Fred Watson celebrates the flourishing of mediaeval astronomy, and traces its origins and legacies. 

Professor Fred Watson

Professor Fred Watson is Australia’s first Astronomer-at-Large, an outreach and advocacy role within the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. He is graduate of the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and worked at both of Britain’s Royal Observatories before joining the Australian Astronomical Observatory as Astronomer-in-Charge in 1995. Fred is best known today for his award-winning radio and TV broadcasts, books, music, dark-sky advocacy and other outreach ventures. He holds adjunct professorships in several Australian universities, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010. He has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won't be his fault. His latest book, Cosmic Chronicles, was published by NewSouth Press in 2019.