Hi all,
Please note: send all correspondence to me only at: terrymosel@aol.com
1. IAA LECTURE, Wed 21 February, 7.30 p.m. "Using Kinesthetic Learning to Help Understand our Place in Space" by Professor Emeritus Mark Bailey
Synopsis: Kinesthetic learning, or learning by doing, promotes deep learning; that is, learning which sticks and forms a basis for general understanding. This talk introduces the concept of kinesthetic learning as applied to the astronomy outreach facilities developed at Armagh Observatory, namely the Armagh Astropark, the Human Orrery, and Robert Jarvis's sonic art installation aroundNorth. There is an emphasis throughout on the value of participants physically engaging and interacting with these outreach facilities and where possible building their own versions of such educational tools, even if necessary on a reduced scale indoors.
Biography: Mark E. Bailey, Emeritus Director of Armagh Observatory, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Mark Bailey MBE MRIA served as Director of Armagh Observatory from 1995 to 2016. He has degrees from Cambridge (BA 1974), Sussex (MSc 1975) and Edinburgh (PhD 1978). Following early research mainly on comets and galactic and extragalactic astronomy his research interests have now encompassed small solar system bodies; solar system — Earth interrelationships; the NEO impact hazard; weather and climate change; and aspects of astronomical and local history. He gives occasional public talks and is the author, co-author, or editor of several books and around a hundred scientific papers. Minor planet (4050) Mebailey was named for his work on the origin of comets. He received an MBE for services to astronomy in 2007.
Mark added:
I hope I'll have time also to try a simple practical activity with a few willing members of the audience. This talk is aimed at beginners as well as advanced amateurs, and should be accessible (in the spirit of the NI Science Festival) to all!
VENUE: Larmor Lecture Theatre, Astrophysics Research Centre, Physics Building, QUB.
Admission free, including light refreshments, All welcome.
2. February Sky Guide: This very helpful guide is available free at: Spotify & Apple podcasts
What's in the Night Sky for February? Cosmic Corner is presented by Paul Evans, Sinéad Mannion, and Graham Sales. Highlights for February's podcast include details on upcoming Irish Astronomy Week, more on irishastronomyweek.ie, see dancing morning planets in our winter sky, Orion is still on display, Paul tells us about the Artemis slippage and find out how this week is historically a sad week for NASA. We discuss the sad demise of Ingenuity but how much it achieved going beyond its initial remit. Finally, Paul makes us super jealous of his new toy, the Seestar S50. ... Keep Looking Up!... Paul, Graham & Sinéad
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/episode/23Ind8R5DzZAqnKVz4C1d1?si=NfskWAtrTtOQiCIjqp45lg
Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/cosmic-corner/id1705184817?i=1000643912445
3. ISS. The ISS starts a series of morning passes on 17 Feb. See www.heavens_above.com for details
4. Astronomy Calendar now available online
John Flannery has now got his new 2024 astronomy calendar completed and it's now available online free as a 2.5Mb pdf download at tinyurl.com/3ytt2v55.
Thanks John – great work as always!
5. JUPITER still worth observing!
Our largest planet is still by far the brightest starlike object in the evening sky. It's well up in the South South West as soon as the sky darkens, in Aries, at mag -2.3. Look for the 4 Galilean moons as they do their stately dance around the giant planet. Ganymede, Callisto and Io are bigger than our Moon; Europa is a bit smaller, but it's brighter than Callisto because of its bright ice-covered surface. The Moon will be just East of it on the evening of 15 Februiary
6. N.I. Science Festival 15 – 25 February – various events and venues.
7. Send your name to the Moon: Thanks to Derek Heatly for this: You can send your name to the Moon via NASA's VIPER Mission: www.nasa.gov/send-your-name-with-viper VIPER is the next lunar rover going to the Moon's South Pole. The offer lasts until March 15.
8. IRISH ASTRONOMY WEEK: March 9-16, 2024. Organised by Ronan Newman, the first event last year was very successful!
Various events throughout the whole island. More details later.
This event does not run itself, so please help by making a donation via the new go fund me page https://gofund.me/a5b22223
9. COSMOS STAR PARTY, 23 March, at Clonown Rovers FC, Teach Leatha, Lea Berg, Blue Ball, Co Offaly. More details soon.
10. The Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Conference is the only large-scale international conference for astronomy communication. The next CAP conference will be held in hybrid mode from 24 – 28 June 2024, in-person at Cité de l'espace, Toulouse, France and online.
11. EASY TEASER:
What won't happen in 2037?
Clue: It's something that usually happens regularly.
Another clue: It's connected to our calendar.
Still no answers, so here's another clue: while over a very long period, it could happen in any year, it could never happen in a year like this one.
12. DIFFICULT TEASER ANSWERED:
What's next in the sequence 89, 13, 95, 51 ?
No answers yet, so I'll add one more, thus: 89, 13, 95, 51, 18 ….?
This was answered by John Flannery. The answer is 33. They are the numbers of the elements, listed in alphabetical order: 89 Actinium, 13 Aluminium, 95 Americium, 51 Antimony, 18 Argon, 33 Arsenic.
And of course all those are created through astronomical processes.
Well done John!
13. NEW DIFFICULT TEASER
Where in the sky would you find an item connected with medicine, and what is it?
14. 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:
Protoplanetary rings around star https://www.facebook.com/share/PCSoQPG8rNzUA77e/
The Mily Way's oldest star https://www.facebook.com/share/h3MdUqSMqywDT3jD/JWST tracks galaxy's history to just after the Big Bang James Webb Space Telescope tracks a galaxy's history back to just after the Big Bang | Space
X-ray survey bolsters prevailing theory of universe's expansion | Science | AAAS
Fire but no brimstone: Where is the universe's missing sulfur? | Space
Cosmic Super Bowl? The Milky Way's black hole is shaping spacetime into a football | Space
Astronomers discover new source of star dust (msn.com)
Hubble Space Telescope tells a starry 'tail' of 12 mingling galaxies (msn.com)
Huge X-ray image covers half the universe, including a million sources (newatlas.com)
Event Horizon Telescope spies jets erupting from nearby supermassive black hole | Space
EARTH & MOON
US company's lunar lander rockets toward the moon for a touchdown attempt next week (msn.com) and
SpaceX rocket launch sparks fevered speculation after it launches from Cape Canaveral carrying 'undisclosed payload' - on same day it's revealed Russia wants to deploy NUCLEAR weapons in space (msn.com)
Ocean of hidden water on the moon triggers new space race (msn.com)
'Double whammy' CO2 drop linked to Earth's extreme ice age (newatlas.com)
NASA's new climate satellite will offer 'an unprecedented view' of our heating planet (msn.com)
Big, dead European satellite will crash back to Earth this month | Space
See Earth's atmosphere glow gold in gorgeous photo taken from the ISS (msn.com)
EXOLIFE:No Hope for Life in Outer Solar System: Saturn Moon Uninhabitable, Scientists Say (msn.com) This seems to refer only to Titan, not to Enceladus or Europa.
EXOPLANETSProtoplanetary rings around star https://www.facebook.com/share/PCSoQPG8rNzUA77e/
NASA Unveils Closest 'Super-Earth' in Habitable Zone, Paving Way for Life's Potential (msn.com)
IMAGES:Amazing video of sizes of astronomical bodies Facebook
www.facebook.com/thebrainmazeofficial/videos/1691360338058427 SETI
SETI searches for alien signals synchronized with supernova 1987A | Space
SOLAR SYSTEM
water discovered on surface of asteroid. https://www.facebook.com/share/atWwTWumMgNHnNJ7/
Jupiter's Supervolcanic Moon Io Dazzles in Photos from NASA's Close Flybys | Scientific American
Life on Mars may have thrived near volcanoes and an ancient lake Life on Mars could have thrived near active volcanoes and an ancient mile-deep lake | SpaceNo Hope for Life in Outer Solar System: Saturn Moon Uninhabitable, Scientists Say (msn.com) This seems to refer only to Titan, not to Enceladus or Europa.
Brightest images of Venus reveal its glowing halo | Popular Science (popsci.com)
NASA's Juno probe sees active volcanic eruptions on Jupiter's volcanic moon Io (images) | Space and
Stunning Juno flyby image shows Io lit up by "Jupitershine" (newatlas.com)
Another ice-sealed ocean has been found in our solar system (newatlas.com)
Geminids may be 10 times older than we thought. https://www.space.com/geminid-meteors-10-times-older-phaethon-simulations?utm_content=space.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=facebook.com&fbclid=IwAR1Qrp2f4_SwrGCbU-y_-KVOIljHiYN39gM2QdG9qsAzoiSvy37g-vfUsGg
Tiny, unseen moon could be holding bizarre space rock Chariklo's rings in place (msn.com)
NASA's first asteroid samples came from 'ancient ocean world': Scientists find fragments from Bennu are high in carbon and water - and the planet may have been suitable for life (msn.com)
Amazing close-up of Jupiter, from Juno. https://www.facebook.com/groups/jameswebbspacetelescope/permalink/10161177871841170/ SPACESpace record https://www.facebook.com/share/Z6F3X1qP6gP2jcW4/This astronaut took 5 spacewalks. Now, he's helping make spacesuits for future ISS crews (exclusive) | Space
NASA's interstellar Voyager 1 spacecraft isn't doing so well — here's what we know (msn.com)Ocean of hidden water on the moon triggers new space race (msn.com)SpaceX deorbiting 100 older Starlink satellites to 'keep space safe and sustainable' (msn.com)
How will Artemis 2 astronauts exercise on the way to the moon? | Space
At least they have corrected this! The first report was about the Challenger disaster, but they referred to it as 'Columbia'. The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth review – the finest possible tribute to the astronauts who lost their lives (msn.com)Big, dead European satellite will crash back to Earth this month | Space
Scientists Believe Light Speed Travel Is Possible. Here's How. (popularmechanics.com)
SUN Giant Sunspot 'Martian' sunspot 15 times wider than Earth could soon bombard us with solar flares (photo & video) | Space
TELESCOPES & EQUIPMENTUltraviolet eyes will explore the universe under new NASA mission (newatlas.com)
To See Black Holes in Detail, She Uses 'Echoes' Like a Bat | Quanta Magazine
NASA tests hybrid antenna for laser and radio space communications (newatlas.com)
15. 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
