Noted science writer Dava Sobel – author of “Galileo’s Daughter,” “Longitude” and “The Planets” – will present “When the Sun Stood Still,” Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Nott Memorial.
She will discuss how Copernicus and Galileo ushered in a new cosmic order and how the world responded. The event, sponsored by the Observatory and the College, is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a book signing and reception.
The Dudley Observatory, located at 107 Nott Terrace, was granted a state charter in 1852. It is the oldest independent organization in the country supporting astronomy research and education.
Sobel’s Union visit is a part of a trio of anniversary events, called “An Evening with the Stars,” scheduled in the Capital Region Nov. 15-16 in celebration of the Dudley Observatory’s 150th anniversary.
An award-winning writer and former New York Times science reporter, Sobel is known worldwide for her books, articles, research and lectures. She written for Audubon, Discover, Life and The New Yorker; served as a contributing editor to Harvard Magazine and Omni; and co-authored five books with astronomer Frank Drake.
She has maintained an interest in Galileo since childhood. “Galileo’s Daughter” (Walker 1999; Penguin 2000) plumbs the Renaissance scientist’s life and times and reveals his relationship with his daughter, Suor Maria Celeste, a Poor Clare nun. As part of her research, Sobel translated original Italian documents, including more than 120 letters from Suor Maria Celeste to her famed father.
The book was a finalist for the 2000 Pulitzer Prize in biography. A sequel, “Letters to Father,” containing the full text of Galileo’s daughter’s correspondence in both English and Italian, was published a year later.
“Longitude” (Walker, 1995 and 2005) became an international best-seller, translated into two dozen foreign languages. It won literary prizes in the United States, France and Italy, and Sobel was made a fellow of the American Geographical Society. In addition, the PBS program, “Nova,” produced “Lost At Sea – The Search for Longitude,” a television documentary adaptation, and the A&E Network broadcast a miniseries dramatization starring Jeremy Irons.
The Dudley Observatory of the City of Albany opened with the help of benefactress Blandina Bleecker Dudley in memoriam of her late husband, Albany businessman, mayor and U.S. Sen. Charles Dudley. It sought to become the best equipped astronomical observatory in the United States and to pioneer the nation’s research.
In 1873, the Observatory became a part of Union University, and College astronomy classes paid annual visits there.
The Observatory library houses one of the world’s finest collections of historically significant astronomical texts, with rare books dating from as early as 1492, housed in the Special Collections of Schaffer Library. Historians regularly visit the Gould Collection, the library of a 19th century research astronomer, and the Dudley Observatory Archives.
The Observatory awards grants to fund local educational programs, scholarships and internships, as well as the competitive Ernest F. Fullam and the Herbert C. Pollock awards for individual scientists, historians and researchers.
On the evening of Sobel’s lecture, the works of Copernicus and Galileo from the Observatory’s rare book collection will be on display.
In addition to her talk at the Nott, Sobel will speak at the Albany Institute of History and Art and the Chancellors Hall at the State Education Building in Albany on Nov. 15.
For more information about the Dudley Observatory and anniversary events, visit: http://www.dudleyobservatory.org/ .