Giles Sparrow Introduced by Martin Rees

Astronomer Giles Sparrow looks at the ideas and the beauty behind Johann Doppelmayr’s 1742 map of the cosmos, Atlas Coelestis, and explains why it is a superb introduction to the fundamentals and history of astronomy.

Dopplemayr charted constellations, planets, comets and moons and presented the ideas and discoveries of early astronomers including Copernicus, Riccioli, Kepler, Newton and Halley. Sparrow explains the complex ideas and information contained in Doppelmayr’s colourful plates and places them in the context of the groundbreaking discoveries made during the Renaissance and Enlightenment.

Sparrow is a writer and editor specialising in astronomy and physics. He is the author of Cosmos, A History of the Universe in 21 Stars, Spaceflight and What Shape is Space? A Primer for the 21st Century. He will be introduced by cosmologist and astrophysicist, Professor Lord Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal, who will also make some concluding remarks.