College: Newnham
Supervisor: Hasok Chang
Advisor: Richard Staley
Thesis topic: On the Origins of Celestial Species: Physical Astronomy and the Conceptualisation of Solar System Bodies in the Early 1800s
PhD Summary:
My dissertation investigates the evolving conceptions and classifications of celestial bodies in early 19th-century astronomy, focusing on the debates spurred by the discovery of asteroids. The period witnessed a debate among astronomers on what constitutes a planet, with differing opinions on whether the new objects should be classified as planets or a new type of celestial body. It explores the historical context and scientific practices of the time, drawing on the works of astronomers like Johann Schröter and William Herschel, who pursued a form of “physical astronomy,” exploratively observing celestial objects with high-resolution telescopes and drawing inferences about the nature and composition rather than just their positions and motions. This kind of astronomy differed from the more traditional gravitational and positional astronomy, signalling a shift in observational and conceptual approaches within the field.
General Research Interests: history and philosophy of astronomy, history of physical sciences in the 19th century, integrated history and philosophy of science, feminist epistemologies, concept formation
Education:
2021: MA in "Theorie und Geschichte der Wissenschaft und Technik" (Theory and History of Science and Technology), Technische Universität Berlin
2017: BA in Philosophy and History, Freie Universität Berlin
Publications:
- “On the Origins of Celestial Species: Conceptualisations and Classifications in Early 19th Century Astronomy.” In Astronomy and Philosophy: Conceptual and Methodological Foundations and Challenges, edited by Steven Dick. Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2026.
- “Sphären der Himmelskunde: Astronomische Wissenschaften und ihre Verflechtungen um Franz Xaver von Zach in der Regierungszeit Ernst II. Gotha.” In Aufklärung und Residenzstadt: Das intellektuelle Gotha um 1800, edited by Martin Mulsow and Dirk Sangmeister, pp. 722–37. Wallstein, 2026.
- “The Great Odd Spot(s) of Jupiter.” Viewpoint, no. 136 (2025): 10–11.
- Review of The Astronomer’s Chair: A Visual and Cultural History, by Omar Nasim. British Journal for the History of Science 57 (2024): 131–32. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007087423001012.
Invited Talks:
- “Making Astronomy Physical: From Motion to Matter in the Early 19th Century,” The Historical and Conceptual Relationship between Macro- and Microphysics workshop, California Institute of Technology, 26 March 2025.
- [with Céline Henne] “Planets or Asteroids? Evolution of an Open Texture Concept,” Conceptual Engineering Workshop “What happened to planet?” University of Zürich, 9 November 2023.
- “Asteroidenkonzeptionen: William Herschel, die Himmels-Polizey und Debatten über die ‘Natur der neuen Sterne’ im frühen 19. Jahrhundert,” History of Science Research Colloquium, Technische Universität Berlin, 8 May 2023.
Selected Conference Talks:
- “The Dark Sides of the Sun: Sunspot Observations, Solar Theories and Physical Astronomy around 1800,” History of Science Society Annual Conference, New Orleans, USA, 15 November 2025.
- “The Unburning Sun: Solar Theories and Physical Astronomy around 1800,” AIP Early Career Conference, Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, 4 August 2025.
- “The Dark Sides of the Sun: Sunspot Observations and the Nature of the Central Star around 1800,” British Society for the History of Science Conference, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 10 July 2025.
- “On the Nature of the New Stars: Classificatory Messiness and Exploratory Observation in Early 19th Century Astronomy,” 10th Integrated History and Philosophy of Science Conference, Pasadena, USA, 29 March 2025.
- “Luminous Matter in the Celestial Realm: Studies on Material Conditions of Solar System Bodies in the Early 19th Century,” European Society for the History of Science Conference, Barcelona, Spain, 7 September 2024.
- “On the Origins of Celestial Species: Cosmogonies and Classification in Early 19th Century Astronomy,” British Society for the History of Science Conference, Aberystwyth, United Kingdom, 12 July 2024.
- [with Matthew Lund] “’Instruments of Our Own Species’: How Observational Elitism in Astronomy Delayed the Discovery of Personal Observational Differences,” Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice Conference, Columbia, USA, 16 May 2024.
- “On the Origins of Celestial Species: William Herschel’s Cosmogonies and the Great Comets of 1807 and 1811,” 6th Graduate Conference of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine, Bloomington, USA, 7 April 2024.
Awards and Grants
2022 – 2026: Cambridge International Scholarship for PhD Students, Cambridge Trust
2025: HSS Travel Grant
2024: Travel grant, Institute for Catalan Studies
2024: Butler Eyles Travel Grant, British Society for the History of Science
2023: Research grant, British Society for the History of Science
2019: PROMOS scholarship, German Academic Exchange Service
Outreach:
- “What Makes a Planet? Conceptualising the Solar System in the Early 1800s,” presentation at the Newnham College Pudding Seminar, 7 February 2025.
- “Imagining Inhabitability and Classifying the Cosmos: Early 19th Century Debates on Extraterrestrial Life,” presentation at the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe Science Day, 15 March 2024.
- “Werner Herzog’s “Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds,” presentation at the Clare Hall College Special Interest Group for History and Philosophy of Science Meeting, 27 April 2023.
- “’Where AI Meets Historical Documents:’ Automatically Transcribing Historical Prints with OCR and HTR.” H r e f (blog), 7 February 2022. https://href.hypotheses.org/2105.
- “The Very First Monthly Astronomical Journal in Germany: The Celestial Police and Their Structures of Communication.” H r e f (blog), 7 September 2021. https://href.hypotheses.org/1999.
Teaching:
University of Cambridge (Department of History and Philosophy of Science) since 2023:
- NST1 HPS/1: History and Philosophy of Science (Introduction)
- NST2HP 2: Sciences and Empire – Physical Sciences, Empire and Modernity
- NST2HP 2: Sciences and Empire – Science, State and Society in South Asia
- NST2HP 2: Sciences and Empire – Sciences of Territory and Population
Research Organisation and Academic Service:
- Student Representative for the PhD candidates of the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge, 2024–2025.
- Organiser, Early career writing workshop (weekly during term time), since October 2024.
- Co-founder and organiser, “Young Historians of Astronomy working group,” since July 2024.
- Co-founder and organiser, “History and Philosophy of Astronomy” reading group, since October 2023.
Memberships:
BSHS
ESHS
Royal Historical Society
GWMT
HSS