Tuesday 19 February 2013

Lecture, THAT 'meteor', Missed!, Galileo @ Armagh, Sir PM event, Mars in Morocco


Hi all,
 
1.  IAA LECTURE: The next IAA public lecture will be on Wednesday 20 February, at 7.30 p. m. It will be given by Dr Chris Watson, Senior Lecturer in the Astrophysics Department at QUB. The title is "Mapping the Surfaces of Stars - Giant Spots and Shadows". Dr Watson is a leading researcher in the search for Exoplanets, and will describe this technique, and what it can also tell us about other stars. Once the stuff of science fiction, finding planets around other stars is now a reality, with the total discovered now approaching 900! What does this tell us about the chances of life on other planetary systems? You'll want to hear the answer.
   Admission is free, including light refreshments, and all are welcome.
This lecture will as usual be in the Bell Lecture theatre, Physics building, main QUB Campus.
 
2. ISS. The International Space Station continues its series of evening passes over Ireland. Details as usual on the excellent and free site: www.heavens-above.com
 
3. That 'Russian Meteor'. I use that name because that's what the media called it, but of course it was much more than a meteor! Even 'Fireball' seems inadequate for such a brilliant and spectacular event. And we can't call it a 'meteorite' until recovered pieces have been confirmed as extraterrestrial in origin. There are already many such claims on the internet, but as of now I've heard no official confirmation.
   IRISH TIMES ARTICLE:  I got two t/cs from Dick Ahlstrom, Science Editor of the Irish Times, one about the 'Russian Meteor', and one about the asteroid flyby due later that day. Both interviews were then combined into the one article, on Saturday 16 Feb, in which I get a couple of mentions. See   
 
It was a very spectacular sight. Here are some weblinks you may have missed:
 
WARNING: Following the Russian fireball event, at least we all now know that if we see a brilliant light in the sky like that, we should stay away from windows etc for the next few minutes. Or if it's possible, get out of the building very quickly provided we can get well away from any potential flying glass or other debris - but see below.
   Even if the object passes directly overhead (i.e. as close as it can be), there's going to be a delay of at least a minute between the flash and the sonic boom, because the object will be at its brightest at least 12 miles above the Earth's surface, and each mile of distance causes a delay in arrival of the sound by about 5 seconds
    BUT, if the object explodes violently, there will be a shock wave, which can travel much faster than the speed of sound. However, with the size of object that is likely to be involved, and the minimum distance above us, any shock wave will probably have slowed and become just a sonic boom by the time it reaches us. It needs someone with a lot more expertise in this field than me to work it out fully, but I would guess that there would always be at least 10 seconds between the flash from an exploding meteor similar to the recent Russian one and the arrival of a shock wave (blast wave or sonic boom) which would be strong enough to break glass.
    You might ask - how do we know that the object won't explode just about half a mile above the ground? That's because the maximum dynamic pressure and heating of the object will probably (maybe not always?) occur at least 12 miles above the Earth's surface. Of course, if it's a really big one (say 1km diameter or more) then it will almost certainly punch straight through the atmosphere & hit the ground, exploding then. But in that case, staying away from windows will be the least of your concerns! Fortunately, the chances of one as big as that hitting us are VERY remote.
   Anyway, if in doubt, just don't immediately rush to the windows if you see a bright flash like that one! TM
  
4. SEE MERCURY: You can just see Mercury for another few days, but it is fading and starting to move closer to the Sun. Look low in the West about 30 minutes after Sunset, with binoculars. It will lie about 5 degrees above and right of fainter Mars.
 
5. Asteroid Very Near Miss: I just managed to spot NEO 2012 DA14 with 15 x 70 binocs, as it was moving from Virgo into Coma, but it then passed behind a bank of cloud and I never saw it again. But Andy McCrea managed to image it: "Caught it around 9.30 between Megrez and Alioth - close to 74 and 75 UMa - It was very faint and through light cloud". A McC. See photo on www.irishastro.org.
 See also:
  
6. IAA Event at Bangor, 16 February - This was a huge success, with mainly clear skies in spite of a very pessimistic weather forecast! We got great views of the 6 day old Moon, Jupiter with all 4 moons, and TWO passes of the ISS! This email says it all: "On behalf of everyone at North Down Museum we would like to thank the IAA for a very successful event indeed. Please pass our thanks onto your members who assisted with the Star Dome, Exhibition and Telescope guidance, their enthusiasm was wonderful and it really came across. This was reflected in record visitor numbers on the night and from the comments and feedback we have received."

 7. GALILEO AT ARMAGH OBSERVATORY: THE LIFE OF GALILEO", by Bertolt Brecht, Performed in the Armagh Observatory.
   The Greenwood Players and the Armagh Observatory are presenting in the Armagh Observatory from 22nd to 24th February 2013 the first performance on the island of Ireland of the play "The Life of Galileo" by Bertolt Brecht in a new version by David Hare.
   The story of the Life of Galileo and its central drama of the conflict between science, religion and authority is one that resonates today. As remarked by Ian McDonald, author and Executive Producer with the Greenwood Players, "The Life of Galileo" is a story that needs retelling every generation, especially in a 21st century when we seem to be moving away from science to an authority and belief-based worldview.
   There will be five performances of the play: two matinees at 2.00pm on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th February, and three evening performances at 7.00pm on each of 22nd, 23rd and 24th February.  Tickets, which are strictly limited, cost 12 pounds and are available from 14th January 2013 at http://galileoattheobservatory.eventbrite.co.uk/.
For more information, see: http://star.arm.ac.uk/press/2013/galileo/

8. Sir Patrick Moore: commemoration. It is now certain that the public commemoration event for PM will not be held before late April or early May. There is going to be an event at Selsey on 4th March, but that will be a Selsey village event, organised by and within Selsey, for Selsey residents only (who are very keen to celebrate the life of Patrick as a long-time Selsey resident) - so that's not intended as a 'national' event. It is still planned to have a bigger public event, probably in London, bit nothing is final yet.

There is an obituary feature in the March issue of Sky & Telescope, on p. 16 "Alas no Moore". I was interviewed for that piece, so I get a little mention. 

9. COSMOS 2013: Advance notice: The next COSMOS star party will be held at Tullamore on 12-14 April. More details later.
 
10. MARS in MOROCCO: ISSUED BY THE AUSTRIAN SPACE FORUM. Mars in Morocco: (slightly edited for space: TM) Mars has come to Morocco - at least until the 28th February.  The Austrian Space Forum (OeWF) has begun a series of experiments under simulated conditions in a Mars analogue site in the Northern Sahara. As the centrepiece of the field tests the OeWF's two analogue Mars spacesuits, Aouda.X and Aouda.S, will be deployed. A total of 23 nations are participating in the simulation.
   The MARS 2013 simulation kicked off on February 11th 2013 at 10:40 CET with Flight Director Alexander Soucek, head of the Mission Support Center in Innsbruck, giving the command: "You are GO for SIM!"
    Out in Morocco, 'Mars' astronaut Daniel Schildhammer wearing the Aouda.X experimental spacesuit said, "It is a mistake to believe that a small group of dedicated people cannot change the world. In fact, it is the only way it always happens."
  However, Mission Support back in Austria had to wait to hear this communication - a time delay is an intrinsic part of this field mission. "During MARS2013 a time delay of ten minutes is embedded in the communication between Innsbruck (Earth) and Morocco (Mars), which is decisive for a successful Mars simulation and allows us to learn a lot," explained Soucek.
   Soucek added, "Currently the Morocco Mars Simulation is the only simulation in the world that incorporates a time delay. The one-way transmission time is 10 minutes, which means, we will receive an answer to our question from the team on Mars after 20 minutes."
   The lag-time for communications simulates the delay induced by electromagnetic waves travelling the distance between Mars and Earth. Depending on the position of the planets on their orbits around the Sun,
this can vary anywhere from 4 to 22 minutes. The radio interchange between Earth and Mars is hence complicated and can lead to problems in executing procedures and commands. The Morocco Mars simulation wants to uncover these potential issues to guarantee the safety and a smooth execution of future manned-Mars missions.
  More information about the Morocco Mars Mission of the OeWF and experiments as well as current pictures of the Mars camp in Morocco can be found online:
http://www.oewf.org/cms/press-media.phtml
 
11. INTERESTING WEBLINKS: 
 
12. TWITTER: Follow the IAA on Twitter:  @IaaAstro


13. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo. Look under 'Countryfile'.
 
14. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is easy: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc. If you are a UK taxpayer, please tick the 'gift-aid' box, as that enables us to reclaim the standard rate of tax on your subscription, at no cost to you.  See also www.irishastro.org
  
Clear skies,
Terry Moseley

25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for your personal marvelous posting! I quite enjoyed
reading it, you may be a great author. I will make sure to
bookmark your blog and will eventually come back
very soon. I want to encourage that you continue your great
posts, have a nice evening!

my web page :: healthy diet plans for women
Also see my site: Diets that work

Anonymous said...

Using a reliable site to buy Youtube views or buy Google+1's is essential. This would be a one time investment for your company that can turn out to be quite valuable if you use it the right way. The platform witnesses millions of clicks and views every day.

Here is my website :: increase youtube views
Also see my webpage: http://socialbears.com/youtube-views/

Anonymous said...

Especially, Facebook the social networking website
that was a hub for youngsters when it was launched is now a market place where people not only try to flaunt their services and products rather try to sell their services too.
If it is a new product, a gift, the introduction of a new
group or even the details of the products and services,
Facebook provides an easy field of advertising.
This is the reason why most of organizations are now
being into contact with social networking solution providers.


my webpage ... Buy Facebook Fans Cheap

Anonymous said...

G# or Ab - (lower) so#, (middle) do, (middle) re# G#,
C, D# keys. Www. Pretend that we are palming an egg and keep your
arms relaxed and fingers curled.

Here is my blog post imagine piano chords and lyrics

Anonymous said...

I think what you published was actually very reasonable.

But, think about this, suppose you typed a catchier post title?
I ain't saying your content isn't solid, but suppose
you added a title to maybe get folk's attention? I mean "Lecture, THAT 'meteor', Missed!, Galileo @ Armagh, Sir PM event, Mars in Morocco" is kinda boring. You could peek at Yahoo's home page and
see how they create news headlines to grab viewers to click.

You might add a related video or a related picture or
two to grab readers interested about everything've got to say. Just my opinion, it could make your posts a little livelier.

Look at my web site; the nudes
my site: click here

Anonymous said...

Later on, among the continued practice ending up will continue to be auxiliary accustomed burning the various chords.
As an alternative, it will most likely be far more
powerful for you to learn about audio and chord idea.
Piano players that struggle are the ones that don't play with passion and feeling.

my weblog :: jar of Hearts piano Chords And lyrics

Anonymous said...

Since marriage is a permanent bond between two love ones, roses are very
much preferred for dcor of wedding place. 5. I knew exactly
what I wanted for my bridal lingerie, but I simply couldn't find a place that offered it, complete and in my size.

My web page ... wedding website about me

Anonymous said...

Also, we need to determine the rounds of the quiz according to it.
* Team answer sheets - Basically a grid lined A4 type
sheet with answer write in numbered boxes and a line on top for the team name.
Theme Format: It is almost like standard format of the pub
quiz.

Feel free to surf to my webpage: pub quiz austin

Anonymous said...

Wow, this paragraph is fastidious, my sister is analyzing such things,
so I am going to inform her.

Stop by my web-site: diet plans for women to lose weight fast

Anonymous said...

I do agree with all the ideas you have introduced
for your post. They're really convincing and can definitely work. Nonetheless, the posts are too quick for beginners. May you please lengthen them a bit from subsequent time? Thank you for the post.

Feel free to surf to my web blog - diet plan to lose weight

Anonymous said...

This knowledge requires cultured interpretation and is intended for the most part in favour of profit by by way of vigour dolour workers and facilities/organizations providing health meticulousness including pharmacies, hospitals, long-term keeping facilities, community-based salubriousness attention ritual providers and pre-hospital emergency services.

http://www.teorhos.edu.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/poradnia,kardiologiczna,katowice,s,4074/
http://www.rhobar.edu.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/medikard,kardiolog,katowice,s,4223/
http://www.ketman.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/angiolog,katowice,s,823/
http://takarita.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/neurolog,katowice,s,5117/
http://www.harsta.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/www,s,2812/

http://www.wyhaczone.net/zdrowie,i,uroda/kliknij,tu,s,12792/
http://www.fanse.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/medikard,angiolog,katowice,s,905/
http://www.nakoplu.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/angiolog,katowice,s,680/
http://www.wylinka.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/medikard,angiolog,katowice,s,10397/
http://www.oldage.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/specjalistyczna,przychodnia,lekarska,medikard,s,676/

http://www.materi.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/www,medikard,eu,s,2934/
http://wylinka.be/zdrowie,i,uroda/strona,glowna,s,5498/
http://tospa.com.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/strona,glowna,s,1396/
http://www.mylinkers.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/strona,glowna,s,2944/
http://www.herutan.edu.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/www,s,4111/

Anonymous said...

I want to to thank you for this great read!
! I certainly loved every bit of it. I have you saved as a favorite to look at new stuff
you post…

My page :: click here

Anonymous said...

This free search apparatus searches the free full-text of over 400 online law reviews and law journals, as admirably as paper repositories hosting speculative papers and cognate publications such as Congressional Investigating Air force reports. Several of the law reviews and legit journals (such as the Stanford Technology Law Re-examine), working papers, and reports are present online only.

http://www.osstal.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/obsluga,prawna,nieruchomosci,s,476/
http://www.modne-artykuly.czeka.pl/?tag=postepowania-sadowe
http://www.ciekawestrony.net/biznes,i,ekonomia/adwokaci,sjs,adwokat,odszkodowania,s,3906/
http://www.hanzke.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/sjs,adwokaci,skuteczny,adwokat,s,681/
http://estiwor.edu.pl/?p=6369

Anonymous said...

A tooth (plural teeth) is a mignonne, calcified, whitish form initiate in the jaws (or mouths) of various vertebrates and worn to sever down food. Some animals, strikingly carnivores, also exercise teeth for the purpose hunting or instead of defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are covered by means of gums. Teeth are not made of bone, but fairly of multiple tissues of varying density and hardness.

The unrestricted make-up of teeth is be like across the vertebrates, although there is considerable converting in their form and position. The teeth of mammals be struck by deep roots, and this decoration is also found in some fish, and in crocodilians. In most teleost fish, however, the teeth are partial to to the outer surface of the bone, while in lizards they are attached to the inner interface of the jaw alongside a man side. In cartilaginous fish, such as sharks, the teeth are joined beside tough ligaments to the hoops of cartilage that type the jaw.

http://www.bresciani.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/www,danutaborczyk,pl,s,532/
http://www.bortyn.edu.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/aparat,ortodontyczny,katowice,s,3636/
http://www.bywajcie.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/www,s,532/
http://www.chmala.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/centrum,stomatologii,katowice,s,529/
http://longhaul.pruszkow.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/home,page,s,3758/

http://linkerotek.pl/firmy/zatoki,szczekowe,leczenie,s,2879/
http://pallotyn.pl/firmy/leczenie,kanalowe,s,2072/
http://www.katalogers.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/wybielanie,zebow,katowice,s,2028/
http://www.wyscignij.pl/firmy/implanty,zebow,s,9718/
http://www.odolany.com.pl/strony,blogi,fora/protezy,katowice,s,358/

http://astrotrain.pila.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/chirurgia,stomatologiczna,katowice,s,3761/
http://pagez.pl/firmy/endodoncja,s,2069/
http://fractonimbus.mragowo.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/httpwww,danutaborczyk,pl,s,2527/
http://eevee.rawa-maz.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/implanty,s,949/
http://fortress.sejny.pl/zdrowie,i,uroda/leczenie,kanalowe,zebow,s,842/

Anonymous said...

Tyya's dad won't buy postponed anything sizeable at the set aside - no ice cream, no sweets, no cookies. But when the saleslady puts a recompense sticker on Tyya's nose, Daddy is conclusively laboured to net something virtuous

http://www.webhunter.pl/?p=1


http://pretty-woman.com.pl/papryka.html
http://twarza-w-twarz.pl/2009/11/21
http://foodlabs.pl/tag/wlasciciel
http://fotoexpert24.pl/index.php/2011/12/page/4
http://najtanszekuchnie.pl/modna-kuchnia

Anonymous said...

Hi! I could have sworn I've visited this website before but after going through some of the articles I realized it's new to me.
Anyhow, I'm definitely happy I stumbled upon it and I'll be bookmarking it
and checking back often!

Feel free to surf to my web blog - airplanes Games

Anonymous said...

Straight and Ergonomic (tapered at each ends and larger from the centre).



Also visit my blog - free weights for sale

Anonymous said...

Definitely consider that that you said. Your favorite reason seemed to be on the net the easiest
thing to have in mind of. I say to you, I definitely get annoyed even as
people think about concerns that they just don't recognize about. You controlled to hit the nail upon the highest and defined out the entire thing without having side effect , other folks can take a signal. Will likely be again to get more. Thanks

My website; acoustic guitar a chord

Anonymous said...

It turns out that lots of complaints occur from individuals who
did not study the instructional supplies supplied.

Also visit my web blog - weight sets for sale

Anonymous said...

There are not many websites with data like this man! Bookmarked!


my blog trying to conceive tips

Anonymous said...

Yet another good element of series 7 treadmill is definitely the 15 work out systems which consist of excess fat burning or calorie burning routines and recovery work out packages.


Have a look at my homepage :: http://www.getfitnstrong.com/bowflex-dumbbells/bowflex-selecttech-dumbbells-ultimate-home-exercising/

Anonymous said...

Greetings from California! I'm bored to death at work so I decided to browse your website on my iphone during lunch break. I enjoy the knowledge you provide here and can't wait to take a look when I get home.
I'm shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile .. I'm not even using WIFI, just 3G .
. Anyhow, awesome blog!

Feel free to surf to my web blog http://pornharvest.com/index.php?m=2084253

Anonymous said...

During the busy pace of today's environment it could appear practically out of the question to really make it for the gym on any frequent basis.

my web page - mouse click the up coming website page

Anonymous said...

Again, this will turn into a objective sometime, but
it really much too is specialized and nevertheless needs some fundamental "weight training" or "progressive resistance training" to create the fundamental framework which the bodybuilder molds
into levels of competition form.

Feel free to visit my web-site: dumbells sets

Anonymous said...

Well, the most important variable in manipulating intensity is employing weighty weights.



Here is my page bowflex weights