Cosmic Explorations: at the Intersection of Science, Space, Art, and Culture
The Einstein Papers Project is pleased to collaborate with Caltech colleagues in the Center for Data-Driven Discovery and the Astronomy Department, along with various venerable institutions such as the Griffith Observatory and Jet Propulsion Laboratory on INSAP XI. The conference website, including the full program is online at Cosmic Explorations: at the Intersection of Science, Space, Art, and Culture.
Among the presenters are Einstein Papers Project colleagues Diana Kormos Buchwald and Daniel J. Kennefick. The abstract for Kennefick's talk, Tracing Shadows: How Astronomers predicted the perfect eclipse to test Einstein's theory of General Relativity, follows. "In 1917, less than two years after Einstein had published his theory of General Relativity, the Astronomer Royal of England, Frank Dyson, argued that the eclipse of May 29, 1919 would be the perfect opportunity to test the theory's key prediction that light is deflected by the Sun. How did Astronomers reach the point where they could so accurately predict the future? What were the implications for science and society? From Thales of Miletus to the present the history of eclipses traces the development of science."