josephcaruana/ October 6, 2024/ Uncategorised/ 0 comments

It was a pleasure to be back at Il-Ħaġar museum in Gozo, this time round to speak about the history of celestial navigation. The details of the talk are found below.

TITLE
Of Sea and Stars: A History of Celestial Navigation

ABSTRACT 
Humankind has been traversing the seas long before history started to be written. An enduring challenge through the ages was 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.

In this talk, Prof. Joseph Caruana from the Department of Physics and the Institute of Space Sciences & Astronomy at the University of Malta will be telling the story of how the celestial intersected with the maritime in myriad cultures over a great many century — enabling powerful navies to roam the seas, empires to expand their reach, and incredible stories to be recorded. From mythology to science, from works of art to fascinating navigational instruments, this talk will unravel the tale of surmounting one of the most formidable problems in exploration.

Image: D. Cilia
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