# Halley Lectures

The Halley Lectures are a series of annual public lectures hosted by the University of Oxford, in memory of the astronomer Edmond Halley. Currently, some podcasts of the lectures can be found through the Oxford Physics Public Lectures These lectures aim to promote public understanding and engagement with science, mathematics, and related fields, and to inspire new generations of researchers and students to pursue careers in these areas. They are often delivered May or June each year at the Sir Martin Wood Lecture Theatre of the Clarendon Laboratory

## History

The tradition of the Halley Lecture in the University of Oxford was founded by Henry Wilde for the 1910 return of Halley's comet. By Wilde's direction, it is to be given annually on a subject related to astronomy or terrestrial magnetism. With time,University expanded their scope to interpret astronomy including astrophysics, and terrestrial magnetism to include "and terrestrial magnetism to include "the physics of the external and internal parts of the terrestrial globe" geophysics. The first Halley lecture Celestial ejectamenta. was delivered by Henry Wilde himself on Tuesday, 10 May 1910.

## Purpose

The purpose of the Halley Lectures is to bring leading experts in various fields to the University of Oxford, where they can share their knowledge and insights with the public. The lectures aim to promote public understanding and engagement with science and mathematics, and to inspire new generations of researchers and students to pursue careers in these areas.

## Format

The Halley Lectures are open to the public and are typically well-attended by people of all ages and backgrounds. Each lecture lasts approximately one hour, and is followed by a Q&A session where the audience can ask questions and engage with the speaker.

## Topics

The topics covered in the Halley Lectures are diverse and reflect the wide range of disciplines within science and mathematics that illuminate astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, cosmogenesis, exobiology, and earth science. Selection of lecturers is made based on timeliness of the topic, their expertise and contributions to their respective fields.

## Chronology of Halley Lectures

| Date | Lecturer | Title |
| 27 October 2022 | Amina Helmi | Dynamics and History of the Milky Way |
| 8 May 2019 | Marc Kamionkowski | Is Dark Matter Made of Black Holes |
| 22 May 2018 | Adam Showman | Weather on Remote Worlds |
| 7 June 2017 | Rainer Weiss | Observation of the mergers of binary black holes: The opening of gravitational wave astronomy |
| 8 June 2016 | Scott Tremaine | The origin and structure of the solar system comet cloud |
| 19 June 2015 | Peter J. Webster | Understanding the Monsoon |
| 13 June 2014 | Eliot Quataert | From Smooth to Lumpy -- the Physics of Galaxy Formation |
| 29 May 2013 | Ewine van Dishoeck | Building stars, planets and the ingredients for life between the stars |
| 14 June 2012 | Susan Solomon | The World's Chemistry in Our Hands: Global Environmental Challenges Past and Future |
| 11 March 2011 | Michel Mayor | Other Worlds in the Universe? The Quest for Earth Twins |
| 25 May 2010 | Brian Schmidt | The Accelerating the Universe |
| 24 April 2008 | George Smoot | The History and Fate of the Universe |
| 23 May 2007 | Ron Ekers | Paths to Discovery in Radioastronomy -Prediction and Serendipity |
| 21 May 1985 | Malcolm Longair | Universe - present, past and future |
| 23 May 1972 | Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar | The increasing role of general relativity in astronomy |
| 4 June 1976 | Charles H Townes | Interstellar molecules |
| 16 May 1962 | Hermann Bondi | Physics and Cosmology |
| 6 May 1955 | Martin Ryle | Radio stars and their cosmological significance |
| 1 May 1951 | Jan Oort | Origin and development of comets |
| 16 May 1950 | Edward Bullard | The origin of the Earth's magnetic field |
| 12 May 1948 | Fritz Zwicky | Morphological Astronomy |
| 3 June 1941 | William Marshall Smart | Sea and Air Navigation |
| 16 May 1940 | Fritz Paneth | The origin of meteorites |
| 5 June 1939 | Harold Spencer Jones | The earth as a clock |
| 16 June 1938 | Armin Otto Leuschner | The minor planets of the Hecuba group |
| 28 May 1937 | Basil Schonland | The lightning discharge |
| 5 June 1935 | John Stanley Plaskett | The dimensions and structure of the galaxy. |
| 8 May 1934 | Edwin Hubble | Red-shifts in the spectra of nebulae |
| 1 June 1933 | Henry Norris Russell | The composition of the stars |
| 19 May 1932 | Arthur Milne | The white dwarf stars |
| 30 May 1930 | Arthur Eddington | The Rotation of the Galaxy |
| 31 May 1929 | Gilbert Walker | Some problems of Indian Meteorology |
| 20 May 20, 1927 | Frank Stratton | Modern eclipse problems |
| 28 May 1924 | John Joly | Radioactivity and the Surface History of the Earth |
| 17 May 1923 | George Simpson | Scott's Polar Journey and the Weather |
| 23 May 1922 | Harold Jeffreys | The Nebular Hypothesis and Modern Cosmogony |
| 17 May 1921 | John Knight Fotheringham | Historical Eclipses |
| 12 June 1920 | Ralph Allen Sampson | On Gravitation and Relativity |
| 22 May 1913 | Louis Agricola Bauer | The Earth's Magnetism |
| 10 May 1910 | Henry Wilde | Celestial ejectamenta |