Centre of the universe

When did you first hear about Jeremiah Horrocks? As a child, I saw him and his telescope on the stained-glass windows at St Michael’s Church in Much Hoole, Lancashire. The windows, depicting his groun

It’s the question I’m asked more than any other whenever I give a talk on the history of the constellations: who invented the Southern Cross? The short answer is: no one did – or at least no individua

Ayoush Lazikani The Medieval Moon A history of haunting and blessing 272pp. Yale University Press. £20 (US $30). Something fundamental changed in our relationship with the moon when we realized we cou

Lizzie Wade Apocalypse How catastrophe transformed our world and can forge new futures 320pp. William Collins. £20. Luke Kemp Goliath’s Curse The history and future of societal collapse 592pp. Viking.

When James Watson died on 6th November last year at the age of 97, he was survived by a wife, two sons and a severely tarnished reputation. Watson was one of the world’s most famous scientists, having

HUMANITY HAS CHANGED AN AWFUL LOT IN THE PAST 58 YEARS. THE MOON? NOT SO MUCH. It was in 1968 that astronauts first drew near the moon, and it will be early this year, if all goes as planned, that a c