SPRING PROGRAMME 2025

The dates are:

Tuesday 18th February

Tuesday 15th April

Tuesday 20th May

We will be meeting at Worcester Baptist Church, in the hall. Doors open at 7.30pm for coffee and cake, and the talks will begin at 8pm.

HOW FAR TO THE STARS?

HENRIETTA LEAVITT’S BREAKTHROUGH

Dr. Kim Stansfield

Tuesday 20th May

7.30 for 8pm

Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868 - 1921) was born in the USA, the daughter of a Congregational Minister. In the 1890s she was shocked to discover that as a woman she was not deemed worthy of a degree from Harvard University. In taking a range of undergraduate courses she became captivated by astronomy, a career in which she persisted. She later became a voluntary 'human computer' at the Harvard observatory. Based on her painstaking work studying variable stars, she developed a theory, later named Leavitt's Law, that enabled other astronomers, including Edwin Hubble, to discover that there were galaxies beyond the Milky Way.

Kim will discuss the world this committed and humble Christian lived in and how she transformed not only our understanding of the cosmos but also helped change the face of women's higher education in science in the US.

During his PhD in composite materials, Kim came to faith, and subsequently spent 26 years working in engineering and systems. The last four years of his working life were spent as an associate professor of Systems Engineering. He has long been fascinated by developments in astronomy and physics. His particular interest lies in the way that science helps us understand more about the wonders of God’s creation.