Hi all,
1. Tuesday 13 September 18:30: "Revealing the Sun's Mysteries" Public Lecture delivered by Professor Lucie Green. The lecture will take place at the Emeleus Lecture Theatre at Queen's University Belfast. This is a ticketed event with free admission. Please get your ticket through the link https://blogs.qub.ac.uk/so8belfast/public-talk/
2. Opening IAA Lecture of new season, Wed 21 September, 7.30 p.m.
We are delighted to be resuming live lectures again, after the break caused by the pandemic, when they were held by Zoom.
"Last Horizons: The Solar System Beyond Pluto", by Dr Steph Merritt, Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB
ABSTRACT In 1930, Clyde Tombaugh's discovery of Pluto seemed to mark the furthermost boundary of our solar system. Here, it was thought, was the mysterious Planet X, the ninth planet responsible for inexplicable irregularities in the orbit of Uranus. The discovery of Pluto's small mass briefly gave Planet X new life: but the discovery that Uranus's orbit was not irregular after all seemed to kill it once more. There were nine planets in the solar system, with Pluto as the last: an idea that held for decades, an idea we were all taught in school. But now, with Pluto demoted to a dwarf planet, and several other Pluto-like objects discovered in the distant frontiers of the system, the Planet X hypothesis has been unexpectedly resurrected. What lies beyond Pluto? Is there yet another planet out there in the coldest, darkest reaches of our solar system? What is the evidence for this new Planet Nine? And if it truly exists, might the upcoming Legacy Space and Time Survey at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory discover it?
NB: The lectures will be held in the LARMOR Lecture Theatre, also in the Physics Building, which is much bigger, and will allow greater distancing between attendees. More details in the next bulletin.
Biography I was born to a Northern Irish family in Surrey. After moving to Belfast aged 17 and working a series of minimum-wage jobs, I decided when I was 22 that I would be an astronomer instead. Working part-time and living on savings, I completed an Access Diploma in Science and Mathematics at Belfast Metropolitan College, then three A levels in Physics, Maths and English Literature, before beginning my four-year undergraduate Master's degree in Physics with Astrophysics at Queen's University Belfast in 2012. After graduating in 2016 with a first class honours, I decided I liked QUB enough to stay, and undertook a PhD in exoplanet atmospheres, specifically characterising the atomic species present in hot Jupiters. I passed my viva in 2021 and QUB apparently liked me as much as I liked it, as they hired me to work as a research fellow in the same department: however, my research focus has shifted to the study of the outer solar system with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin telescope.
3. NB: IAA Subscriptions for the year 2022 – 2023 are now due. See section 13 below for details of how to pay.
4. September's The Sky at Night is on Monday (12th) at 10pm on BBC4 and deals with astrophotography and the Very Large Telescope.
5. Derek Heatly will be offering the following items for sale at the first meeting on Sep 21:
Mars & Universe books (Haynes Owners Workshop Manuals); Mars by Giles Sparrow (2022, 2 copies); Full Moon (Michael Light, 2002, 2 copies); Hubble Legacy (Jim Bell, 2020); Project Hail Mary (Andy Weir, 2021); 12 small meteorites from Morocco/N. Africa; Hubble dvds (5 disc set); Curiosity Rover medallion with metal removed before launch; 4 metal badges containing flown Apollo command module metal; likewise 3 Apollo medallions; signed Chris Hadfield bio - Guide to astronaut's life on Earth, and 2 signed copies of his ''You are Here'' Earth views book. All items just £5 each for quick sale!
6. Occultation by URANUS
On the 13th of September 2022 the Uranus system will occult the star UCAC4 535-005486. The stellar magnitude in the visible is around 11m9. This is a very big difference compared to the 5m7 of Uranus. However Uranus is significantly dimmer in the near infrared due to the methane
component in its atmosphere.
This is a very special event and VERY hard to observe for all not having
a K-Band camera system and an appropriate telescope. Read more at https://www.iota-es.de/uranus_rings2022.html
If you are interested keep me informed.
Dr. Wolfgang Beisker
International Occultation Timing Association - European Section
Research and Development
www.iota-es.de, www.CasaRosmaninho.pt
This will be a nice challenge for any expert imagers especially those with advanced timing features and filters.
7. Occultation of Uranus, 14 September.
By coincidence, the next evening Uranus itself will be occulted by the waning gibbous Moon. From Belfast, it starts at 22.35, with Uranus in Aries at an altitude of 11 degrees. Reappearance, at the dark limb of the Moon, will b e at about 23.24.Since Uranus has a small, but appreciable, disc (3.66 arcsecs), the actual disappearance and reappearance will each last about 8 seconds.
Times will be slightly different depending on your location, so start observing about 10 minutes before these times. Disappearance will occur about halfway from the Moon's equator to its North Pole; reappearance will be at about 1/3 of the way from the Equator to the N Pole. There are no stars of similar magnitude in the area, so there will be no problem with identification.
8. ISS. The venerable space station will start a new series evening passes over Ireland on 15 September, continuing until 2 October.
9. Saturn still well placed for observing.
Saturn has reached opposition and rises in the southeast as the Sun sets in the northwest. This marks the planet's closest approach to Earth this year at a distance of 1.324 billion kilometres. At magnitude +0.3, Saturn is easily visible in eastern Capricorn all night.
Saturn still lies about 15 degrees south of the celestial equator, so northern observers need nights of good seeing to get the best view of the planet and its rings. At opposition, the rings span nearly 44 arc-seconds, with a tilt of about 13 degrees. The disk is about 19 arc-seconds in diameter.
10. JUPITER
The giant planet is approaching opposition on 26 September, and is already by far the brightest object in the night sky apart from the Moon. This is a particularly close opposition, with Jupiter at a distance of only 591,295,249 km and it will shine at mag -2.9. The 4 Galilean moons will be easy to see, even in binoculars. There will be a nice transit of Ganymede and its shadow across the planet on Sep 13. The shadow crosses the disc from 21.05 until 24.00, and the satellite itself crosses from 22.40 to 24.09
11. 100 Hours of Astronomy, 1- 4 October
1 to 4 October 2022, the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO) will continue the legacy of celebrating 100 Hours of Astronomy. For this year's theme, the programme draws inspiration from the OAO's motto: "Astronomy for Everyone". It aims not only to celebrate OAO's 10th anniversary but also to invite amateurs and professional astronomers, teachers, outreach professionals and astronomy enthusiasts from all over the world to collaborate and come together as a community to help make astronomy more inclusive of all Earth's people.
100 Hours of Astronomy project encourages our global community to host or participate in astronomy outreach events over these 100 hours. The goal is to enable as many people as possible, from children to senior people, to engage with the sky and gain a basic understanding of our astronomical surroundings. There are numerous creative possibilities for activities during these 100 hours, but we especially invite you to either organise a Meet the IAU Astronomers! meet-up or an outreach event as part of NameExoWorlds 2022.
Be safe1, be inclusive and share your event on OAO's IAU Global Outreach Event Calendar!
Win a telescope and other prizes
The 15 events that best connect communities will win a telescope kindly donated by OAO's partners Sterren Schitteren Voor Iedereen (Stars Shine For Everyone - SSVI), Leiden University, and BRESSER in a special edition of the Telescopes for All programme. The first 100 events registered for 100 Hours of Astronomy will receive IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach goodies, including printed versions of Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal. For your event to be eligible, submit it to the IAU Global Outreach Events via this form before 31 September 2022, 23:59 your local time and implement the event during the 100 Hours of Astronomy (1-4 October your local time). More information on the contest can be found here.
When spreading the word about your event on social media, be sure to use #100HoursOfAstronomy and #IAUoutreach so we can help promote your activity too!
Stay tuned to OAO's social media channels (Facebook and Twitter) as we release more information and resources in the upcoming weeks.
Notes
[1] Covid-19 Safety Measures. Please follow the health measures recommended by your country or local area when joining the 100 Hours of Astronomy activities.
Contact: Suzana Filipecki Martins, International Outreach Officer, Tel: +81 905 9477 087
12. OPIS – Conversation with Oliver Jeffers, deadline 4 October
Teachers and educators are invited to take part in this virtual conversation, hosted by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) in partnership with HarperCollins Children's Books and CLPE.
13. World Space Week, 4 – 11 October; more details later
14. Name Exoworlds competition, deadline 11 November
IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO)
nameexoworlds2022@oao.iau.org
15. Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 4-6 November. More details later.
16. Easy Teaser - Another Clue.
Time is fundamental to many aspects of astronomy. In that context: What comes before and after this sequence. Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten? And it's obviously NOT just Six, and Eleven!
No answers yet, so here's a clue: Think of it in a different language.
Another clue: The Moon is involved in the time aspect.
Do I have to spell it out for you? What unit of time is based on the Moon?
17. NEW DIFFICULT TEASER
A S Z b R S, & T B D b J S. What's the space connection?
No answers yet, so here's a clue. It's similar in principle to another teaser posed some time ago.
Please send all Teaser answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
18. 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:
Can anything travel faster than light? https://www.facebook.com/104764268714933/posts/180042637853762/?sfnsn=scwspmo
A dense stellar nursery may feed on a spiral of stars, scientists say (msn.com)
Black Hole births stars https://www.facebook.com/104764268714933/posts/179451341246225/?sfnsn=scwspmoJWST images perfect Einstein Ring https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/636519251224679/?sfnsn=scwspmoWebb spots alien planet shrouded in weird sand-filled clouds | Space A Brown Dwarf is NOT a planet. It's classed as a special type of star, not shining by the normal nuclear reactions. But since it generates more energy than is falling on it from any external source, e.g. a binary star companion, it's NOT a planet. A Neutron Star is similarly classed as a star, even though it does not shine by nuclear reactions either. If the Brown Dwarf orbits with another star, then it would be classed as a member of a binary star pair, not as a planet of that other star.
Astronomers Find the Oldest Planetary Nebula - Universe Today
A Merger Completely Shut Down Star Formation - Universe Today
Pulsars are Blasting out Cosmic Rays With a Million Billion Electronvolts - Universe Today
'Birth cry of a baby star' will change our understanding of the early universe, scientists say (msn.com)
Mysterious rings in new James Webb Space Telescope image puzzle astronomers (msn.com)
Astronomers have detected one of the biggest black hole jets in the sky (msn.com)
Repeating FRB discovered https://blog.physics-astronomy.com/2022/08/astronomers-discover-mysterious-alien.html?m=1How the Inside of a Black Hole Is Secretly on the Outside - Scientific American
Has JWST Found Proto-Globular Clusters? - Universe Today
The farthest star ever detected https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/624201639123107/?sfnsn=scwspmo
COSMOLOGY:
Scientists think they have found a solution to one of the oldest problems in the universe (msn.com)
The Big Bang no longer means what it used to - Big Think
Surprise! Protons Contain a Subatomic Particle That's Heavier Than the Proton Itself (msn.com) Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice.
EARTH & MOON
How the Milky Way formed our continents https://spaceref.com/earth/movement-of-the-solar-system-through-the-milky-ways-ggalactic-spiral-arms-helped-form-earths-first-continents/ How NASA Biologists Plan to Grow Plants on the Moon | Watch (msn.com)
Rising seas could swallow millions of U.S. acres within decades (msn.com)
Scientists find more answers on 66 million-year-old meteorite wildfire mystery (msn.com) Fascinating. But fires at the limit of the distances quoted could not have been caused directly by the fireball, as it would have been over the horizon at that distance – with one caveat. If the asteroid came in at a fairly shallow angle, then the fireball would have formed while it was still at an altitude of around 80km, which could have been several hundred km from the final impact site. So fires could have been started within a radius of 1-300km from the point where the fireball first formed.
Otherwise, distant fires would have been caused by molten rock expelled by the explosive impact to great distances.
Earth's perilous journey through the Milky Way may shape geology | Space
How many meteorites hit Earth every year? | Live Science
'Ridiculously detailed image' of the moon honors Artemis 1 launch | Space The detail is not ridiculous, it's quite appropriate. Why not just say "amazingly detailed"?
Artemis 1: 10 wild facts about the NASA moon mission | Space
Would We Have Continents Without Asteroid Impacts? - Universe Today
EXOLIFE
Rocket Lab is Sending its own Mission to Venus to Search for Life - Universe Today
EXOPLANETS
Newly Identified 'Super-Earth' In Nearby Solar System May Be Habitable | Watch (msn.com)
Scientists Just Took an Actual Picture of a Planet in Another Star System - The Space Academy
New class of exoplanet! Watery worlds could be abodes for life | Space
Planets with water are more common than previously thought, research suggests (msn.com)
Discovery of alien world with strange, tilted orbit puzzles astronomers (msn.com)
James Webb Space Telescope discovers a new exoplanet that contains CO2 | Watch (msn.com)
Astronomers spot 2 intriguing alien worlds around ultracool star | Space
Webb spots alien planet shrouded in weird sand-filled clouds | Space A Brown Dwarf is NOT a planet. It's classed as a special type of star, not shining by the normal nuclear reactions. But since it generates more energy than is falling on it from any external source, e.g. a binary star companion, it's NOT a planet. A Neutron Star is similarly classed as a star, even though it does not shine by nuclear reactions either. If the Brown Dwarf orbits with another star, then it would be classed as a member of a binary star pair, not as a planet of that other star.
A Planet has Been Found That Shifts In and Out of the Habitable Zone - Universe Today
Planet more hospitable to life than Earth is already been discovered - blog.sci-nature.com
James Webb Space Telescope snags its 1st direct photo of an alien world (msn.com) and
JWST Takes Its First Image of an Exoplanet - Universe Today
Why pummeled planets may be promising abodes for alien life (msn.com)
Carbon dioxide detected around alien world for first time | Science | AAAS
So that's where the dolphins went! Astronomers discover planet that could be completely covered in water (msn.com)
IMAGES & Videos
Far side of Milky Way imaged for the first time. https://www.facebook.com/104764268714933/posts/180478421143517/?sfnsn=scwspmoSupernova imaged in real time https://www.facebook.com/104764268714933/posts/180501864474506/?sfnsn=scwspmoPlanet with the largest known ring system https://www.facebook.com/104764268714933/posts/180269507831075/?sfnsn=scwspmoSky image by JWST https://www.facebook.com/groups/221618226594414/permalink/410403541049214/?sfnsn=scwspmo&ref=share 'Phantom Galaxy', M74 -0 amazing pic by JWST https://www.facebook.com/1335686280/posts/10222382739380744/?sfnsn=scwspmoFarside of Moon, with Earth: https://www.facebook.com/100064785275866/posts/446061397563366/?sfnsn=scwspmoJWST's fantastic image of Tarantula Nebula A Cosmic Tarantula, Caught by NASA's Webb | NASA James Webb captures Phantom Galaxy's spectacular spiraling arms (newatlas.com) and
Webb telescope captures 'Phantom Galaxy' in dazzling detail (msn.com)
'Ridiculously detailed image' of the moon honors Artemis 1 launch | Space Can anyone tell me what's ridiculous about it? I think it's actually quite appropriately detailed.
The most massive known star https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=3358866934342121&id=100006565414017&sfnsn=scwspmo and
R136 is the Most Massive Star Astronomers Have Ever Found. We Just got Some new Images of it - Universe TodayThe first ever picture of an atom https://www.facebook.com/100082890504895/posts/128054463300903/?sfnsn=scwspmoMap of the nearby universe. NB, the galaxies shown in blue are not moving towards us, they are just moving away at a lesser speed than those in red.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/jameswebbspacetelescope/permalink/10160129139546170/?sfnsn=scwspmo&ref=shareHST still stuns – amazing image of Globular cluster near centre of Milky Way Hubble Space Telescope photo shows star-studded globular cluster | Space
LIGHT POLLUTION
Astronomers launch campaign to protect the dark night sky from light pollution (msn.com)
SOLAR SYSTEM
So why does the headline say 'they will have to dig deep'? That just not true. Space experiment suggests Mars rovers must dig deep to find life | Space
Amazing image of Phobos https://www.facebook.com/100064785275866/posts/444504754385697/?sfnsn=scwspmo If it's Dimorphos, why does the caption say Didymos. Very misleading heading.
Nasa's asteroid crashing mission returns first image of target space rock (msn.com)
The Geology at Jezero Crater is Even More Complex Than Scientists Were Expecting - Universe Today
Rocket Lab is Sending its own Mission to Venus to Search for Life - Universe Today
This is What a Robotic Explorer Might See When it Reaches Europa's Oceans - Universe Today
New Research By Sabina Raducan Tells A Different Story About DART Impact - Asteroid Day
First underground radar images from Mars Perseverance Rover reveal some surprises (Radar Imager for Mars Subsurface Experiment should really be RIMSex, not RIMFAX, but one can understand their reasoning.)
https://phys.org/news/2022-08-underground-radar-images-mars-perseverance.html
Perseverance Mars rover finds surprising volcanic rocks in crater that was once a lake (msn.com)
Cyanobacteria Will be our Best Partner for Living on Mars - Universe Today
SPACE
SpaceX fires up all 6 engines of Starship prototype (video) | Space
NASA's Future Spaceships Will Travel At 1 Million Miles Per Hour (physics-astronomy.com)
https://www.facebook.com/104764268714933/posts/180079487850077/?sfnsn=scwspmo US satellites in low Earth orbit to be deorbited in 5 years | Space Better late than never.
Who wants a free trip to the Moon? https://www.facebook.com/100009056763302/posts/3094385910873271/?sfnsn=scwspmo VP Harris congratulates astronauts during call to space station | Space
NASA targets Sept. 23 for next Artemis 1 launch attempt, but a lot has to go right (msn.com)
Astronauts' blood shows signs of DNA mutations due to spaceflight | Space
Astronauts could 3D print tools and parts from titanium and Mars dust (newatlas.com)
Nasa selects Axiom Space to build spacesuit for 2025 Moon walk (msn.com)
Dream Chaser spaceplane will carry 'ScienceTaxi' lab to space station | Space
Launch of NASA's 'mega moon rocket' delayed by more than a month | Live Science
Problem Solved! Voyager 1 is no Longer Sending Home Garbled Data! - Universe Today
Launch of NASA's 'mega moon rocket' delayed by more than a month (msn.com)
Rocket Lab is Sending its own Mission to Venus to Search for Life - Universe Today
Mechazilla Lifts a Super Heavy With all 33 Engines Onto the Launchpad - Universe Today
MIT's Mars oxygen factory is now matching the output of a small tree (newatlas.com) and
Breakthrough Device Could Be the First Step Toward Terraforming Mars | Watch (msn.com) and
MIT's Mars oxygen factory is now matching the output of a small tree (newatlas.com) and
OPINION - Tech & Science Daily: Breathing on Mars now possible (msn.com)
Artemis launch delays mean Moon probes' batteries are dying (msn.com)
NASA solves Voyager 1 data glitch mystery, but finds another (msn.com)
Why astronomical costs mean man may never set foot on Mars (msn.com) - Lord Rees should have a debate with Elon Musk!
Artemis 1: 10 wild facts about the NASA moon mission | Space
Firefly Alpha Rocket Explodes In-Flight | Watch (msn.com) It gets interesting from about 2.30 onwards!
How long does it take to get to the moon? Nasa Artemis 1 mission schedule and moon's distance from earth (msn.com) No, No, NO!!! It is not going to the 'dark' side of the Moon! It's going to the far side. Surely you can at least get that bit right? There's no 'dark' side of the Moon, just like there's none on Earth. There's day and night, but they rotate around the Moon, just as they do on Earth.
Is SLS worth the cost? NASA's new megarocket comes with a mega price tag (msn.com)
Life on Mars: Construction giants unite to create Martian house in Bristol (msn.com)
NASA moon launch postponed after hydrogen leak (msn.com)
https://www.aol.com/news/nicole-mann-says-she-proud-211702974-011301680.html?soc_src=aolapp
New technique may bring moon's shadowy polar craters into the light (msn.com)
'World leading' UK to provide vital NASA support for Moon landing mission tomorrow (msn.com)
Moon vs. Mars: NASA's ultimate destination has varied over the decades (msn.com)
NASA Ready for Practice Mission to Redirect Potentially Deadly Asteroids | Watch (msn.com)
SUN
Amazing solar detail imaged by DKIST https://www.facebook.com/100000513466168/posts/6169085036451884/?sfnsn=scwspmo A sunspot so huge that it's affecting the Sun: How will it impact Earth (msn.com)
NASA spacecraft hopes to catch a solar flare as it zips past the sun (msn.com)
ESA's Solar orbiter just got smacked by a coronal mass ejection (msn.com)
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES.
19. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION. This link gives options to join the IAA.
https://irishastro.org/join-the-iaa/ If you are a UK taxpayer, please select 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
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