"The Ins and Outs of the Milky Way" by Prof. Sean Ryan of the University of Hertfordshire

About the talk: The Sun is one of a hundred billion stars situated in a galaxy we call the Milky Way. It is just 100 years since the boundaries of the Milky Way were recognised, and the spiral nebulae were shown to lie well beyond our system of stars. But how and when did the Milky Way come to exist? This talk will trace the continuing development of our understanding of the formation and evolution of the Milky Way, and how the Milky Way as we observe it variously reveals and in equal measure obscures evidence of its past.

About the speaker: Sean Ryan is a professional astronomer with almost fifty years’ experience as an amateur observer. After completing a PhD in observational astronomy at the Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories, he was awarded a Hubble Fellowship one year after the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope. Staff posts at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and the Royal Greenwich Observatory followed, including a five month secondment to the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan as the 8.2 m Subaru telescope approached completion. In 1999, Sean commenced an academic career at the Open University, and was appointed Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Hertfordshire in 2006, where he was Head and Dean of the School of Physics, Astronomy and Mathematics for ten years. He later developed the University's optics course for trainee optometrists, and expanded his optical expertise into microscopy. He has published over 100 research papers on observational astronomy, and has co-authored several textbooks.

About Vectis Astronomical Society (http://www.wightstronomy.org): VAS meets on the 4th Friday of every month, except for December. This event is open for non-members to attend. The speakers come from all over the country and give a presentation for around 45 minutes, with a chance for questions and answers afterwards. We have a suggested donation of £2.50 for non-members of VAS.

This presentation will be given in person, but do note that some VAS events will NOT be at the Newchurch observatory site, but will be conducted over Zoom. Please see the calendar on our website for details.