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How do we know anything about the stars above our heads when they are so far away? The answers are found from spectroscopy, the analysis of starlight by separating the light into a spectrum. 2024 was the bicentenary of the birth of William Huggins, the Victorian pioneer of astronomical spectroscopy (7th February to be precise). To celebrate this anniversary Hugh uses ‘The Scientific Papers of Sir William Huggins’ as the inspiration for understanding his life and work. He weaves some of his own spectra into the talk to help the audience understand the significance of William Huggins’ achievements and to make them more real. He also explains the contribution of his wife Margaret Huggins as a true collaborator in his work. The talk’s title, ‘Reaching Across the Gulf of Space’, is a line from William Huggins own description of his work.

Hugh is an industrial chemist with a career in the printing ink industry, having studied Natural Sciences at Downing College, Cambridge. His interest in astronomy became a passion (some would say obsession) when his wife bought him a telescope in 2008. He started with visual observing and then astrophotography. Since 2014 spectroscopy has become his main focus, the passion for which he shares through talks and courses. Hugh is Chairman of the Wells & Mendip Astronomers and a member of the Herschel Society in Bath.