Stones from the sky

• 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm on Thursday 22 March 2012
• The Great Hall, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ

Listen to the audio

'Ensisheim Meteorite' by Albrecht Durer (on reverse of Saint Jerome)

A heaven-sent opportunity to talk about science, organised by the University of Bristol in association with the Royal Society, delivered by Professor Colin Pillinger CBE FRS.

Stones that fall from the sky, meteorites, were first confirmed as scientific objects when a 56lb stone fell on farm land in Yorkshire in 1795. With more than 40,000 samples now confirmed as specimens from asteroids, the Moon and Mars have plenty of stories to tell and each provides an opportunity to interest people in science.

Professor Colin Pillinger CBE FRS is one of Britain's foremost scientists and science communicators. Born in Bristol and educated in Kingswood, he was lead scientist on the University of Bristol team, analysing the lunar samples brought back by Apollo 11. Professor Pillinger is best known for conceiving and leading the Beagle 2 mission to land on Mars and search for signs of life. He is Professor of Planetary Sciences at the Open University.