Hi all,
(Sorry that there haven't been any bulletins for a while, as I've had a huge amount of catching up to do, both on the PC and in garden etc, since my very successful 3-week+ trip to Australia to see the total solar eclipse. And of course doing some touring, and stargazing from the outback too!)
1. IAA Summer BBQ, OM/Davagh Dark Sky Park & Observatory, 24 June
This is the first Dark Sky Park and public observatory in N. Ireland. It's set in a hollow in the foothills of the Sperrin Mountains, just inside Davagh Forest Park.
* Because of our association with them and help in designing the observatory, we're getting a special price for the visit and tour. This will be only £4 per person, and at that rate we can't offer any further concession discounts. That will also include the BBQ facilities, but you BYO food etc!
* At this stage we only want an indication of how many will be attending, but later we'll be looking for payment by Paypal.
* Partners & friends are also always welcome, and non-members too,
* Provisional timetable: Arrive about 2 p.m. with the first tour starting at 2.30: because of space restrictions, the numbers are limited to about 15-18, so there will be a second tour at about 3.30 for the rest.
* They would also run a general public show at 5.00, and anyone who missed the earlier ones could attend that.
* BBQ: There are several purpose built BBQ areas at the far end of the car park. But there may not be enough seating for everyone, so if you have folding camping chairs or stools, and folding tables for your items, bring them.
* We will provide at least enough BBQ cooking area for most people, but if you have a portable BBQ, you can bring it to be safe, even if you don't need to use it.
* NB: All guests must bring their own consumables (food, drink, sauces etc), cutlery, plates, plastic cups/glasses etc.
* Timing: with the staggered tour times, we will stagger the cooking and eating around the tour times to suit.
* Solar observing: OM/Davagh have at least one Coronado solar scope, but we will also have our own solar observing equipment, and you're welcome to bring your own if you wish, if the weather is suitable.
* The other local attraction is the nearby Beaghmore Stone Circle complex, which may have an astronomical alignment. There's a proper walkway from the Observatory/VC to Beaghmore, with a scale model of the SS along the way. That takes about 40 minutes to walk each way, and it takes about 30 mts to see the site, so there would hardly be time for most people to walk there and back.
* So the if there is interest, we can arrange an optional trip there by cars after we have finished at OM. I can do a guided tour there, as I have done at their request about half a dozen times at the solstice. That would be on the way home for most people, so it would make sense to tyravel there from OM in your own transport.
* Weather: Obviously unpredictable at this stage but there's some shelter from the trees at the BBQ site if there's a shower. The VC has a snack area with tea, coffee, soft drinks confectionary etc, but no hot food. There's limited indoor seating for consuming those, and they would turn a blind eye if we ate our own sandwiches there, as long as we bought a drink and, say, a snack bar, from them as well.
* You may wish to bring insect repellent, in case the midges are active!
* Getting there: allow about 90 minutes from Belfast going via M1, Dungannon and Cookstown. For anyone on the N side of Belfast, the best route is via the M2 to the Castledawson Roundabout, then Tobermore and Draperstown; or Castledawson Rbt, Magherafelt, Desertmartin and Draperstown. It's signposted from Draperstown onwards.
* For those coming from elsewhere, you can approach it from either Cookstown or Omagh or Magherafelt. Once you're off the main roads, it's twisty hilly mountain roads, so allow about 20 minutes from each of those towns. It's well signposted (brown tourist signs) in the area.
* The car park is at: N 54.71977, W -6.91674
The point at which all the access roads converge is: N 54.71902, W -6.94807, so that's where you have to aim for.
The Beaghmore Stone Circles are at N 54. 70147, W – 6.93672
SO, PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY RETURN IF YOU INTEND TO GO, AND THE NUMBER IN YOUR PARTY! Not a final commitment at this stage, but we do need to have an idea of likely numbers for planning.
2. IAA AGM, Report
The main results from the AGM were as follows:
Paul Evans was elected President, succeeding Andy McCrea
VPs: John McClintock & Andy McCrea
Memb Sec: Mary Kirwan-Mackey
Hon Sec: Paul Bates
Hon Treas: Pat O'Neill
PR & Meetings Organiser: Terry Moseley
Members: Danny Collins, Simon Hearne, Tony Kempston, + new member Paula Wallace
Junior Vice Presidents: Ms Eve Kempston, & (New) Ms Poppy Hearne.
3. VENUS
The Evening Star is still putting on a good show, but it's gradually sinking into the Western twilight each evening. It's now mag -4.3, much brighter than any other night-time object except the Moon. It's currently just below half phase, and this will gradually decrease as it nears conjunction. It's slowly approaching much fainter Mars (mag 1.6). but never quite catches up with it. It will pass through the N edge of M44, the Beehive Cluster (aka Praesepe) on the evening of June 13, but it will be quite hard to see the very much fainter cluster stars with the combination of twilight, low altitude, and the brilliance of Venus.
4. NLCs.
There have been a few sightings of faint displays of these ethereal silvery 'night-shining' clouds recently. They can be seen occasionally into mid – to late - July, around local midnight. Look low in the North when the sky has got dark: quite often they will be seen in the region of Capella. They are caused by the Sun shining on very high altitude particles resulting from meteoric dust in the upper atmosphere. They are visible when the Sun is too far below the horizon to shine on ordinary 'tropospheric clouds'. Any smartphone should capture nice images of them, but obviously proper photographic equipment is even better.
5. Earliest Sunrise, Belfast
The earliest sunrise of the year at the latitude of Belfast occurs on 18 June. At Belfast, that occurs at 04h 46m 21s, BST.
6. Summer SOLSTICE: The Sun will reach its most northerly point on the ecliptic on June 21 at 15.58 UT, making that the longest day of the year.
7. Alan Fitzsimmons captures amazing Sun atmospheric pics!
Ethereal 'halo' and light arcs around the sun captured in photos of ultra-rare phenomena (msn.com) Nice work, Alan! And you're not even a solar astronomer!
8. EYEPIECES: This may be useful. Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 | Space
9. IAU DARK & QUIET SKIES – Latest,
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10. Centennial of the Planetarium IPS Celebrations
In 1923, the first planetarium projector was constructed in Jena, Germany. Two years later, in 1925, the first planetarium opened its doors to the public. Between 2023 and 2025, the International Planetarium Society (IPS) will be leading a series of celebrations in planetariums around the world. For example, everyone is welcome to participate in a poster art competition in celebration of the centennial.
Find out more about the IPS poster contest here.
Click here for more information on the centennial celebrations taking place worldwide and how you can get involved.
11. ISS. The International Space Station will start a new series of morning passes on 29 June. Details on www.heavens-above.com
12. Asteroid Day, 30 June.
https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-gb/DisplayMessage?ws_popup=true&ws_suite=true
13. First Announcement: European Society for Astronomy in Culture Conference, 6-9 September
The 30th conference of the European Society for Astronomy in Culture (SEAC) will take place from 6-9 September 2023, in Warsaw, Poland. The theme of this SEAC conference is: Between ancient and modern astronomy. Throughout this conference, the organisers hope to commemorate two significant anniversaries related to Nicolas Copernicus: the 550th anniversary of his birth and the 480th anniversary of his death. For more information about how to contribute to this conference, see this page.
14. NEW EASY TEASER
What well-known large solar system object is almost exactly twice the diameter of another well-known large solar system object? (the difference between A and 2xB is only 2.03%). (Large = at least 1,000km diameter). No answers yet, so here's a clue: One of them is a planet.
15. DIFFICULT TEASER – ANSWERED!:
Apart from being the world's largest telescope on an equatorial mounting, what OTHER world record does the 5m Hale telescope on Mt Palomar still hold?
Just one guess so far, which was that it's the largest monolithic mirror in the world, but the Russian 6-metre BTA-6 is larger.
Another clue – this is shaping up to be one of the best ones yet.
An answer – but not the one I'm looking for! Colin Clements offered 4 possible answers, and one may well be correct: "The mirror spent 11.5 years in the workshop". I don't know if that's a record or not, and I haven't time to check re every telescope mirror that was ever made, but it very possibly is a record, so I'll give that to Colin: Well done!
However, it's not the answer I'm looking for, so the teaser is still open.
FINAL CLUE: If you get it, you can reward yourself with an ice-cream cone.
At Last! Patricia Carroll has done it again. The answer: the 5m Hale is the largest optical telescope in the world with a parabolic primary mirror. (The 8m central mirror of the GMT will be parabolic, although of the Gregorian design, but it's not operational yet)
All larger telescopes use the RC, or the 3-mirror anastigmat design, with a hyperbolic primary mirror. That includes the 6m Russian BTA.
(The clues: 'shaping' is obvious. 'ice cream cone' – all telescope mirrors (except flats) have curves of
one of the conic sections: what you get by slicing a cone at various angles – a circle (= a spherical mirror), ellipse, parabola (the most common) or hyperbola.)
Well done Patricia – not sure what your tally is so far, but you must be one of the top 'winners'.
16. NEW DIFFICULT TEASER
What does the figure 428.34117 seconds represent?
Please send all Teaser answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
17. INTERESTING WEBLINKS (Disclaimer – leading its nameUse 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:
Galaxies go on a deep dive and leave fiery tail behind (spacedaily.com) Brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen, the largest known explosion since Big Bang, has a unique jet structure unlike any other (msn.com) andThe brightest explosion ever seen in the universe has finally been explained (msn.com) Dark matter atoms may form shadowy galaxies with rapid star formation (msn.com) Strange star holds 'holy grail' clues about unique supernova explosions in the early universe (msn.com) Gravitational waves may come from 'cocoons' of debris around dying stars (video) (msn.com) James Webb Space Telescope finds the faintest galaxy ever detected at the dawn of the universe (msn.com)James Webb Space Telescope peers behind bars to reveal a cosmic 'treasure trove' (video) (msn.com)James Webb Space Telescope spies earliest complex organic molecules in the universe (msn.com)This is the loneliest galaxy in the known Universe - Big Think What are mysterious 'structures' found in the Milky Way? Astronomers 'stunned' by pattern found in space (msn.com) https://www.universetoday.com/161751/betelgeuse-is-almost-50-brighter-than-normal-whats-going-on/ and
Odd supergiant star Betelgeuse is brightening up. Is it about to go supernova? (msn.com)
James Webb Space Telescope finds water in super-hot exoplanet's atmosphere (msn.com)
Most powerful space telescope ever built identifies ancient star-studded galaxy (msn.com)
UK astrophysicist identifies star that exploded 21 million light-years away (msn.com)
New supernova thrills astronomers and skywatchers around the world | Space
'It's new territory': why is Betelgeuse is glowing so brightly and behaving so strangely? (msn.com)
Hubble Space Telescope reveals rare black hole lurking in our backyard | Space
Galaxy clusters yield new evidence for standard model of cosmology (spacedaily.com) Astronomers may have spotted never-before-seen mysterious star made of dark matter (msn.com)This Star Might be Orbiting a Strange "Boson Star" - Universe Today100 black hole jets aimed at Earth unleash controversial physics theory | Space Two Supermassive Black Holes will collide within 3 years!https://www.facebook.com/114828684936371/posts/126726587079914/?sfnsn=scwspmo What happened to the missing stars at the heart of the Milky Way? | Space
Cosmic monsters found lurking in ancient star clusters by JWST | Space
The Milky Way galaxy may be a different shape than we thought | Space
Radiation belt seen beyond our solar system for the 1st time | Space
A messy black hole may have just triggered the largest explosion in the universe (msn.com)
Scientists discover mystery behind 'runaway supermassive black hole' (msn.com)
Mysterious dark energy is spread evenly across the cosmos | Space
Young star shoots out jet like a garden sprinkler in Orion Nebula (photo) (msn.com)
Bizarre object 10 million times brighter than the sun defies physics, NASA says (msn.com)
NASA's WEBB Telescope Reveals Evidence of Massive Collision Around Nearby Star | Watch (msn.com)
Enormous M87 galaxy looks like giant potato in 1st-ever 3D map (image) (msn.com)
Dust cloud discovered around one of sky's brightest stars (msn.com)
JWST's Newfound Galaxies Are the Oldest Ever Seen - Scientific American
Birth of a planet spotted by astronomers for only the third time ever (msn.com)
Scientists find tiny but very bright galaxy using James Webb Space Telescope (msn.com)
Stunning mosaic of baby star clusters created from 1 million telescope shots (msn.com)
Intensity of stars is related to the planet-creating dust they produce (newatlas.com)
Bizarre object 10 million times brighter than the sun defies physics, NASA says | Live Science
Twinkling stars fuel interstellar dust (spacedaily.com)
Webb telescope spots mysterious "Green Monster" in supernova image (newatlas.com)
CITIZEN SCIENCE
Astronomers Want Your Help to Identify Risky Asteroids (universetoday.com)
COSMOLOGY
Asymmetry in laws of physics could shed light on our existence (spacedaily.com) And how does this simulation relate to the real universe?
Mysterious dark energy is spread evenly across the cosmos | Space
'Hubble trouble' could deepen with new measurement of universe's expansion | Space
EARTH & MOON
The biggest asteroid to hit Earth in recorded history vanished without a trace: How? | Live Science
Meteorites and volcanoes may have helped jump-start life on Earth | Space
Nasa finds 'wreckage' of lander that could have been first private spacecraft on the moon (msn.com)
Meteor burns through skies creating a sonic boom (msn.com)
Astronomers Prepare for the Next Thousand Years of Hazardous Asteroid Impacts - Universe Today and
The mystery of how Mars meteorites reach Earth may finally be solved (msn.com)
We Can Now See Into the Permanently Shadowed Craters on the Moon - Universe Today
The Mystery of the Glass Substance in the Chang'e-5 Lunar Soil (spacedaily.com)
Artemis 2 will beam high-speed video from the moon using lasers | Space
China holds first conference to discuss Moon base building plans (msn.com)
New Nasa director swears oath on Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' instead of Bible (msn.com)
Students set to land first US rover on the moon — before NASA | Live Science (Good for them, and good luck. But 'wheels the size of bottle caps'? – Those are some bottles!
EXOLIFE
New findings suggest hundreds of millions of planets may harbor life (newatlas.com)
EXOPLANETS
NASA's Kepler telescope discovered 2 mini-Neptune exoplanets just before dying (msn.com)
New Earth-sized planet discovered, and it may be able to support life (newatlas.com)
JWST images protoplanetary discs https://www.facebook.com/1315303067/posts/10230209125794834/
Volcanoes may carpet surface of newfound Earth-size exoplanet | Space
James Webb Space Telescope snaps amazing photo of alien asteroid belt (msn.com)
New Planet-Hunting Technique Finds Worlds We Can See Directly - Scientific American
Birth of a planet spotted by astronomers for only the third time ever (msn.com)
IMAGES, Film, Video
Astronauts Capture OUT OF THIS WORLD Object - Space Junk or UFO?" | The Proof Is Out There | #Shorts - YouTubeSuper shot of the prominences at last month's TSE. https://m.facebook.com/groups/SolarEclipseChasers/permalink/6321164861239067/?sfnsn=scwspmo&ref=share
See the spectacular winning pictures from the Milky Way Photographer Of The Year award (msn.com)1st-ever black hole image gets a sharp new AI makeover | SpaceThe ULTIMATE Mars map! 5.7-terapixel global map of Mars zooms right down to crater-scale (newatlas.com)Slip and Pivot: Sol 3797 (marsdaily.com) International Space Station at 20: A Photo Tour | SpaceExplore Mars for yourself with NASA's new 3D interactive map (msn.com) IRISH ASTRONOMY:Astronomers on the island of Ireland find common ground under the stars (msn.com) LIGHT POLLUTIONStars could be invisible within 20 years as light pollution brightens night skies (msn.com) SETIRepeated signals from the center of the Milky Way could be aliens saying hello, new study claims (msn.com) University professor claims that 'aliens 100 per cent live among us' (msn.com) Even university professors can have weird theories. Some deny climate change; some were Covid deniers and/or anti-vaxxers, There may even be a Flat-Earther among their ranks. As always: show us the evidence!Repeated signals from the center of the Milky Way could be aliens saying hello, new study claims (msn.com) SOLAR SYSTEM Rotorcraft stuns Nasa to continue flying over Mars long after it should have failed (msn.com)Academics prepare for mission to Mars in bid to prove water theory (msn.com) Mars helicopter Ingenuity went silent for 'agonizing' 6 days in April (msn.com) UAE announces mission to asteroid belt to seek clues to life's origins (msn.com)The mysterious origins of Martian meteorites (spacedaily.com)Ancient northern ocean on Mars evidenced by in situ observations of marine sedimentary rocks (spacedaily.com)James Webb telescope discovers gargantuan geyser on Saturn's moon, blasting water hundreds of miles into space | Live ScienceResearch 'solves' mystery of Jupiter's stunning colour changes (spacedaily.com)New map catalogues more than 85,000 volcanoes on Venus (msn.com)See Jupiter's volcanic moon Io glow red-hot in incredible images | Space Four of Uranus' Moons Might Have Liquid Oceans, Too - Universe TodayPerseverance Finds an Ancient, Fast Flowing River - Universe Today Life Probably Didn't Have a Hand in Creating Organic Deposits on the Surface of Mars - Universe TodayAstronomers Want Your Help to Identify Risky Asteroids (universetoday.com)What Cassini's "Grand Finale" Taught Us About Saturn's Interior - Universe Today Webb confirms water in weird comet, but something else is missing (newatlas.com)Don't mess with Mars. It has a crust made of 'heavy armor,' scientists say | SpaceJames Webb Space Telescope discovers water around a mysterious comet | SpaceAncient meteorites provide 'ground-breaking insight' on formation of Jupiter (msn.com)UK researchers shine fresh light on the evolution of Mars' atmosphere (msn.com)Europe's JUICE Jupiter probe fixes antenna glitch in deep space | SpaceThis snake robot could hunt life on moons like Saturn's Enceladus | SpaceSaturn reclaims 'moon king' title from Jupiter with 62 newfound satellites | SpaceNASA's autonomous robot snake in search of life on an icy Saturn moon (newatlas.com)Rock that crashed through New Jersey home may be 5 billion-year-old chunk of Halley's Comet (msn.com)The mystery of how Mars meteorites reach Earth may finally be solved (msn.com) Scientists discover secret 'symmetries' that protect Earth from the chaos of space (msn.com)Strange winds blow on Saturn's moon Titan. New clues could solve this decades-old mystery (msn.com) ESA Can't Deploy JUICE's Radar Antenna. It Needs It to Scan Under the Ice at Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede - Universe Today Saturn now has 100+ Moons! Subject: {MPML} Over 100 moons of Saturn on the wall
The MPC is currently in the process of announcing new moons of Saturn since May 3. With the publication of S/2004 S 43 in MPEC 2023-J45, Saturn has officially claimed the record for having over 100 confirmed moons in total!
All of these new moons (diameters 2-5 km; apparent mag 25-27) were discovered and followed up by Edward Ashton and his collaborators during their 2019-2021 survey with the CFHT, so massive congratulations to them for getting their discoveries confirmed! They describe details of their survey in their 2021 paper "Evidence for a Recent Collision in Saturn's Irregular Moon Population" published in Planetary Science Journal. They list about 80 new Saturnian moon candidates in this paper--as of writing this, a little over 20 of these new Saturnian moons have been announced. So I expect a lot more coming up over the next few days.
Europe's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer is unlikely to find life | Space
https://www.livescience.com/two-new-minerals-found-inside-meteorite
Explore Mars for yourself with NASA's new 3D interactive map (msn.com)
SPACE
Starship Mission to Mars | Watch (msn.com) Easy peasy, eh? 😉
Astronauts Capture OUT OF THIS WORLD Object - Space Junk or UFO?" | The Proof Is Out There | #Shorts - YouTube Boeing delays debut crewed Starliner spaceflight over new issues (msn.com)
Chinese mission with first civilian reaches space station (spacedaily.com)
China plans to land astronauts on moon before 2030 as new space race accelerates (msn.com)
High-speed orbital data link drags space communications out of the '60s (newatlas.com)
Hibernation artificially triggered in potential space travel breakthrough (msn.com)
Meet Virgin Galactic's test pilots in this new video | Space
Rocket Lab scoops up Virgin Orbit Long Beach California assets (spacedaily.com)
Wouldn't it be nice …. Building a Satellite out of Wood? Use Magnolia - Universe Today
NASA Shuts Down the Lunar Flashlight Mission After it Fails to Go into Orbit - Universe Today
SpaceX hires former NASA human spaceflight chief Kathy Lueders: report | Space
NASA's new Artemis moon lander will be built by Blue Origin | Space
Russia ends NASA collaboration, set to leave the ISS by 2024 (msn.com)
Japanese space agency to launch from Shetland in major boost to Britain (msn.com)
Space junk cleanup mission to launch in 2026 aboard Arianespace rocket | Space
Vast Space to launch 1st commercial station on SpaceX rocket in 2025 | Space
UAE's ambitious asteroid mission will tour 7 space rocks | Space
Russian cosmonauts unfurl vital radiator during 5-hour spacewalk | Space
European search for water on Jupiter's moons jeopardised by key equipment fault (msn.com)
Vast Space to launch 1st private station on SpaceX rocket in 2025 (msn.com)
A start-up teams with SpaceX to be first to orbit a commercial space station (msn.com)
Virgin Galactic Ready For Final Test Flight Before Suborbital Tourism Debut | Watch (msn.com) and
NASA: Up to 4 of Uranus' moons could have water (spacedaily.com)
Artemis 2 will beam high-speed video from the moon using lasers | Space
Russia reverses threat to walk away from International Space Station by 2024 (msn.com)
Space debris problem spurs a bold change in US government regulations | Space
International Space Station at 20: A Photo Tour | Space
China holds first conference to discuss Moon base building plans (msn.com)
SUN:
NASA's Solar Probe Uncovers Origin of Violent Solar Winds | Watch (msn.com)
The Inouye telescope shows amazing new photos of the Sun never seen before (msn.com) and
See amazing new sun photos from the world's largest solar telescope | Space https://m.facebook.com/groups/SolarEclipseChasers/permalink/6321164861239067/?sfnsn=scwspmo&ref=share Current solar cycle could peak early, and be twice as strong as last one SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
TELESCOPES, EQUIPMENT, TECHNIQUES Etc.
The Euclid spacecraft will transform how we view the 'dark universe' | Space "Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare"
NASA is Getting Serious About Building and Assembling Future Missions... in Space - Universe Today
Astronomers Want to Build the Next Generation Arecibo Telescope - Universe Today
Private servicing mission may visit NASA's Chandra space telescope | Space
Bold proposal aims to revive NASA's deep-space Spitzer telescope | Space
New Hubble Space Telescope rescue proposal also targets space junk | Space
Best eyepieces for telescopes 2023 | Space
How the Nancy Grace Roman telescope will 'rewind' the universe | Space
'Membrane mirrors' could pave way for more powerful space telescopes | Space
UFOs / UAPs
NASA reveal preliminary findings in UFO investigations | Watch (msn.com)
18. 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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