1. IAA Astronomy Event, St Patrick's Academy, Dungannon, 31 January, 7.00.
The event will finish at 8:30pm. We will have our mobile planetarium set up in the assembly hall, and a selection of meteorites on display, while the school's observatory will be open for observation using the powerful 14-inch telescope. Students from the school Astronomy Club will be helping out as guides and they will bring groups from the Assembly Hall up to the observatory and back. The IAA members will also have some of our own telescopes.
2. IAA Public Lecture, Wednesday February 5, 7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB, "Rare but important: Why the Universe is shaped by massive stars", by Dr Andreas Sander, Armagh Observatory & Planetarium.
SYNOPSIS Massive stars are quite different than our own Sun. They are rare in numbers, their life is short and their death can be quite dramatic. But these stars, which are more than ten times more massive than our Sun, are driving the evolution of our Universe. Their extreme conditions allow them to breed and distribute heavier elements. Only due to previous generations of massive stars, we now have the elements here on Earth that allow our very own existence. Massive stars also shape their environment, illuminating fascinating nebulae that can become birthplaces for the next generation of stars, and provide the radiation that makes the Universe transparent. Eventually, massive stars collapse into black holes, making them the progenitors of the Gravitational Wave events we are finally able to measure.
But how do we know about the properties and the impact of massive stars? To only way to study stars that are further away than our own Sun is to analyse their light. For massive stars, this is particularly challenging. Requiring detailed computer models, we are only at the beginning of a time, where we can put many puzzling pieces of information together in order to get a glimpse of the bigger picture. My talk will give an outline of the role and the impact of massive stars and the challenge to understand their properties and evolution. I will explain the basic concepts of massive star evolution and highlight the role of the enigmatic Wolf-Rayet stars, which mark a crucial stage on the road to massive black holes
Dr Sander has had an exceptional career already, with degrees from the U of Potsdam, and he has used the HST as PI (15 orbits); and also other top-flight telescopes and instruments such as CHANDRA, VLT, P200, KECK and JCMT.
ADMISSION FREE, including refreshments
NB: We'll be back in our usual venue of the Bell Lecture theatre, with light refreshments afterwards.
3. BETELGEUSE still faint.
There is considerable interest in the fact that Betelgeuse has faded since October by about 1 magnitude. Some conjecture that this is a prelude to a supernova explosion, but that is very unlikely. However, it's certainly worth watching. It's now about midway in brightness between Castor and Pollux.
My latest magnitude estimate, a few days ago, makes it between +1.4 and +1.5, almost 1 magnitude fainter than its average of +0.5. That's the faintest I've ever seen it – and that's from 1963!
You can compare it with Aldebaran (mag 0.87, but slightly variable itself), Pollux (mag 1.16), Castor (mag 1.58), Bellatrix (mag 1.64) or Al Nath / Beta Tau (mag 1.65). Only do it when Betelgeuse is at least 30 degrees above the horizon, and choose comparison stars at about the same altitude as it.
4. ISS The International Space Station started a new series of evening passes on Jan 22 . Full details for your location, and lots of other astronomy information, on the excellent free site www.heavens-above.com
5. Vesta occults naked eye star, 11 February. More details of this rare event, visible from the N of the island, are in the January edition of STARDUST, and will be in later bulletins.
6. The NI Science Festival,10-23 February. The schools events run from 10 – 12 Feb, and the main, public, events from 13 – 23rd.
The IAA will be contributing several events, including an event at Marble Arch Caves VC in Fermanagh on Feb 14, and our public lecture on 19 February.
7. Dark Sky observing event, Cavan Burren Centre, 20 March. I've been asked to run another one of these events, in a very dark sky location, near Blacklion, just across the border from Belcoo. More details later.
8. International Astronomical Youth Camp in Spain, 12 July – 1 August
The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) is a three-week long summer camp aiming to promote knowledge of astronomy and related sciences in a unique international atmosphere. The IAYC is an experience unlike any other; a place for unforgettable memories and lifelong friendships. During the camp, 65 young and enthusiastic participants from all corners of the world gather in a remote location in Spain to observe and learn about some of the most spectacular skies on this Earth. Applications for the 2020 camp are being accepted until 5 April 2020.
International Astronomical Youth Camp, 12 July-1 August 2020; Baños de Montemayor, Spain
More information and application are here: www.iayc.org
9. 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
Astronomers find large amounts of oxygen in ancient star https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200123152540.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
New information on most luminous supernovae https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200123152557.htm
COSMOLOGY:
EARTH & MOON
Neutrinos from inside the Earth https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122122119.htm
Strong early magnetic field round Earth https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200121113046.htm
SOLAR SYSTEM
Salty comets! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200121113001.htm
OSIRIS-Rex completes closest flyover of planned landing site on Bennu https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122175658.htm
Inner complexity of Enceladus revealed https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122100548.htm
Martian water was mineral rich and salty https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200121112908.htm
SPACE
Nine finalists for name of Mars 2020 Rover https://newatlas.com/space/nasa-unveils-mars-2020-finalist/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=446e588e19-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_01_22_09_22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-446e588e19-92786061
SUN:
10. 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 https://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
