The next blink of a cosmic eye: astronomy in the next 200 years:

Guest Speaker

Thursday, 17th November 2022 (19:45 - 22:00)

Venue: Hybrid

The 200th anniversary of the Royal Astronomical Society was celebrated in 2020. Since its founding in January 1820, when fourteen gentlemen gathered for dinner at the Freemason's Tavern in London, the Society has expanded to include more than 4000 amateur and professional geophysicists and astronomers. In that time, astronomy has advanced greatly and our knowledge of the universe has undergone a fundamental shift. What were we ignorant of 200 years ago? The future of astronomy is uncertain. Join Megan as she discusses some fascinating upcoming telescopes, upcoming space missions, and possible discoveries within the next 200 years.

Speaker: Dr. Megan Argo

Welcome My name is Megan Argo, a professional astrophysicist and science communicator. I am a Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston (see my teaching page), studying galaxies in the nearby universe with radio telescopes (see my publications list), and regularly pop up on the BBC to talk about astronomy and space news stories (see media appearances), and give public lectures and schools workshops all over the country (see my events list). I have over 20 years of experience communicating science to a variety of audiences. Please note that, due to COVID-19, I am only delivering talks via Zoom (or similar) until further notice. I have worked as a scientist in the UK (UCLan, Manchester), Australia (ICRAR/Curtin) and the Netherlands (ASTRON), and have been lucky enough to observe with some of the best radio telescopes around the world, in Europe (e-MERLIN, EVN), India (GMRT), the USA (VLA, VLBA) and Australia (LBA, Parkes). My passion for sharing the wonders of the universe with children of all ages has taken me from northern Scotland to outback Western Australia, via rural India, the mountains of Columbia, and cosmopolitan South Africa. I was awarded a British Empire Medal in the 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honours list on the Platinum Jubilee for services to Girlguiding during Covid-19, and for delivering more than 60 planetarium shows to over 1400 girls around the country. I’m a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a member of the Institute of Physics, president of the Shropshire Astronomical Society, and an honorary member of the Macclesfield Astronomical Society. I also serve on the Office of Astronomy for Development’s Astronomy Awards panel, the RAS200 Steering Group of the RAS, and am part of the joint IAU/RAS/AAS working group on culturally sensitive sites. I’m also passionate about our planet and how we can move to net zero and make our civilisation sustainable. I’m a member of Astronomers For Planet Earth, officially Carbon Literate, am a trained En-ROADS ambassador, and aim to embed sustainability in my teaching. When I’m not doing or teaching astronomy I am also a member of Girlguiding, an amateur radio operator (2E0NMJ), a samba drummer, and can often be found flying kites, hiking, climbing, swimming, cycling or running (not all at the same time). New Norcia, planets over Perth, star trails at Parkes, the Lovell telescope In the past I’ve been an outreach coordinator (2008-2011), a Scout Leader (2008-2011), a panel member of the ING Time Allocation Group (2018-2021), a Councillor (2017-2020) and Vice President (2020-2022) of the RAS, served on the RAS’s Education and Outreach grants panel (2020-2021), served two three-year terms on the organising committee for IAU Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public (2015-2021), and many other things.