The Antikythera Mechanism (Prof. Gareth Wynn-Williams IfA, UHM ); Galileo and the 400th Anniversary of Telescope Astronomy (Prof. Bob Joseph IfA, UHM)

by Gareth/Bob Wynn-Williams/Joseph (IfA, UHM)

Thursday Apr 23, 2009, 3:30 PM → 5:00 PM Pacific/Honolulu

Rm 112 (UHM - Watanabe Hall)

A special double colloquium on two matters of astronomical history
Abstract for Prof. Gareth Wynn-Williams's talk Recent X-ray analysis of an encrusted piece of bronze from a 2000-year-old Greek shipwreck show it to be an astronomical computing device of astonishing complexity. What did it do? What purpose did it serve? And can we find no trace of any remotely similar device built in the subsequent 1,400 years?
Abstract for Prof. Bob Joseph's talk This year is the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope for astronomy. Galileo made several discoveries with the telescope which undercut the classical geocentric cosmology inherited from the Greeks. Because Aristotelean thought was the core of the university curriculum, as well as part of the Scholastic synthesis with Christian theology, this got Galileo into some trouble with his academic colleagues as well the Church. In this short talk I will describe a bit about Galileo’s scientific style and attempt to dispel some of the myths about him.