JBS Haldane Lecture 2025: Charlotte Bigg

Imaging the universe. A scientific, technical and cultural history 

The investigation of the sky has historically been connected to the study of the Earth; narratives about the universe have often chimed with earthly concerns. The starry skies have long been essential for societies’ orientation in time and space, as well as a priviledged surface of projection for religious, philosophical and artistic thought. In the nineteenth century, the interplay between the heavens and the Earth took on new forms, in science and in the cultural realm. I will propose a sketch of the interrelated history of the technologies for imaging the universe and of the techniques for popularizing astronomy in the modern age and how these developments have contributed to shape perceptions of the universe and of humanity’s place therein. Today, technicolor images and immersive devices offer new striking vistas just as the stars gradually disappear from our increasingly bright skies, highlighting the paradoxes of modernity.