Talks to U3A groups


ABC of Galaxy Evolution
What are the three factors (the ABC) that determine how galaxies form and how they grow?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Causeway U3A, Southport U3A






Ancient Light
The Universe is vast and ancient. Large telescopes have imaged galaxies that are billions of light-years distant. Is it possible to capture an image of one of these very remote objects without a telescope?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Causeway U3A, Southport U3A






Apollo 13
In April 1970 the Apollo 13 mission "had a problem". The heroic efforts of mission control to rescue the three astronauts are well documented. This short talk covers some of the perhaps not-so-well-known aspects of the mission.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Southport U3A, Warrington U3A






Beginning of Everything
A brief description of the origin and the very early history of the Universe. It took about three minutes to kick-start the Universe. If this happened 13.8 billion years ago, how can we be so sure?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Hoylake, West Kirby and District U3A, Warrington U3A






Dark Matter
More than 80% of all the matter in the Universe is dark matter. What is the evidence that makes us think that dark matter exists? Why is it dark? What is it made of? Does it matter? What are the consequences if dark matter does not exist?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Causeway U3A, Southport U3A, Stourbridge U3A, Warrington U3A






End of Everything
Although it took only three minutes to make our Universe (see 'Beginning of Everything') it will take more than a trillion trillion years for it to come to an end. This talk looks at what will happen to the Earth, the Sun and the galaxy on timescales ranging from thousands of years to eternity.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Southport U3A






Great Moon Hoax
As we all know, the Apollo moonlandings of the late 1960s and early 1970s were faked by NASA. What is the 'evidence' that supports this claim and does it stand up to scientific scrutiny?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Aughton and Ormskirk U3A, Bolton U3A, Formby U3A, Lymm and Thelwall U3A, North West Region U3A AGM, Poynton U3A






Just a Second
What is a second, what can happen in one second, and why do we need leap seconds?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Formby U3A, Stourbridge U3A






Keeping an Eye on the Universe
What do telescopes tell us about how the Universe works? A look at some of the images taken by the world's largest telescopes and how they have contributed to our understanding of the origin, the evolution and the ultimate fate of the Universe.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Causeway U3A






Legacy of the Hubble Space Telescope
A brief history of the Hubble Space Telescope and a description of its legacy in terms of its scientific contributions to our understanding and the way that it touched the public consciousness.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Causeway U3A, Southport U3A






Lighter Side of Astronomy
A light-hearted look at astronomy and astronomers, plus some of the weird and wonderful telescopes that they use.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Causeway U3A, North West Region U3A Summer School, Southport U3A, Warrington U3A






Science of Santa
A short tongue-in-cheek 'stocking-filler' talk for the festive season. Is Santa Claus real? How many laws of physics does he break? Can his (alleged) feats be reconciled with scientific reasoning?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Lymm and Thelwall U3A, Southport U3A, Warrington U3A






Star of Bethlehem
A light-hearted look at the Gospel of St Matthew. What are the astronomical candidates for the Star of Bethlehem? How well do they fit the account? Do known events fit the timeline of the nativity?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Droitwich U3A, Formby U3A, Hoylake, West Kirby and District U3A, Lymm and Thelwall U3A, Southport U3A, Stourbridge U3A, Warrington U3A






Unidentified Flying Objects
Are there any images of UFOs that need an extraterrestrial explanation? This talk looks at some images that may have more down-to-earth origins.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Warrington U3A






Warping Space and Time
The science fact and science fiction of black holes. How are they formed, what are their properties and how can we 'observe' them? What about TV and the movies? Does Hollywood ever get it right?


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Formby U3A, Southport U3A, Warrington U3A






Weird World of the Very Very Small
How do we describe the world on a scale of atoms and molecules? The concepts underlying quantum mechanics seem to be at odds with common sense, but quantum theory describes reality on the atomic scale.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Aughton and Ormskirk U3A, Formby U3A, Hoylake, West Kirby and District U3A, Upholland U3A, Warrington U3A






Wild Astronomy
What is it like to go on safari in Africa? For anyone interested in wildlife, photography and astronomy it is a wonderful experience.

Wildlife by day ... stars by night.

( Sleep when you get home )


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Southport U3A






Wildlife Photography
Illustrated with images taken over many years of African safaris, this talk describes how wildlife photographs can be improved by considering composition, focus, lighting, shutter speed and lens aperture.


  Recording   Handout


Given to: Formby U3A, Stourbridge U3A, Upholland U3A, Warrington U3A


Steve Barrett       March 2023

S.D.Barrett@liv.ac.uk 		Link to University of the Third Age
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