David Elder Lecture Series: Time and Space: From Atomic Clocks and Cosmic Clocks to Testing Einstein's Relativity

The David Elder Lecture Series is back at The Planetarium, Glasgow Science Centre, running on Wednesdays from September 2026 through to April 2027. Each lecture lasts about an hour, and the winter programme pairs astronomers and spaceflight pioneers with science writers and broadcasters. The first three dates are set: 23 September, 21 October and 25 November, with further lectures in February, March and April 2027 to be announced later.

Opening the series on 23 September is Prof. Catherine Heymans, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, talking The Universe: Reality or Simulation? She's the first woman to hold that title in its 200-year history. On 21 October, Dr Setnam Shemar from the National Physical Laboratory takes over with Time and Space: From Atomic Clocks and Cosmic Clocks to Testing Einstein's Relativity. Then on 25 November, Dr Sarah Crowther from the University of Manchester looks at OSIRIS-REx – The journey to Bennu and back.

The series takes its name from David Elder, a Clyde shipbuilder whose work on marine steam engines earned him the reputation as the 'father of marine engineering on the Clyde'. The lectures date back to 1905, following a bequest from his family. Since 2015, they've been delivered in partnership with the University of Strathclyde's Department of Physics and hosted in the Science Centre's Planetarium, which has drawn almost 12,000 people across in-person and online events.

Lectures start at 19:00 GMT at the Planetarium, Glasgow Science Centre, 50 Pacific Quay, Glasgow South Side G51 1EA. Tickets are £44.25 per adult, £39.45 per concession and £34.50 per child, with under 3s going free.