

# Event Details

- **Event Name**: Sighting the Sun – and Moon? – at Stonehenge
- **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 10 Mar, 2026 at 07:30 pm
- **Event Description**: In person or watch online.

The connection between Stonehenge and summer solstice sunrise is well known, but over-speculation, by both astronomers and archaeologists, concerning its use for observations of the sky have led many to steer well clear of the subject.

This talk will describe what we can sensibly say about the relationship of Stonehenge to the sun, how this relates to more conventional archaeological evidence that has been uncovered in recent years, and what it might have meant to the people who built and used Stonehenge.

But what about the moon? We have just passed a major lunar standstill, which occurs every 18.6 years when the moon can be seen at fortnightly intervals exceptionally far to the north and south. Was this – as some say – known to our prehistoric forebears and was it marked and celebrated, at Stonehenge and elsewhere?

Professor Clive Ruggles will present the challenges in exploring these questions and what we can reasonably conclude about the cultural significance of the sun and moon to those who built and used Stonehenge. 

As Emeritus Professor of Archaeoastronomy at the University of Leicester, Clive Ruggles has spent a lifetime investigating ancient people’s knowledge of the sky and the uses they make of what they perceive there. A lot of this involves studying the astronomical orientation of prehistoric monuments in Britain, Ireland and Europe — Stonehenge being a prime example. But Clive has also worked extensively on Hawaiian and Pacific star knowledge and in Peru, where in 2005 he co-discovered the 2200-year-old monumental solar observatory at Chankillo, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2021. In 2017 he was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society’s Agnes Mary Clerke Medal for a “lifetime of distinguished work in the overlapping areas of archaeology, astronomy and the history of science”.
- **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/bath/sighting-the-sun-and-moon-at-stonehenge/200029743257859
- **Event Categories**: summer-solstice
- **Interested Audience**: 
  - total_interested_count: 5

## Ticket Details

- **Ticket URL**: https://www.brlsi.org/whatson/sighting-the-sun-and-moon-at-stonehenge/?utm_source=AllEvents.in&utm_medium=event-discovery-platform&utm_campaign=bath-events

## Event venue details

- **city**: Bath
- **state**: EN
- **country**: United Kingdom
- **location**: 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN Bath, United Kingdom
- **lat**: 51.3831
- **long**: -2.36421
- **full address**: 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN Bath, United Kingdom, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2, United Kingdom

## Event Organizer details

- **affiliate_id**: 2
- **organizer**: Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (https://allevents.in/org/bath-royal-literary-and-scientific-institution/12776764)

## Event gallery

- **Alt text**: banner
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/f8c7feadcbdea61f03b3264d2aedcf828d94063db542d6449f5390f308d506fb-rimg-w1000-h650-dc181813-gmir?v=1772974112
- **Alt text**: thumbnail
  - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/f262385eff5cbd822beedea7502cc3600c00efa0859a7188d527ec66a1ec62d1-rimg-w300-h300-dc1a1914-gmir?v=1772974113

## FAQs

- **Q**: When is the event happening?
  - **A:** Tue, 10 Mar, 2026 at 07:30 pm
- **Q**: Where is the event happening?
  - **A:** 16-18 Queen Square, BA1 2HN Bath, United Kingdom, 16-18 Queen Square, Bath, BA1 2, United Kingdom
- **Q**: Who is organizing the event?
  - **A:** Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution
- **Q**: What type of event is this?
  - **A:** summer-solstice
- **Q**: Where can I find ticket details about Sighting the Sun – and Moon? – at Stonehenge ?
  - **A:** You can find ticket details about this event on AllEvents.

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