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The Lindsay Centennial Symposium and Public Lecture

Friday 26th January 2007

Rotunda Theatre, St. Patrick's Trian, Armagh.


The Lindsay Centennial Symposium is a one-day conference to celebrate the
100th anniversary of the birth of the former director of the Armagh
Observatory, Dr Eric Mervyn Lindsay. The meeting will take place in the
Rotunda Theatre, St. Patrick's Trian, Armagh, from approximately 09:30 to
17:30, and will be followed by an evening Public Lecture "Robert Ball:
Ireland's Astronomical Muse", by Dr Allan Chapman (University of Oxford).
The lecture will begin at 20:00 and finish with light refreshments at
approximately 21:30.

Dr Eric Mervyn Lindsay was one of the most influential Irish astronomers
of the twentieth century, director of the Armagh Observatory from 1937
until his death in 1974. Amongst many achievements he is perhaps best
remembered for founding the Armagh-Dunsink-Harvard (ADH) Telescope at the
Boyden Observatory in Bloemfontein, South Africa, in 1950; establishing
the Armagh Planetarium in 1968; and recruiting Dr Ernst J. Opik, one of
the foremost theoretical astronomers of his generation.

The Harvard Boyden Station in South Africa became the first international
astronomical observatory, arguably the forerunner of the European Southern
Observatory in Chile. Similarly, the 1947 agreement setting up the ADH
Telescope is believed to be the first example of "North-South"
collaboration between the two jurisdictions on the island of Ireland. The
Armagh Observatory maintains many international collaborations and
continues its South African connections through participation in the
Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) project.

The Armagh Planetarium, which has recently reopened following
refurbishment, is the largest and most successful astronomy education
facility on the island of Ireland. Ernst Opik became famous not just for
the breadth of his astronomical knowledge and establishing the academic
credentials of the Armagh Observatory during the mid-twentieth century but
also for providing a theoretical basis for understanding the Near-Earth
Object impact hazard to life on Earth.

The Lindsay Symposium will provide a forum to promote modern astronomical
research throughout the island of Ireland. The morning will be devoted to
a largely historical review of Lindsay's principal contributions to Irish
Astronomy, beginning with an invited talk by the noted Irish astronomer,
author and historian, Dr Maire Bruck (University of Edinburgh) entitled
"Armagh, Dunsink and the Early Days of the Irish Astronomical Society".

Later talks in the morning, by Dr John Butler (Armagh Observatory) and Dr
Tom Mason (Armagh Planetarium), will review the Armagh-Dunsink-Harvard
telescope and Lindsay's role in establishing the Armagh Planetarium. The
morning session will conclude with talks by James O'Connor (Irish
Astronomical Society) and Terry Moseley (Irish Astronomical Association),
who will provide a personal perspective of Lindsay and his period in
office.

Afternoon talks will focus on modern astronomical research, with
contributions from (among others) Professor Tom Ray (Dublin Institute for
Advanced Studies), Dr Andy Shearer (NUI Galway), and Dr Brian Espey
(Trinity College Dublin). The Centennial Symposium will close with a
personal contribution by a member of the Lindsay family, Mr Robin
Lindsay.

The day's activities will conclude with an evening public lecture by Dr
Allan Chapman (University of Oxford), entitled "Robert Ball: Ireland's
Astronomical Muse". Allan Chapman is a world-famous historian of science
and an exceptionally good public speaker.

A copy of the current programme and related information about the meeting
is available from the Observatory web-site, at
http://star.arm.ac.uk/lindsay/. Other information, as well as a short
biography of Dr Lindsay, written a few years ago by the Observatory
Librarian, Mr John McFarland, can be obtained from
http://star.arm.ac.uk/history/lindsay.html or as links therein.

Tickets for the event, either the one-day conference or the evening public
lecture (or both), are free on application to Mrs Aileen McKee, Armagh
Observatory, College Hill, Armagh BT61 9DG; Tel: 028-3752-2928; Fax:
028-3752-7174; e-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk.

As numbers in the Rotunda Theatre are limited, we would be grateful if
those wishing to attend the conference and/or the evening public lecture
would please return the enclosed pro-forma as soon as possible, or contact
Mrs Aileen McKee by telephone or e-mail, to confirm their participation
and to assist with our preparations for the meeting.