With
Professor Fred Watson
September
18th - October 5th, 2008
INTRODUCTION...
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The
telescope is literally the world's most far-reaching invention,
allowing us to look billions of light-years into the Universe
for answers to some of our deepest questions.
In 2008, we will celebrate its four-hundredth birthday,
and I'm delighted to be leading a tour to Europe to mark
the occasion. There, we will visit the island observatory
of Tycho Brahe, the last great astronomer of the pre-telescopic
era. We'll take in the cradle of the telescope in the Netherlands,
and include Galileo's epoch making discoveries in Renaissance
Italy. And we'll begin the tour in Great Britain, where
James Gregory, Isaac Newton, and William Herschel all made
significant contributions to the rise of the telescope.
This exciting tour promises to be a real highlight in the
lead-up to the International Year of Astronomy in 2009,
and one not to be missed!
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YOUR
TOUR HOST - Fred Watson...
We are
pleased to have Fred Watson accompany this exciting programme
to Europe which visits many of the historic sites mentioned in
Fred's popular book "Stargazer - The Life & Times of
the Telescope". This journey is a personal one for Fred who
injects much of his time and personal experience into making history
come to life. After recently escorting a trip to Peru with us,
Fred is well-equipped to enthuse all will his personal knowledge
and passion.
Read
More About Fred Watson
ITINERARY
OVERVIEW...
This fascinating 18-day tour program includes a visit to Tycho
Brahe's observatory on the Swedish Island of Hven, Padua in Italy
where Galileo's first telescopic observations were made, and Cambridge
where we will have a private viewing of some of Sir Isaac Newton's
instruments and papers.
Other
historic sites include Binnenhof in the Hague, Stonehenge in England
and Royal Observatory in Edinburgh where we have arranged a private
viewing of the famous Crawford Collection - one of the most significant
astronomical book collections in the world. Time in Venice, Florence
and Rome complete our tour.
Fred brings
a unique insight into all of the places visited and will provide
several informative and entertaining lectures during our time
in Europe. This leisurely tour program is highly inclusive with
hotels and services being of an exceptionally high standard.
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