Reaching across the gulf of space: William Huggins at 200

Join us as we continue to celebrate other notable bicentenaries this year!

2024 marks 200 years since the birth of Sir William Huggins, the Victorian pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy.

In this talk, Hugh Allen – Chairman of the Wells & Mendip Astronomers, Herschel Society member and lifelong amateur astronomer – celebrates William’s life and work, and also the contribution of his wife and scientific collaborator Margaret Huggins. By using extracts from William and Margaret’s scientific papers and correspondence, and illustrated with some of the speaker’s own astronomical spectra, Hugh will bring the birth of astrophysics to life.