Name: Islands in Infinity
Start: 2026-01-29T18:30:00+00:00
End: 2026-01-29T20:00:00+00:00
Location: Darwin Building, University of Lancashire

Join Professor Derek Ward- Thompson for a mind-bending journey exploring the endless possibilities of the universe at Islands in Infinity!
About this Event

In this talk Professor Derek Ward-Thompson will describe and discuss galaxies, from our own Milky Way, via spirals, barred spiral, ellipticals, irregulars and galaxies undergoing mergers and collisions, to the largest structures in the Universe, including clusters, super-clusters, filaments and voids, arcs and rings. He will also talk about his experiences with Sir Brian May in writing their book ‘Galaxies in 3D’. In particular, he will discuss the making of the 3D galaxy images by co-author J-P Metsavainio.

Biography of the speaker:

Professor Derek Ward-Thompson read Physics at Oxford University, before taking a PhD, some 40 years ago, in Astronomy at Durham University, specifically studying spiral galaxies. Since then, he has worked at the then Lancashire Polytechnic, Cambridge University, the Royal Observatory Edinburgh and Cardiff University, before returning to Preston to be Director of the Jeremiah Horrocks Institute of the now University of Lancashire.

Visitor Information and Services

Car parking is free after 6:00pm on University car parks for this event.

The closest car park is Leighton street.

The event will be held in the Darwin Lecture Theatre.

For our campus map and how to find us, click here.

For accessibility information, click here.

For any further questions, please contact Victor Debattista at [email protected].

Refreshments will be served from 6:00pm.

If you are unable to attend the event, please cancel your ticket 24 hours prior to the event.

Data Protection

We use data collected at registration for our evaluation. This will enable us to enhance the impact and running of our event. See here for how we handle data: https://www.lancashire.ac.uk/legal/privacy-notices. Unless you have indicated you wish to be added to our events mailing list, we will only use your email address to contact you about this event and for feedback. You may be sent the post-event email even if you don't attend the event.