Considering astronomy, past and present
The Kamal is a simple celestial instrument, just a board and knotted string, that was used by Arab navigators from the 9th century. Sailors also used poetry as a mnemonic to record and pass on directions in the easily memorised ruttier form. In Australia and New Zealand, indigenous mapping of the sky remains alive through a new generation of astronomers. Bridging these systems of knowledge through literature and memory, we consider how the cultural imagination of the celestial has been constructed and understood, continuing to hold meaning as we imagine space futures.
Highlights
A newly commissioned poem that will be shared in a live poetry reading by Emirati poet, Nujoom Alghanem
Exciting presentations from leading practitioners in the field of both Astrophysics and Cultural Astromony from the UAE, Australia and New Zealand
