AoT Leiden (on Zoom): Astronomy & Astrology! May 31, 2021

Our next event will take place on Monday, May 31, at 20:00 CEST on ZOOM (registration required)! That’s right, you will have the opportunity to join us directly on the Zoom call again and participate in the discussions and games. In this edition, Frank Verbunt will tell us all about the rise and fall of astrology and its connection to astronomy.

Register at https://aotleiden.eventbrite.nl

The Zoom link will be distributed before the event to registered participants (see important information below). Deadline for registration is Monday, May 31, at noon CEST.

Frank Verbunt: “Astronomy and Astrology” Frank Verbunt studied physics and astronomy in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and wrote his PhD thesis there on mass transfer in binaries that are strong X-ray sources. He tried to understand how neutron stars and white dwarfs can form in binaries. After working in Cambridge (UK) and Garching bei Muenchen, he became a professor of high-energy astrophysics in Utrecht, and from 2003 at Radboud University Nijmegen. Since his retirement in 2019, he works on a course book for scientists on the history of astronomy including much technical detail. In this talk, Frank will explain how astronomy and astrology developed together for a long time. For more than three thousand years, most astronomers were also astrologers. From the start, however, there was doubt about the credibility of astrology. Around 1700, the belief in astrology suddenly stopped: from that time astronomers do not consider astrology as a serious activity anymore. In this lecture, Frank will discuss the rise and fall of astrology and its connection to astronomy. He will end with a brief discussion of the position of astrology today.

Important information: Entry is free but registration is required! Once registered, we will send you the Zoom link where you can join us directly in the call. You do not need a Zoom account to join. Participants will be muted and their cameras will be turned off upon arrival on Zoom. During the question & answer period, you will have the opportunity to turn on your microphone (and camera if you’d like) to ask your question directly to the speakers and join the discussion and games. Alternatively, you will also have the option to put your question in the chat and we can ask them on your behalf. The event will also be streaming on YouTube, but we strongly encourage you to join us on Zoom for a more lively discussion and to participate in the games. All ages and backgrounds welcome!

We start at 20:00 sharp, so grab a drink, get comfortable, and join us for an evening of astronomy and fun games where you could win cool science prizes!

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