The international, interdisciplinary conference series “The Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena”, held every 2 years or so, brings together scholars from various disciplines who share an interest in this topic. The series is described here.

Celestial phenomena have fascinated the humanity for millennia, inspiring works of art, science, scholarship, and emerging technologies. Southern California has played a major, or even a central role in this arena over the past century, especially in astronomy (Mt. Wilson, Palomar, Caltech, etc.), space exploration (JPL, the aerospace industry) and popular culture (film and TV industry and other media), and with many related scholarly pursuits at the major universities and other educational institutions in the area.

Our goals are to:

• Provide an opportunity for the scholars from various, disparate disciplines to interact, gain new perspectives, and establish novel collaborations. People who may rarely cross paths, e.g., scientists and artists, technologists and historians, etc., may find and develop common interests, create new ideas, and contribute more to our culture.


• Celebrate both our rich history and the ongoing activities in this arena, to inform and inspire the general public. Few other areas capture the imagination as do the explorations of the universe - scientific or artistic - and our place in it. We see this as a great public outreach opportunity that can enrich our society.

We hope that the connections established here may lead to other, similar events and projects in the future.