BAA March Meeting

All in-person attendees need to book in advance. If you book a ticket and subsequently find you are unable to attend then please cancel your ticket so another member may attend. We expect face masks to be required at the venue.

Programme

17:00 Doors open with refreshments available outside the lecture theatre

17:30 BAA President - Welcome and notices etc

17:50 Dr Jacqueline Mitton “Maria Mitchell, the Danish comet medal and early American astronomy”

18:40 Martin Lewis - "Imaging the Night side of Venus"

19:30 Sky Notes - Callum Potter

20:00 Close

Jacqueline Mitton, a BAA member since 1966, is a former Editor of both the Journal and the Handbook. She also served for several years as the first press officer of the Royal Astronomical Society. She is the author or co-author of over 30 books on astronomy. Beginning when she was a PhD student at Cambridge in the 1970s, she has had a long-standing interest in the history of women in astronomy. Her latest book, written in collaboration with her husband Simon, is a biography of the astronomer Vera Rubin, published in 2021.

Maria Mitchell, the Danish comet medal and early American astronomy

The first American woman to become an astronomer, Maria Mitchell (1818–1889), shot to international fame in 1849, after the King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal by special royal favour for her discovery of a comet in 1847. The story behind the medal is an intriguing and fascinating one. Why was the Danish king awarding such medals? How did Mitchell come to receive one? Why was it such a big deal? In her talk, Jacqueline will explore the answers to these questions.

The IOP are helping us to livestream the event on the BAA YouTube channel so members will be able to watch remotely without booking.