This lecture is part of the free and open to the public lecture series for the Royal Astronomical Society's bicentenary celebrations.

Only a matter of time: Is time-travel science or science fiction?

Many science fiction stories use time-travel as an interesting plot device, but is it really possible? Who wouldn't like to glimpse what the future holds, or peek into history? Time travel has been a fascination of mine since reading HG Wells "The Time Machine" and seeing "Back to the Future" in the cinema. In this talk, I will discuss what is possible with modern science, and speculate about what may be possible in the future. We will explore the science worlds of Einstein, Newton, Stephen Hawkings and Kip Thorne, as well as time-travel in popular culture.

About the speaker:

Dr Edward Gomez is a Welsh astronomer, working for Las Cumbres Observatory. His research is in near Earth asteroids, cosmic dust and machine learning. He is passionate about communicating science, and has created many educational science projects, including Serol's Cosmic Explorers and Ada's Adventures in Science, which aim to inspire under-represented audiences. Edward is co-chair for the Office of Astronomy for Development, associate editor for Frontiers for Young Minds and astronomy newspaper, Space Scoop, and founder of IAU astroEDU, a peer-review platform for astronomy education activities.

Doors open at 7 pm. Please be aware that there is no admittance once the lecture begins at 7:30 pm, as tickets will be reallocated to those queuing for no-shows. Thank you.