1. IAA AGM – New council members. At the recent AGM, the existing council and office-bearers were re-elected, and two new council members were also proposed and elected: Hannah Kempston, and Mary Kirwan-Mackey. This will add two females to the council, as well as one of our youngest ever council members!
2. NEW. Significant asteroid fly-by, 25 May
A large double asteroid is approaching and will pass by Earth safely at 23:05 UTC on May 25. Asteroid (66391) 1999 KW4 consists of a primary space rock just under a mile wide (about 1.5 km), with a 0.3-mile (0.5-km) companion asteroid – an asteroid moon. 1999 KW4 is an Aten, or Earth-crossing, asteroid. Its orbit brings it between the orbits of Venus and Earth, with a period of 6.18 months (188 days).
During this approach it will pass at a distance of 3,219,955 miles from Earth (5,182,015 km), or about 13.5 times the Earth-moon distance.
It should be observable by amateur instruments, reaching about mag 12 at closest approach. However this will occur in the far S constellation of Puppis, and it won't be visible from Ireland until about May 27, when it will have faded somewhat.
NB No other known asteroid as big or bigger than this one will approach Earth this close until June 6, 2027, when asteroid 4953 (1990 MU), a 4 km to 9 km (2.5 to 5.5 mi) space rock will safely pass us at 12 lunar distances.
3. NEW. NEXT SOLAR CYCLE PREDICTION.
A NOAA/NASA co-chaired international panel – charged with forecasting the upcoming 11-year solar cycle, Solar Cycle 25 – released a preliminary forecast on April 5, 2019. The consensus is that Cycle 25 will be similar in size to the current cycle, Cycle 24; in other words, it's likely to be weak. These solar experts said they expect solar minimum – the period when the sun is least active – no earlier than July 2019 and no later than September 2020. They expect sunspot maximum to occur no earlier than the year 2023 and no later than 2026, with a minimum peak sunspot number of 95 and a maximum of 130. That's in contrast to the average number of sunspots, which typically ranges from 140 to 220 sunspots per solar cycle.
We expect Solar Cycle 25 will be very similar to Cycle 24: another fairly weak cycle, preceded by a long, deep minimum. The expectation that Cycle 25 will be comparable in size to Cycle 24 means that the steady decline in solar cycle amplitude, seen from cycles 21-24, has come to an end and that there is no indication that we are currently approaching a Maunder-type minimum.
4. The ISS. A new series of morning passes will start on 4 May. Details for your own location, and lots more info on space and astronomy, on www.heavens-above.com.
If you want to check for transits of the ISS across the Sun or the Moon which occur somewhere near you, visit http://transit-finder.com
5. Become an IAU Dark Skies Ambassador. The IAU100 Global Project Dark Skies for All project aims to raise awareness for the preservation of quiet and dark skies and claim the right to future generations to continue to access our true night skies. The project now opens the registration for becoming one of its ambassadors. Additionally, the IAU100 is issuing a call for proposals to receive the "Turn on the Night" educational kit and encourages educators, astronomy professionals and enthusiasts around the world to apply.
You can find more information here: https://www.iau-100.org/darkskies-ambassadors-call
6. Centenary of IAU in 2019: IAU100: Uniting our World to Explore the Universe
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) celebrates its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU will organize a year-long celebration to expand awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development, and diplomacy under the central theme "Uniting our World to Explore the Universe". The celebrations will stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science and will reach out to the global astronomical community, national science organizations and societies, policy-makers, students and families, and the general public.
NEW IAU100 Celebrations around the World for details for your own country, check the link below.
With Astronomy events of all kinds, including national and cultural events, the IAU100 is engaging with different communities worldwide. Meet the IAU100 National Committees and learn more about the people who are here to support you during the 2019 celebrations. For the UK, it's Prof Robert Walsh, originally from Belfast, but now at U of Central Lancs (who gave a great talk to the IAA in Belfast some years ago); and for ROI it's the indefatigable Clair McSweeney from BCO in Cork. See https://www.sciencespace.ie/celebrating-100-years-of-the-international-astronomical-union-ireland/
Read more: https://www.iau-100.org/national-committees
7. Einstein Schools program new resources announced
The Einstein Schools program is taking off with over 160 schools working to become IAU-certified Einstein Schools. All participants in this program can now find more teaching resources that can be used in classrooms. For example, there are now a number of black holes' related activities together with more resources on teaching about solar eclipses in preparation for the special ceremonies on May 29 in Principe and Brazil related to the 100th anniversary of Eddington eclipse expedition of 1919 that confirmed Einstein's Theory of General Relativity.
Finally, the project has also added three classroom-useful graphic short stories called "Tales of the Modern Astronomer". These stories were developed at the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory and highlight research related to black holes that are being done today at observatories around the world.
Find more information at the Einstein Schools official website: https://www.einsteinschools.org/
8. Solarfest, Dunsink Observatory, 8 June. This annual event goes from strength to strength. More details soon.
9. IAA Midsummer BBQ: Sat 15 or Sat 22 June: date and venue to be confirmed.
10. European Week of Astronomy and Space Science
Date: 24 – 28 June 2019; Location: Lyon, France. More information: https://eas.unige.ch//EWASS/
11. Starmus 24 – 29 June — Star-studded Lineup for 2019
Created by Garik Israelian, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), the Starmus Festival is a combination of science, art and music that has featured presentations from astronauts, cosmonauts, Nobel Prize winners and other prominent figures from science, culture, the arts and music. Now celebrating its fifth year, and timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, Starmus V will take place in Bern, Switzerland, from 24 to 29 June 2019. The IAU is a partner organisation of Starmus and among the confirmed speakers will be IAU Secretary General, Piero Benvenuti, and IAU President-elect, Ewine van Dishoeck. IAU announcement: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann18007/
12. Asteroid Day, 30 June
13. Portballintrae Apollo celebrations: 6 & 7 july. More details later.
14. Apollo 11 Remembered, 18 July, Bangor Library. Public talk by Paul Evans, IAA. More details later.
15. Festival of Curiosity, Dublin. July 18 – 21, 2019
16. Moon on the Mall, Armagh; 20 & 21 July. Part of AOP's celebrations of 50th anniversary of Apollo 11.
17. IAU100: Moon Landing 50th Anniversary - Let's All Observe the Moon!
Date: 20 July 2019
Location: All around the world
More information: https://www.iau-100.org/moon-landing-anniversary
The Moon will be waning gibbous, and not rising until about midnight, but at least some spectacular formations will be visible for those prepared to stay up late!
18. Apollo 11; 50th Anniversary. Armagh Observatory and Planetarium will be holding a suite of events through July and August to celebrate this event. More details soon.
19. INTERESTING WEBLINKS (Disclaimer - Use of material herein from various sources does not imply approval or otherwise of the opinions, political or otherwise, of those sources). NB: If the title in the weblink does not indicate the subject matter, I give a brief simple intro before the link. I may also comment about the link afterwards.
ASTROPHYSICS
Diffraction technique reveals smallest ever apparent diameter of distant stars, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190415113825.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
New radio telescope gives high-res view of giant star-forming region in MW: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190415122321.htm
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/techandscience/astronomers-discover-universes-very-first-molecule-in-dying-star/ar-BBW3HMN?ocid=spartandhp Bad journalism. The SOFIA telescope is not "strapped to the back of a 747" – it's inside the body of the plane, looking out through a special plane glass window in the roof. And the planetary nebula is 3,000 LY away – FAR outside the solar System.
Tiny bright Magnetar photobombs SMBH at centre of Milky Way https://www.livescience.com/65259-black-hole-photobomb.html?utm_source=ls-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20190418-ls NB: The abbreviation for Sagittarius is "Sgr"; not "Sag" which is for Sagitta. So the SMBH is called Sgr A*
Mysterious glowing ring round our SMBH https://www.livescience.com/65265-black-hole-gas-crash.html?utm_source=ls-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20190418-ls
Superflare from ultra-cool dwarf star https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417120041.htm
Rapid destruction of Earthlike atmospheres by young stars https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424102244.htm
Six new binary BH mergers found https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190425122341.htm
Something from nothing – Cherenkov radiation from the quantum vacuum! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190425104247.htm Interesting. According to law of conservation of energy, this must extract energy from the quantum vacuum: if this happened on a large enough scale would it cause the quantum vacuum to collapse?
COSMOLOGY
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6959909/Hubble-measurements-confirm-universe-expanding-faster-expected.html and https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190425104128.htm
EARTH & MOON
Nitrous oxide from thawing permafrost is a dangerous Greenhouse Gas https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190415090848.htm
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6935811/Stunningly-clear-aerial-image-UK-taken-NASA-astronauts.html I suppose the white patches near Strangford Lough and in Wexford are fog patches?
Spotting impacting asteroids in time https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417084607.htm
NASA study confirms global warming trends https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417084535.htm
EXOPLANETS
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190415122309.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29 Even "science illustrators" from the Carnegie Institution for Science still don't get the fact that the side of a planet away from its parent star is dark, to the point of invisibility in a scenario such as this.
Ariel data challenge in search for exoplanets. https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-gb/DisplayMessage?ws_popup=true&ws_suite=true
Five long-period planets revealed after 20 years observation https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417102747.htm
Third planet found in circumbinary system https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190416093753.htm
Rapid destruction of Earthlike atmospheres by young stars https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424102244.htm
EXOLIFE
IMAGES
HST images Southern Crab Nebula for 29th anniversary https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418131419.htm and
SOLAR SYSTEM
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6924215/Tiny-fragment-comet-inside-meteorite.html and https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190415113828.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
Mercury's solid inner core confirmed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190417130007.htm
Titan's methane lakes are surprisingly deep https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190416143550.htm
Name new (Edgeworth-) Kuiper Belt Object. Astronomers Invite the Public to Help Name Kuiper Belt Object Three astronomers, Meg Schwamb, Mike Brown and David Rabinowitz, are inviting the public to help name a Kuiper Belt Object in the outer Solar System. Discovered in 2007, the object was given the designation 2007 OR10 by the Minor Planet Center in November 2009 but has yet to be given a permanent name. The team is now asking the public to get involved in choosing the best name for the Kuiper Belt Object 2007 OR10, which they can do by voting online. Voting closes on 10 May 2019, after which the discoverers will submit the most popular name for consideration by the IAU. Find out more: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann19021/
NB Dr Meg Schwamb will be joining the ARC at QUB over the summer!
Bennu's big surprises https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-gb/DisplayMessage?ws_popup=true&ws_suite=true
First Marsquake detected https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190424095148.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
SPACE
Travelling through wormholes would be slow! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190415090853.htm
Explore the galaxy using water as fuel https://stfc.ukri.org/news-events-and-publications/features/aquajet-the-space-thruster-that-runs-on-water/?utm_source=STFC+communications&utm_campaign=eff30546f1-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2019_04_12_11_28_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_996d2e3807-eff30546f1-9202371 Sounds promising. But when you land on an asteroid or comet, you can't just turn on a tap to fill up with water. You'll need the technology to extract the water, which may be only 0.01% of an asteroid, and that will require a lot of energy and time. There's more water in comets, but they are much rarer, and new discoveries are unpredictable. And you'll still need energy to get water from the extremely cold dirty ice in the comet into your water tank.
New way to fight fire in space https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190418141606.htm
Cubesats prove their worth https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190416132137.htm
Telescopes, Instruments, techniques.
Ariel data challenge in search for exoplanets. https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-gb/DisplayMessage?ws_popup=true&ws_suite=true
20. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION. This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://documents.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. You can also make a donation via Paypal if you wish: just click on the 'Donate' button. See also www.irishastro.org .
The Irish Astronomical Association is registered with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC 105858
DISCLAIMER: Any views expressed herein are mine, and do not necessarily represent those of the IAA.
Clear skies,
Terry Moseley
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