Join us for ‘a stunning and unforgettable voyage through the stars’ (Stephen Fry). Cosmologist Roberto Trotta explores how the night sky has shaped civilisation and what it means to be human.

Across the ages, stars have served as clocks, maps, compasses, muses, and gods, defining both our laws of reality and our dreams of the sublime.

Stargazing has shaped the entire course of human civilisation. The rhythm of our ancestors’ lives revolved around the stars, from cycles of agriculture to patterns of birth. Our origin myths made the Sun into a life-giving creator and the Milky Way a gateway for departed souls. The motion of celestial bodies sustained the illusion that the Earth was at the centre of the cosmos – until looking at them more closely sparked the Scientific Revolution. How radically different would humanity be if our ancestors had looked up to the night sky and seen… nothing?

Robin Ince joins cosmologist Roberto Trotta to explore the hidden connections between astronomy and the story of civilisation, summoning us to the marvellous sight that awaits us on a dark clear night — to lose ourselves in the immeasurable vastness above.

Tickets to this livestream event are free for members of How To +.