Dr John Mason

One of the most popular speakers on all things scientific, John has again agreed to speak on a topic of our choosing, so this time we asked him to give us his view of what the next few decades will us bring us in the world of science and astronomy. His choice of title is “A Vision of the Future”

Dr Allan Chapman

Another 'crowd puller'. With the 200th Anniversary of Trafalgar just a few months ahead, the International Festival of the Sea and the Sea Britain celebrations taking place this summer, and our venue just a few hundred yards away from HMS Victory, it's a certainty that Allan will be speaking on the interlinking worlds of astronomy, navigation and the British Navy

Dr David Southwood

As the Director of Science at the European Space Agency, David will be speaking on recent successes of the agency including the Cassini-Huygens Mission and what this achievement has meant to him and his team

Dr Ian Halliday

Until a short while ago Prof. Ian Halliday was the Chief Executive and Deputy Chairman of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), the UK's strategic science investment agency for research in particle physics, astronomy, and space science. His talk is titled "Next Generation Big Telescopes: Money, Competition and Timing"

Carolyn Shoemaker

Carolyn Shoemaker has discovered over 800 asteroids and also holds the record for the most (32) comet discoveries, including the famous Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet discovered with her husband Eugene and David Levy. This comet was torn apart by Jupiter in 1992 but got its own back in 1994 when its 21 fragments all hit Jupiter, an event witnessed by astronomers worldwide. Carolyn, who is flying from America especially for Nightlife 2005 will talk on "The Excitement of Discovery"