This is the sixth event in a series of talks in 2025 presented by Wirt Għawdex. The talk by Joseph Caruana, at 6.30pm at St Cecilia Chapel, will be delivered in English.
Dwejra is a gem of the Maltese Islands — a time-capsule of geological history, a showcase of ecological adaptation, and a window unto our home galaxy (the Milky Way) and the Universe at large. This lecture will guide participants through Dwejra’s geological and human history, uncovering some of the site’s lesser known wonders along the way. Beginning with a tour of its terrestrial features — geological, ecological and archaeological — Caruana will then explore its underwater marvels, before broadening our view to the cosmic perspective afforded by its dark skies. The session will conclude with an overview of the challenges and threats facing this unique site, and the vital role every citizen can play its conservation.
Prof. Joseph Caruana is an astrophysicist at the University of Malta and President of Wirt Għawdex. Fascinated by Dwejra since a very young age, he has conducted scientific studies of the site, including its underwater geomorphology and night sky. He has long been an advocate for the preservation of Dwejra and its dark skies, and maintains a dedicated website.
Prof. Joseph Caruana read for a joint honours B.Sc. in physics and mathematics at the University of Malta (UM). Following this, he carried out his doctoral research at the Department of Physics of the University of Oxford, where he read for a DPhil in astrophysics as a Marie Curie research fellow in a network associated with the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec instrument. At Christ Church, Oxford, he tutored General Relativity and Cosmology.
In 2012 he moved to Berlin, taking up a postdoctoral research position in astrophysics at the Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik (AIP) in Potsdam, as a member of the Galaxies & Quasars group and the MUSE Consortium. In 2016 he joined the Department of Physics and the Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy (ISSA) at UM, where he lectures on optics, astrophysics and cosmology, and the philosophy of science.
His main research interests encompass the early universe, galaxy formation & evolution, galactic dynamics, and the history of astronomy. At UM he initiated a light pollution research group, leading an ongoing night sky brightness monitoring effort, with a particular focus on light pollution’s effects upon the environment, ecology, and human health. He is also interested in the application of statistical methods and mathematical models to hyperbaric medicine.
Joseph is a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, and a member of the European Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Since 2021 he has been serving as President of Wirt Għawdex.
After the talk, there will be time for questions from the audience and discussion. APS Bank is sponsoring our series of talks while Delicata Winery are kindly sponsoring the events’ post-talk drinks.
Free registration via this link
This article was provided by Wirt Għawdex
