Saturday 29 October 2011

Lectures, Close miss, Astronaut, BCO, Spacelab, Galileo, MSL, Meteors, ISS, Jup.

Hi all,
 
1. IAA LECTURE, 2 November:  The Astronomical Association's next public lecture will be given by Dr Phil Marshall of the Department of Astrophysics, Oxford University.  He is a Royal Society Research Fellow, specialising in public outreach, especially on gravitational lensing and observational cosmology.
   His talk is entitled "Cosmic Telescopes: Focussing and observing with gravitational lenses"
   Gravitational Lenses are a very powerful tool for studying the most distant objects in the universe, and best of all, they are provided by Mother Nature, free of charge! But first you have to find them, and know how to interpret the images. This promises to be a fascinating lecture, revealing the latest findings on the early and most distant parts of our universe.
  (This lecture is being arranged with assistance from the Astrophysics Department at QUB, for which we are very grateful.)
   The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 02 November, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org  
 
2.  The following IAA lecture on Nov 16 will be by well-known space expert and author Brian Harvey: Title "Future Missions to the Moon and Mars". Brian's lectures are an absolute mine of the latest very authoritative information, and very well presented, so don't miss this.
The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 16 November, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org  
 
3: CLOSE ASTEROID FLYBY. Near Earth Object (NEO) 2005 YU55 will make a relatively close flyby of Earth on Nov 8, passing closer to us than the Moon. At closest approach it will be at 85% of the average distance to the Moon, about 203,000 miles, or 327,000km. At a relatively large 400m diameter, this is one of the biggest asteroids to come this close for quite a while. Observation of 2005 YU55 will not be an easy task in Ireland, because of the relatively low object brightness, the very fast movement (>500arcsecs/min) and the low altitude.
   On the following evening the situation is much better. But the +12mag asteroid will still be moving at about 50 arcsecs/min. Astrometry with a video camera and GPS time insertion would be an option. Video evaluation could be done with Tangra software. For the following nights 2005 YU55 remains as a good object for CCD imaging.
   A page with video animation of 2011 fly by, orbit diagram and data is available here:
http://www.dangl.at/2011/2005yu55/2005yu55_e.htm
   You can see in the orbit diagram and in the video animation why the asteroid is not observable during approach to Earth but remains observable long after the fly by. A link to an image sequence from the last Earth fly by in April 2010 can be found also there.

4. NASA ASTRONAUT GREG JOHNSON to visit LIMERICK. Greg will be on Campus in the University of Limerick on Tuesday 15th November.  Anyone interested in attending his show at 2pm in the Jean Monnet Lecture should let organiser Bernie Quilligan know asap as seats need to be booked: Bernie.Quilligan@ul.ie. They normally advertise such events in the papers but given the high demand they will not be doing that this year.
 
5. EVENTS at Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork: see www.bco.ie for more details
6. Spacelab: It is with great pleasure that we invite you to participate in YouTube Space Lab. (from Robert Hill, of NISO at Armagh)
   YouTube Space Lab combines an exciting platform for informative space-related videos with a competition for 14 - 18 year olds from around the world to send a science experiment to space. The winning experiment will be carried out on the International Space Station and live streamed on YouTube. Winning teams will have the chance to win some other amazing prizes too. Through the wonder of space, and the power of YouTube, we hope to inspire and educate kids around the world about science. Globally recognised partners who share our vision, such as Lenovo and Space Adventures in cooperation with NASA, JAXA, and ESA, are helping us make YouTube Space Lab a reality.
   A global panel of distinguished experts and scientists, including Professor Stephen Hawking, will help choose the winning experiments. Find out more about the competition on the YouTube Space Lab channel.
   We want to ensure that students all over the world have the opportunity to compete in this exciting competition, and we want your help in letting them know about it. Please help us in communicating the announcement of YouTube Space Lab to your educational networks as widely as possible. There's much more information about the competition online on the channel and there is also a site especially for teachers to help on how to approach getting students involved in YouTube Space Lab. Thank you for your help in making the world's largest, most global and inclusive space competition a huge success!
The YouTube Space Lab Team
P.S. Please feel free to forward this to educators or educator networks you know!
 
7. GALILEO COMPETITION FOR CHILDREN: The Galileo Drawing Competition is an amazing chance to have a Galileo Programme Satellite named after you and launched into Space!
   The Galileo Project is Europe's own dedicated GPS system, and will consist of a network of satellites, each costing about a billion euro! Belgium and Bulgaria have already held their competitions, and two satellites have already been named 'Thijs' and 'Natalia', after children in those counties.
   To enter the competition you will need to create a picture that represents 'Space and Aeronautics'. This includes things like stars, rockets, planets and satellites. What else can you think of that is in Space?
   You can create your picture using any drawing, painting, or colouring technique that you like. You can use all sorts of materials like paints, felt tips, pencils, glue, glitter. The main thing is that you use a big dollop of imagination!
   You then upload your picture at the website below. You can do this by scanning your picture or by taking a digital photo. Your parents, teachers, or local library may be able to help you do this. You can only enter one picture so make sure you chose your favourite one.
  You must upload your picture before 15th November 2011. A National Jury Panel will then select a winning picture. The winner will be invited to an Award Ceremony where they will be presented with a certificate and a trophy, to keep, that represents the satellite that will be named after them.
   If you live in the United Kingdom or Ireland and were born in either 2000, 2001 or 2002, then you can enter the competition. There are separate competitions for each country, so select the appropriate one from the website, which has all the information you need: www.galileocontest.eu Good luck!

8. MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY TALKS: Kevin Nolan, very well-known in Irish astronomy circles, will be giving a new talk titled "Mars Science Laboratory: In search of Origins" to celebrate the Science Week Theme of "The chemistry of life" and the launch of MSL-Curiosity the week after (On November 25th). Kevin is the Irish Representative of The Planetary Society, and is the author of an excellent book on Mars; "Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone", published by Springer. (See the great reviews at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mars-Cosmic-Stepping-Stone-ebook/dp/B001VNCFBC)

   He will be giving the same talk three times - in Dublin (Mansion House on Monday Nov 14th), Galway (NUI Galway on Nov 16th) and Blackrock Castle Observatory (Friday November 18th).
   Kevin adds: "On a related note, I have just launched the new Planetary Society Ireland web site at www.planetary.ie.
   It's quite basic now but is being used to promote the talk at www.planetary.ie/msl. I've also created a new twitter account @planetarie and will be tweeting in selected areas of TPS News, Space News and Policy issues, Mars Exploration and Irish Astronomy matters. While I have few followers just now, Forfas-DSE, BCO and nightsky.ie are retweeting my tweets and these, along with other mechanisms such as the talks in November and an intended blog (planetarie.wordpress.com for 2012) I hope to build a following. I will always be delighted to tweet any IAA news that you need further circulation on (as and when I develop a following!!)."

9. METEORS: A. The annual Taurid Meteor shower will peak on 5 November. These meteors appear to come from near Aldebaran, and while rates are not high, the meteors are slow and graceful, and there is usually a fair proportion of brighter meteors.

B: The annual Leonid Meteor shower will peak on 17 November. Rates are not expected to be high this year.

10: ISS: the International Space Station is currently making evening passes over Ireland. See www.heavens-above.com for details for your own location.

11. JUPITER at OPPOSITION: Giant planet Jupiter will be at opposition (closest to Earth for the year) on 29 October. This is the best time to view it with a telescope. And even good binoculars will show the four large Galilean Moons orbiting the planet in their stately dance. Even a moderate telescope will also show the main dark belts and bright zones, and the famous Great Red Spot, a giant storm, larger than planet Earth, which has been raging in Jupiter's atmosphere for hundreds of years.

12. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro

13. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc.  See also www.irishastro.org
 
Clear skies,
 
Terry Moseley


Saturday 22 October 2011

Lecture, Orionids, ROSAT, Spacelab, Galileo, M31's asteroid, Mars talks

Hi all,
 
1. IAA LECTURE, 2 November:  The Astronomical Association's next public lecture will be given by Dr Phil Marshall of the Department of Astrophysics, Oxford University.  He is a Royal Society Research Fellow, specialising in public outreach, especially on gravitational lensing and observational cosmology.
   His talk is entitled "Cosmic Telescopes: Focussing and observing with gravitational lenses"
   Gravitational Lenses are a very powerful tool for studying the most distant objects in the universe, and best of all, they are provided by Mother Nature, free of charge! But first you have to find them, and know how to interpret the images. This promises to be a fascinating lecture, revealing the latest findings on the early and most distant parts of our universe.
  (This lecture is being arranged with assistance from the Astrophysics Department at QUB, for which we are very grateful.)
   The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 02 November, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org  
 
2. ORIONID METEOR SHOWER: Today Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's comet, source of the annual Orionid meteor shower. Forecasters expect the shower to peak on Saturday morning, Oct. 22nd, with more than 15 meteors per hour. Some Orionids will still be visible until the 23rd. The radiant is in N E Orion, not far from the 'feet' of Gemini. Check http://spaceweather.com for links to a live meteor radar, sky maps and observing tips.

3. ROSAT TO CRASH BACK TO EARTH: UPDATE: The massive ROSAT X-ray space telescope is nearing a fiery burn-up in Earth's atmosphere. Most experts agree that re-entry will occur during the early hours of Oct. 23rd, but cannot predict the likely re-entry point yet. Observers report that the satellite, which of course is getting ever lower and closer, can be as bright as a first magnitude star and it occasionally "flares" to even greater brightness.  For last-chance sightings of ROSAT in your area, check www.heavens-above.com, or SpaceWeather's online satellite tracker (http://spaceweather.com/flybys) or turn your smartphone into a ROSAT tracker: http://simpleflybys.com .
   In case you missed the last alert, here are the relevant points from that one:
Readers in the S half of Ireland have another (VERY slight!) chance to see a satellite crashing back to Earth later this month. Since it never passes further North than 53 degrees, only those living South of the latitude of Birr (approximately) could be in the fall zone.

    The ROSAT X-ray astronomy observatory is smaller and less massive than NASA's Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite, or UARS, which fell back to Earth on Sept. 24. But officials predict it will spread three times more debris and pose a greater threat to people than UARS. That's because ROSAT is made of heat-resistant components, especially its primary mirror, which officials say will probably be the largest single fragment that will reach Earth. The satellite will streak into the atmosphere at 17,000 mph, and temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit will burn up much of the spacecraft.

    All these forces exerted on the satellite cause it to disintegrate, which in turn means that it eventually lands in the form of a long debris trail. The really heavy objects land later, because they ultimately have to drill their way through the atmosphere."

   The bulk of ROSAT is expected to survive re-entry, littering its impact point with up to 30 pieces of debris. There is a 1-in-2,000 chance someone will be struck by fragments of ROSAT on its way down, according to German scientists. That's odds of about 1-in-14 trillion that any individual person will be hit. However, ROSAT will likely end up in the sea, like UARS last month.

   Even one day before re-entry, the time of ROSAT's demise will only be known with a precision of plus-or-minus five hours, putting entire oceans and continents in the satellite's flight path. It will not be possible to make any kind of reliable forecast about where the satellite will actually come down until about one or two hours before the fact. It will, however, be possible to predict, about one day in advance, which geographical regions will definitely not be affected.

   The slow descent is due to the friction encountered by the satellite as it enters the outer fringes of Earth atmosphere, which increases the more ROSAT penetrates into our atmosphere. Fluctuations in solar activity affect the upper atmosphere and thus can quicken or slow a satellite's re-entry. 

  

4. Spacelab: It is with great pleasure that we invite you to participate in YouTube Space Lab. (from Robert Hill, of NISO at Armagh)
   YouTube Space Lab combines an exciting platform for informative space-related videos with a competition for 14 - 18 year olds from around the world to send a science experiment to space. The winning experiment will be carried out on the International Space Station and live streamed on YouTube. Winning teams will have the chance to win some other amazing prizes too. Through the wonder of space, and the power of YouTube, we hope to inspire and educate kids around the world about science. Globally recognised partners who share our vision, such as Lenovo and Space Adventures in cooperation with NASA, JAXA, and ESA, are helping us make YouTube Space Lab a reality.
   A global panel of distinguished experts and scientists, including Professor Stephen Hawking, will help choose the winning experiments. Find out more about the competition on the YouTube Space Lab channel.
   We want to ensure that students all over the world have the opportunity to compete in this exciting competition, and we want your help in letting them know about it. Please help us in communicating the announcement of YouTube Space Lab to your educational networks as widely as possible. There's much more information about the competition online on the channel and there is also a site especially for teachers to help on how to approach getting students involved in YouTube Space Lab. Thank you for your help in making the world's largest, most global and inclusive space competition a huge success!
The YouTube Space Lab Team
P.S. Please feel free to forward this to educators or educator networks you know!
5. GALILEO COMPETITION FOR CHILDREN: The Galileo Drawing Competition is an amazing chance to have a Galileo Programme Satellite named after you and launched into Space!
   The Galileo Project is Europe's own dedicated GPS system, and will consist of a network of satellites, each costing about a billion euro! Belgium and Bulgaria have already held their competitions, and two satellites have already been named 'Thijs' and 'Natalia', after children in those counties.
   To enter the competition you will need to create a picture that represents 'Space and Aeronautics'. This includes things like stars, rockets, planets and satellites. What else can you think of that is in Space?
   You can create your picture using any drawing, painting, or colouring technique that you like. You can use all sorts of materials like paints, felt tips, pencils, glue, glitter. The main thing is that you use a big dollop of imagination!
   You then upload your picture at the website below. You can do this by scanning your picture or by taking a digital photo. Your parents, teachers, or local library may be able to help you do this. You can only enter one picture so make sure you chose your favourite one.
  You must upload your picture before 15th November 2011. A National Jury Panel will then select a winning picture. The winner will be invited to an Award Ceremony where they will be presented with a certificate and a trophy, to keep, that represents the satellite that will be named after them.
   If you live in the United Kingdom or Ireland and were born in either 2000, 2001 or 2002, then you can enter the competition. There are separate competitions for each country, so select the appropriate one from the website, which has all the information you need: www.galileocontest.eu Good luck!

6. Asteroid passing 'through' M31. (This has been adapted from a BAA email. T.M.) The bright (magnitude 11) asteroid (372) Palma will pass less than 15' north of the nucleus of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) on the evening of October 21/22.  It will take the asteroid about 5 days to cross the galaxy between roughly the dates of October 18-23. The large majority of asteroids do not stray too far from the Ecliptic and so cannot reach M31.  Although Palma occupies the asteroid Main Belt, it has an unusually high orbital inclination, and on this occasion it will be about 34 degrees north of the Ecliptic such that it crosses in front of the Andromeda Galaxy.
   The best photo opportunity will probably occur on the evening of Oct 22/23 when Palma will lie between the core of M 31 and M 110 (NGC 205). The following evening (Oct 23/24) it will pass some 13' south of Messier 110.
A finder chart (courtesy of Graham Relf of the BAA Computing Section) showing the general path of Palma is available at: http://britastro.org/computing/ch/372Palma2011Oct21(J2000).png. N.B.  It will be necessary to take a time-series of images and stack these
to show the trail of the moving asteroid as its apparent speed is only 34" per hour.

7. MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY TALKS: Kevin Nolan, very well-known in Irish astronomy circles, will be giving a new talk titled "Mars Science Laboratory: In search of Origins" to celebrate the Science Week Theme of "The chemistry of life" and the launch of MSL-Curiosity the week after (On November 25th). Kevin is the Irish Representative of The Planetary Society, and is the author of an excellent book on Mars; "Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone", published by Springer. (See the great reviews at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mars-Cosmic-Stepping-Stone-ebook/dp/B001VNCFBC)

   He will be giving the same talk three times - in Dublin (Mansion House on Monday 14th), Galway (NUI Galway on Nov 16th) and Blackrock Castle Observatory (Friday November 18th).
   Kevin adds: "On a related note, I have just launched the new Planetary Society Ireland web site at www.planetary.ie.
   It's quite basic now but is being used to promote the talk at www.planetary.ie/msl. I've also created a new twitter account @planetarie and will be tweeting in selected areas of TPS News, Space News and Policy issues, Mars Exploration and Irish Astronomy matters. While I have few followers just now, Forfas-DSE, BCO and nightsky.ie are retweeting my tweets and these, along with other mechanisms such as the talks in November and an intended blog (planetarie.wordpress.com for 2012) I hope to build a following. I will always be delighted to tweet any IAA news that you need further circulation on (as and when I develop a following!!)."

8. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro

9. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc.  See also www.irishastro.org
 
Clear skies,
 
Terry Moseley


Friday 14 October 2011

Lecture, Dracs, Rosat to crash, Competition, M31, Mars talks, Meteorite, Moseley

Hi all,
 
1. IAA LECTURE, 19 October:  The next public lecture by the Irish Astronomical Association will be given by Seanie Morris of Midlands Astronomy Club. 
   His talk is entitled "What was it really like on Apollo 11?". Seanie is very well known in amateur astronomy circles in Ireland, and this talk is one of his specialities. If you remember Apollo 11 this will bring back all the excitement of that mission, and tell you a few things you probably didn't know. If you are too young to remember it you'll get a chance to hear all about what is probably the most famous space mission ever,
  The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 19 October, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org  
 
2. DRACONIDS OUTBURST - Preliminary results. The Draconid Meteors  are not normally a major shower, but experts forecast that there would be a significant brief outburst on 8 October. The following is from the BAA Meteor Section:

   Draconid Meteor Outburst: Observations by BAA members and non-members indicate that a short-lived outburst of Draconid meteors occurred on 2011 October 8. Draconid rates were generally low until around 1900 UT on October 8 when a rapid increase in activity occurred, peaking between 2005 and 2015 UT.
   Thereafter there was a rapid decline, with Draconid meteor rates returning to a low level by 2130 UT.  A very preliminary analysis of visual observations made by a group of observers led by the Director (Dr John Mason), observing from near Goreme in central Turkey, indicates that the peak equivalent ZHR was about 350 m/h between 2005 and 2015 UT, although correction factors are high due to the effect of bright moonlight.  It is possible that lesser,
short-lived secondary bursts in Draconid activity were also noted around 1915 and 1938 UT.
    Observers in the UK & Ireland had to contend with cloud and rain on the evening of October 8, but it is extremely encouraging that so many individuals and local society groups battled the elements in the hope of getting a view of the shower.
   More observations of the Draconid outburst, using photographic, visual, and radio techniques, from individuals and groups in the UK and overseas, are urgently required to build up a full picture of the shower's rapidly changing activity.  Even if you have only glimpsed a
few meteors during a short-lived break in the clouds, the BAA Meteor Section would like to receive your report.
   So if you did manage any sort of observations, please submit them to the BAA Meteor Section via email to:
meteor@britastro.org.

   Alternatively, submit them to the International Meteor Organisation: www.imo.net.

3. ROSAT TO CRASH BACK TO EARTH: Readers in the S half of Ireland have another (VERY slight!) chance to get hit by a satellite crashing back to Earth later this month. Since it never passes further North than 53 degrees, only those living South of the latitude of Birr (approximately) could be in the fall zone.

    The ROSAT X-ray astronomy observatory is smaller and less massive than NASA's Upper Atmospheric Research Satellite, or UARS, which fell back to Earth on Sept. 24. But officials predict it will spread three times more debris and pose a greater threat to people than UARS. That's because ROSAT is made of heat-resistant components, especially its primary mirror, which officials say will probably be the largest single fragment that will reach Earth. The satellite will streak into the atmosphere at 17,000 mph, and temperatures up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit will burn up much of the spacecraft.

    "All these forces exerted on the satellite cause it to disintegrate, which in turn means that it eventually lands in the form of a long debris trail," said Heiner Klinkrad, head of the European Space Agency's space debris office. "The lightweight objects fall to Earth first, similar to leaves from a tree. The really heavy objects land later, because they ultimately have to drill their way through the atmosphere."

   But engineers expect the bulk of ROSAT to survive re-entry, littering its impact point with up to 30 pieces of debris. ROSAT does not have an engine or propulsion system because it used reaction wheels to point its telescope toward scientific targets in the cosmos. Up to 3,750 pounds of the satellite could reach Earth's surface. By contrast, NASA said they expected 1,200 pounds of UARS to survive re-entry.

   There is a 1-in-2,000 chance someone will be struck by fragments of ROSAT on its way down, according to Germany. That's odds of about 1-in-14 trillion that any individual person will be hit. The threat from UARS wasn't as high. An analysis from NASA showed there was a 1-in-3,200 chance of a collision between a human and a piece of UARS. The remnants of UARS fell in the remote Pacific Ocean, and ROSAT will likely also end up in the sea.

   ROSAT, which stands for Roentgen Satellite, was turned off in 1999, and its altitude has gradually dropped since then from an operational orbit more than 350 miles high. The German Aerospace Center, also known as DLR by its German acronym, says the spacecraft should re-enter the atmosphere between Oct. 20 and Oct. 25. But the margin of error in the re-entry forecast is three days, and officials likely won't know where the satellite will come down until after it falls. Even one day before re-entry, the time of ROSAT's demise will only be known with a precision of plus-or-minus five hours, putting entire oceans and continents in the satellite's flight path.

   "All areas under the orbit of ROSAT, which extends to 53 degrees N and S, could be affected by its re-entry," said a posting on DLR's website. "The bulk of the debris will impact near the ground track of the satellite."  "It will not be possible to make any kind of reliable forecast about where the satellite will actually come down until about one or two hours before the fact," Klinkrad said. "It will, however, be possible to predict, about one day in advance, which geographical regions will definitely not be affected."

   "This slow descent is due to the friction encountered by the satellite as it enters the outer fringes of Earth atmosphere, which increases the more ROSAT penetrates into our atmosphere. The major factor affecting a satellite's fall from orbit is solar activity. Energy unleashed from the Sun causes Earth's atmosphere to heat up and expand, generating more drag for satellites in low orbits", Klinkrad said.

   Fluctuations in solar activity can quicken or slow a satellite's re-entry. Experts initially expected ROSAT's plunge to occur last year, but solar activity turned out to be less than predicted, delaying the re-entry until this month.

  

4. GALILEO COMPETITION FOR CHILDREN: The Galileo Drawing Competition is an amazing chance to have a Galileo Programme Satellite named after you and launched into Space!
   The Galileo Project is Europe's own dedicated GPS system, and will consist of a network of satellites, each costing about a billion euro! Belgium and Bulgaria have already held their competitions, and two satellites have already been named 'Thijs' and 'Natalia', after children in those counties.
   To enter the competition you will need to create a picture that represents 'Space and Aeronautics'. This includes things like stars, rockets, planets and satellites. What else can you think of that is in Space?
   You can create your picture using any drawing, painting, or colouring technique that you like. You can use all sorts of materials like paints, felt tips, pencils, glue, glitter. The main thing is that you use a big dollop of imagination!
   You then upload your picture at the website below. You can do this by scanning your picture or by taking a digital photo. Your parents, teachers, or local library may be able to help you do this. You can only enter one picture so make sure you chose your favourite one.
  You must upload your picture before 15th November 2011. A National Jury Panel will then select a winning picture. The winner will be invited to an Award Ceremony where they will be presented with a certificate and a trophy, to keep, that represents the satellite that will be named after them.
   If you live in the United Kingdom or Ireland and were born in either 2000, 2001 or 2002, then you can enter the competition. There are separate competitions for each country, so select the appropriate one from the website, which has all the information you need: www.galileocontest.eu Good luck!

5. Asteroid to pass 'through' M31. (This has been adapted from a BAA email. T.M.) The bright (magnitude 11) asteroid (372) Palma will pass less than 15' north of the nucleus of the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) on the evening of October 21/22.  It will take the asteroid about 5 days to cross the galaxy between roughly the dates of October 18-23. The large majority of asteroids do not stray too far from the Ecliptic and so cannot reach M31.  Although Palma occupies the asteroid Main Belt, it has an unusually high orbital inclination, and on this occasion it will be about 34 degrees north of the Ecliptic such that it crosses in front of the Andromeda Galaxy.
   The best photo opportunity will probably occur on the evening of Oct 22/23 when Palma will lie between the core of M 31 and M 110 (NGC 205). The following evening (Oct 23/24) it will pass some 13' south of Messier 110.
A finder chart (courtesy of Graham Relf of the BAA Computing Section) showing the general path of Palma is available at: http://britastro.org/computing/ch/372Palma2011Oct21(J2000).png. N.B.  It will be necessary to take a time-series of images and stack these
to show the trail of the moving asteroid as its apparent speed is only 34" per hour.

6. MARS SCIENCE LABORATORY TALKS: Kevin Nolan, very well-known in Irish astronomy circles, will be giving a new talk titled "Mars Science Laboratory: In search of Origins" to celebrate the Science Week Theme of "The chemistry of life" and the launch of MSL-Curiosity the week after (On November 25th). Kevin is the Irish Representative of The Planetary Society, and is the author of an excellent book on Mars; "Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone", published by Springer. (See the great reviews at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mars-Cosmic-Stepping-Stone-ebook/dp/B001VNCFBC)

   He will be giving the same talk three times - in Dublin (Mansion House on Monday 14th), Galway (NUI Galway on Nov 16th) and Blackrock Castle Observatory (Friday November 18th).
   Kevin adds: "On a related note, I have just launched the new Planetary Society Ireland web site at www.planetary.ie.
   It's quite basic now but is being used to promote the talk at www.planetary.ie/msl. I've also created a new twitter account @planetarie and will be tweeting in selected areas of TPS News, Space News and Policy issues, Mars Exploration and Irish Astronomy matters. While I have few followers just now, Forfas-DSE, BCO and nightsky.ie are retweeting my tweets and these, along with other mechanisms such as the talks in November and an intended blog (planetarie.wordpress.com for 2012) I hope to build a following. I will always be delighted to tweet any IAA news that you need further circulation on (as and when I develop a following!!)."

7. Paris house hit by meteorite: (Thanks to Barry Pickup for the alert to this item.) A meteorite crashed through the roof of a Paris house some time in September. Scientists said it was the closest such a space rock ever found to Paris and one of only about 60 meteorites to have landed in France in the past 400 years. In a further twist of fate, the family who received the object in Draveil, about 12 miles south of Paris, are called the Comettes.

It is thought the meteorite struck the house a few weeks ago when the Comettes were on holiday, which explains why they did not hear it crash landing. They only found out when the roof started leaking. "We got the roof tiler round and he was astounded," said Martine Comette, 32. "He said: 'You need to be Superman to break a tile like that! It must be a meteorite.'" The rock had gone through the roof and was wedged in glass wool insulation.

Alain Carion, a mineral scientist and meteor hunter, said the iron-rich celestial rock known as a "chondrite" was easily identifiable thanks to a "black fusion crust that characterises the crossing of the Earth's atmosphere". With an age of around 4.57 billion years, the 3oz egg-sized object came from an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, he said.

Mrs Commette was still getting to grips with the improbability of such an event. "A météorite landing in your garden is magical and more unlikely than winning the Lottery," she told Le Parisien. While rocks from Mars are estimated at almost £1,000 a gram, the Draveil meteor would only fetch a few hundred euros, according to Mr Carion. In any case, the family has no wish to part with it. "It's the history of life on Earth has landed in my garden, the history of space of which we known nothing and which is fascinating," said Mrs Comette. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8818456/4.5-billion-year-old-meteorite-crashes-into-Paris-family-home.html

8. Moseley imaged by WISE spacecraft! OK, please forgive the journalistic license - actually, it imaged 'my' asteroid / minor planet, "16693 Moseley". I got this alert from Prof Alan Fitzsimmons at QUB:   "Hi Terry, Don't know if you already know this, but your asteroid was seen by the WISE mission. You have a diameter of 5.5+/-0.7 km and an optical albedo of 0.25+/-0.06. See: http://arxiv.org/abs/1109.4096. All the best! Alan" (Small, maybe, but beautifully formed, I'm sure!)

9. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro
 
10. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc.  See also www.irishastro.org
 
Clear skies,
 
Terry Moseley

Monday 3 October 2011

2 Lectures, BCO, Draconid outburst + Armagh, Weird EKBO, Cork trip great success

Hi all,
 
1.  GALWAY PUBLIC LECTURE:
"Extraterrestrials - where are they?" Your humble scribe (that's me) will be giving a public lecture, hosted by the Galway Astronomy Club, at the Westwood House Hotel, Newcastle, Galway, at 7.30 p.m. on 3 October. Entitled "Is there Intelligent Life out there??" it will look at the latest findings on extrasolar planets, extraterrestrial biochemistry, and the implications for the existence of alien life. And if they are there, will we ever meet them (and if so, at 'your place or mine'?), or will we even be able to communicate with them?
 
2. IAA LECTURE, 5 October:  The next public lecture in the new season by the Irish Astronomical Association will be given by Dr Geert Barentsen of Armagh Observatory. 
   His talk is entitled "Amateur Meteor Observing and a Possible Draconid Outburst on 8 October". Geert is a very keen meteor observer, and very active in the International Meteor Organisation. His talk will be aimed at the amateur astronomer, covering all aspects of meteors and meteor observing, and the outlining the prospects for a possible outburst of the Draconid meteors on the evening of 8 October - see below for more on this. The lecture will be set at a very simple and accessible level.
  The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 5 October, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org  
 
3. EVENTS AT BCO: October has another packed programme of events at Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork:
Free Events
 
4. DRACONIDS OUTBURST FORECAST FOR OCTOBER 8.
There is a fairly reliable forecast for a significant outburst of the Draconid Meteors on the evening of 8 October, just as the sky gets dark.

   They are not normally a major shower, but experts forecast a significant brief outburst on 8 October, centred on a time of 19h 57m (20h 57m BST). Estimates of the rate vary from about 200 per hour to almost 1,000 per hour, with the best guess about 400 per hour, or about 6 or 7 per minute.

   Unfortunately there will still be a trace of evening twilight, and a bright gibbous Moon will lie about 20 degrees above the SE horizon, and the meteors are predicted to be fairly faint, so we may not see most of them. However the radiant will be almost overhead at the time of the predicted maximum, so try to find a spot where the Moon is hidden behind some object, and get out a lounger so that you can look up almost overhead.

   The radiant will lie just below and left of the head of Draco as you look high in the NW sky. If you don't know Draco, the radiant will be about ¼ of the way from Vega towards the handle of the 'Plough' or tail of the Great Bear, if you prefer. The meteors can of course appear anywhere in the sky, but any Draconids will appear to have come from the area of the radiant: if you trace their paths backwards they should pass close to that part of the sky.

The outburst may last only for ¼ to ½ an hour, but if it's clear I suggest you observe from as soon as the sky gets dark enough to see Vega, until about 20.30 (21.30 BST), just in case! Let me know what you see, if anything.

 
5. Armagh Observatory Draconids Watch:

 Astronomers are predicting a sharp maximum of shooting stars to occur during the period from dusk until late evening on Saturday 8th October in the normally weak annual Draconid meteor shower. Between 20 and 100 meteors per hour are expected, with some experts predicting a peak ranging upwards of 500 to 1,000 meteors per hour. Countries of Europe, northern Africa and the Middle East are best placed to see the event. With this in mind the Armagh Observatory is opening for a public meteor watch between 6.30pm and 9.30pm that night.  The night of the meteor shower coincides with "International Observe the Moon Night", and assuming the skies are clear there will be an opportunity to see both the planet Jupiter and the Moon.

   There will be an introduction to the sky, meteors and the Moon, given by the students of astronomy at the Observatory, and an opportunity, if it's clear, to observe meteors and see telescopic views of the Moon and Jupiter. 

  The source of the meteors is dust shed by the periodic comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner, discovered in December 1900 by Michel Giacobini of Nice, France, and in 1913 by Ernst Zinner of Bamberg, Germany.  The meteors are called "Draconids" because they radiate from the constellation Draco the dragon.  

    Normally, a maximum of between five and twenty Draconids per hour are seen, but occasionally several thousand per hour may occur, as in 1933 and 1946. The meteor storm that occurred in 1933 was observed from the roof of the Observatory by the Revd W.F.A. Ellison, then Director of the Observatory, who described the meteors as "becoming as thick as the flakes of a snowstorm. The sky was thick with them, wherever one looked" over a period of an hour or so during the evening of 9th October.

     Some enhanced displays also occurred in the 1920s, 1950s and 1970s, when the parent comet passed close to the Earth's orbit.  This year, on 8th October, there is again the possibility of a significant shower when the Earth passes through a complex of dust trails emitted from the comet in the early and late nineteenth century and in 1900 and 1913. The peaks of any enhanced activity are predicted to occur between approximately 6.00pm and 10.00pm that evening.  Unfortunately, it will be daylight when the brightest meteors are expected, and the Moon is in a waxing gibbous phase about three days before Full.  Moonlight significantly reduces the number of meteors that might otherwise be seen.

    Observations of this rare meteoric phenomenon are keenly sought, and are being encouraged world-wide to determine their numbers versus brightness and time.  This will enable astronomers to determine the orbit and activity of the parent comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner during the nineteenth century, before it was discovered.  Mark Bailey, Director of the Observatory, said: "A meteor outburst is an extremely rare phenomenon, and the chance to see one should not be missed — even if moonlight seems likely to reduce the number of visible meteors to a drizzle rather than a sharp shower."

    For the best chance to see these relatively slow-moving meteors, face towards the north-west away from the Moon and look about 40 degrees away from the meteor radiant, which lies fairly high in the sky to the west of the North Star, Polaris.

    The Observatory will be open to the public from 6.30pm to 9.30pm to view this event. Members of the Irish Astronomical Association will also be in attendance. As with all astronomy observing events it will be necessary to have clear skies. In the event of rain or thick cloud the event will be cancelled.  Those who may wish to attend the event should telephone or send an e-mail to Mrs Aileen McKee at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh; Tel: 028-3752-2928; E-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk, and meet outside the main Observatory building at 6.30pm.  It will be interesting to see if there will be an exceptional display of shooting stars this year, or just an average number.  Other observers should find a dark site, as far as possible from light pollution or the interfering light of the Moon, and should wrap up warm against the cold, and as comfortable as possible, ready to catch the meteors when they appear.

   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: John McFarland at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG.  Tel. 028-3752-2928; FAX: 028-3752-7174; jmf@arm.ac.uk; URL: http://star.arm.ac.uk/.

 
 6. Weird Object Beyond Neptune: (Edited from an RAS Press Release):
A spinning hourglass object may be the first of many to be discovered in the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt. [NASA & USA astronomers generally refer to the 'Kuiper Belt', but as it was first proposed by Irish astronomer Kenneth Edgeworth, we prefer 'Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt'! T.M.]

The bizarre, hourglass-shaped Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt Object (EKBO) 2001QG298 spins round like a propeller as it orbits the Sun, according to Dr Pedro Lacerdo from Queens University Belfast.  [Pedro has given excellent lectures to the IAA] The discovery that the spinning object is tilted at nearly 90 degrees to the ecliptic plane is surprising, and suggests that this type of object could be very common in the Kuiper Belt. The finding will be presented by Pedro at the Joint Meeting of the European Planetary Science Congress and the Division for Planetary Sciences (EPSC-DPS 2011) in Nantes, France, on 3 October.

EKBOs orbit the Sun beyond Neptune and are the best preserved leftovers of the formation of the planets. 2001QG298 is a remarkable EKBO made up from two components that orbit each other very closely, possibly touching.  "Imagine that you glue two eggs together tip to tip – that's approximately the shape of 2001QG298.  It looks a bit like an hourglass," says Pedro.

U.S. astronomers Sheppard and Jewitt saw that 2001QG298's apparent brightness periodically tripled every 7 hours or so. "The object is so distant that we cannot resolve its shape. But this brightness oscillation, called a lightcurve, reveals the strange shape of 2001QG298 as it spins round. The object appears faint at times because one lobe is hidden behind the other, so less area is reflecting sunlight. As the hidden component rotates back into view, we can see the full hourglass shape.  The reflecting area increases and the whole thing looks brighter," explains Pedro.

However, his new study shows that 2001QG298's rotation is almost perpendicular to the plane of its orbit around the Sun. He re-measured the object's lightcurve in late 2010 and noticed that it had changed from Sheppard and Jewitt's observations. The lightcurve variation has become visibly shallower.

"It was impossible to tell from the original observations if the rotation and the orbital plane of 2001QG298 were aligned or perpendicular i.e. whether the object spun round horizontally like the blades on a helicopter or rotated vertically like the propeller of an aeroplane.  The changes to the lightcurve variation show that it must be approximately vertical.  As 2001QG298 moves round in its orbit of the Sun, our viewing geometry of the 'propeller' is gradually opening out from edge-on to seeing the whirling 'blades' full-face.  This means that more of the reflecting surface is becoming visible at all times so the variation in the object's brightness gradually disappears," says Pedro.

The most important consequence of this finding is that it suggests that this type of double EKBO could be very common. When in 2004 Sheppard and Jewitt found 2001QG298 in a sample of 34 EKBOs they realised that they were fortunate to spot its binary nature – if it had not happened to be edge-on at the time of their observations, they would not have seen the extreme lightcurve variation. They estimated that approximately 10% of all EKBOs are contact binaries, assuming that their tilts are random.

However, Pedro believes that the tilts of contact binaries may not actually be random and that objects similar to 2001QG298 could be even more common. "It was a surprise to find that 2001QG298 is inclined by 90 degrees, but that's not the first time we've seen this in a contact binary," he speculates.  "There is another famous doublet object, a large Trojan asteroid called 624 Hektor. That object is also tilted almost 90 degrees."

If contact binaries tend to be highly tilted then the chance of spotting their characteristic variable lightcurve is even smaller – only about twice per orbit. The identification of one in a small sample implies that contact binaries may be even more abundant than Sheppard and Jewitt first thought. Lacerda estimates that as many as 25% of EKBOs are contact binaries.
"If contact binaries do tend to be very inclined that may be telling us something about how these objects formed," he concludes.
   Images can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/ExtremeAndExtremelyTiltedKBO
[Well done to Pedro for this interesting finding. T.M.]
6. IAA TRIP TO CORK A GREAT SUCCESS: The trip to Cork last W/E was very successful and enjoyable, in spite of the weather!
   After an initial meeting with some members of Cork Astronomy Club (CAC) on the Friday evening after we checked in, we met with them on Saturday morning to see their original self-built Club Observatory near the airport (largely the work of Austin Hastings), featuring an impressive and beautifully crafted classical 13-inch diameter Newtonian in a rotating dome.…
   On Saturday afternoon Dr Paul Callanan from UCC gave us a fascinating tour of the historic Crawford Observatory on the UCC campus. This features an interesting siderostat telescope, a beautiful brass transit telescope, and the very impressive 13-inch and 8-inch refractors by Grubb of Dublin, co-mounted on a massive equatorial and pier. This instrument was built for the 'Carte du Ciel' project in the late 19th century. All the instruments have been beautifully restored by Belfast man Bertie McClure.
  We then met up with a good selection of members of CAC for a great dinner at the restaurant at Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO), in the Castle grounds.
  On Sunday morning we visited the 32-metre dish (with several other smaller satellite dishes) at Elfordstown near Midleton. Formerly operated by Eircom for satellite communications, it is now being converted by the National Space Centre (NSC), in co-operation with Dr Niall Smith of CIT, for radio astronomy research. Rory Fitzpatrick's conducted tour was extremely entertaining and informative.
  Then back to BCO on Sunday afternoon for a full conducted tour of the observatory and science centre by Dr Niall Smith. It's amazing to see an observatory dome containing a 14" Ritchey Chretien research telescope on top of one of the 'Disney-like' castle turrets! And there's a great interactive science centre in the main part of the castle. Well worth a visit.
  Thanks to all concerned, but specially Clair McSweeney of BCO, Linda & Rory Fitzpatrick of NSC, Paul Callanan of UCC, Niall Smith of CIT/BCO, and all at CAC and Lynda O'Mahony in particular. We'll be back!
 
7. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro
 
8. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc.  See also www.irishastro.org
 
Clear skies,
 
Terry Moseley
Mob: (+44) (0) 7979300842