Il-Ħaġar museum is hosting the first lecture of its new 2024-2025 cultural season tomorrow at 11am.

In this first talk, titled ‘Of Sea and Stars: A history of Celestial Navigation’, Joseph Caruana, from the University of Malta’s Department of Physics and the Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy, will explore the historical challenge of maritime navigation.

From mythology to science, from works of art to fascinating navigational instruments, the talk will unravel the tale of surmounting one of the most formidable problems in exploration. 

Humankind has been traversing the seas long before history started to be written. An enduring challenge through the ages has been the matter of accurately finding one’s position at sea. This problem presented a tough nut to crack, attracting some of the brightest minds to bear on finding a solution. 

Caruana is a physicist and astrophysicist who completed his BSc in physics and mathematics at the University of Malta and his PhD in astrophysics at the University of Oxford. He has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik in Germany and now lectures at the University of Malta, focusing on optics, astrophysics, cosmology, and the philosophy of science. His research interests include the early universe, galaxy formation, light pollution, and hyperbaric medicine. Caruana is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and a member of several prestigious scientific societies. 

Admission to the talk is free. Seat reservations are recommended by sending an e-mail to events@heartofgozo.org.mt.