Hi all,
1. INSAP, QUB, 9-12 June, & AOP, 13 June: a great success.
Congratulations to Prof Marilina Cesario and her team for a very successful conference. Also to Prof Michael Burton and his team at AOP who hosted the last day of the event. And to ourselves as the IAA was one of the sponsors of the conference. And thanks to all members of the IAA who helped set up the much admired Photo Exhibition in the conference venue in the Lanyon building, and the extra exhibition in the McClay Library in QUB, which continues until July 2. Particular thanks are due to Bernie Brown who curated both photo exhibitions.
2. SUMMER SOLSTICE
The Sun will reach its most Northerly point on the ecliptic on June 20 at 03h 42m BST / IST, marking the start of astronomical summer.
3. Naked Eye Nova in LUPUS
See A 'new star' has exploded into the night sky — and you can see it from North America But it's too far South to be seen from UK/Ireland; however anyone on holiday in S latitudes may be able to spot it.
4. MOON Occults Pleiades, 23 June.
These details are for Belfast – times will vary slightly for other locations, particularly they will happen earlier the further South you are.. Times are for disappearance (& reappearance for Merope).
02.21 – 02.41 - graze of Merope, 23 Tau, mag 4.2
03.07: Atlas, 27 Tau, mag 3.6
03.17: Pleione, 28 Tau. Mag 4.8.
5. Midsummer BBQ & Outreach solar event.
The IAA is hoping to organise an event, now on the evening of Saturday 28 June. More details later, but keep the date free.
6. ISS
The ISS will start a new series of morning passes on 26 June.
7. NLCs
There have already been some sightings of these beautiful ethereal wispy 'night-shining' clouds, which are cause by meteoric dust very high up in our atmosphere. Look low in the North as soon as the sky gets dark enough to see the Plough. Quite often you'll see Capella shining in the late twilight in the same area. They are easy to photo – use the night setting on your smartphone,
8. Exhibition: We Lose Sight of the Night", by Aisling O'Beirn
This will run at the MAC gallery, 10 Exchange Street West, Belfast BT1 2NJ, until to 22 June,
"Spanning all three galleries, We Lose Sight of the Night draws us into the fading darkness of the natural world. Through sculpture, animation, and drawing, O'Beirn examines the environmental consequences of artificial light and our relentless consumption. Her work is as absurdly playful as it is deeply reflective, asking us to consider how we make sense of scientific truths in a politically and environmentally unstable world".
9. MARS now fading. The Red Planet is fading and shrinking in apparent size and gradually getting lower in the W twilight. in Cancer
10. VENUS BECOMING VISIBLE IN MORNING SKY
Our sister planet is just barely becoming visible low in the bright morning twilight, but only for a very short period before the sky gets too bright.
11. WhatsApp Group for alerts on Observing Nights.
The IAA have set up a WhatsApp Group for updates on Observing Nights. If you would like to be included in this group, please e-mail Mary at callistoboxers@hotmail.com with your full name & mobile telephone number.
No discussions about anything other than Observing Nights will be posted on this group.
12. European Astronomy Society 2025 meeting in Cork 23-27 June 2025. This is the body representing professional astronomers throughout Europe. There will be at least one public lecture, details tba.
13. Skellig Star Party, Ballinskelligs, Co Kerry, August 15-18.
Always a good event, in the Kerry Dark Sky Reserve
14. ALAN 2025, 28 – 30 October 2025, Westport, Co.Mayo.
Preparations are under way for the 9th Scientific Conference on Artificial Light At Night, ALAN2025, from October 28-30, 2025, in Westport, Ireland. Our host will be Dark Sky Ireland. The invited speakers will be revealed soon, but we can already promise you interesting talks about science, governance, dark sky outreach, and lighting design.
The conference offers a platform for interdisciplinary networking and exchange on the topics Biology & Ecology, Governance & Regulations, Health, Measurements & Modelling, Social Sciences & Humanities, Technology & Design.
We welcome researchers, lighting professionals, policy makers, light pollution activists, and everybody who is interested in the effects of artificial light at night. The conference aims to present new findings, exchange experiences and ideas, network, and discuss hoe artificial light can be used with less negative impacts.
I'm on the organising committee for this event, so I'll keep you posted regarding the programme.
For more information check out our website at artificiallightatnight.org .
This event will be followed immediately by the wonderful Mayo Dark Sky Festival in nearby Newport –
15. October 4: International Observe the Moon Night
16. October 4 – 10: World Space Week. Irish events will be co-ordinated by BCO in Cork.
17: Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 31 October – 2 November. More details later.
18. CAP May 2026, Armenia:
As the only large-scale international conference dedicated to astronomy communication, CAP gathers science communicators, educators, planetarium professionals, journalists, astronomers, and creatives to explore the best ways to share astronomy with diverse audiences. Whether you work in outreach, media, museums, or informal education, CAP is where you'll find inspiration, fresh perspectives, and a welcoming global community.
The next CAP Conference will happen in May 2026, hosted by the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory and the Armenian Astronomical Society, in-person in Yerevan, Armenia, and online. This hybrid format ensures that participants from all corners of the world can take part in the discussions, workshops, and networking opportunities.
Organised by IAU Commission C2 and the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach, CAP 2026 promises to be an unmissable event. If you're passionate about bridging the gap between science and society, this is your chance to connect, learn, and contribute to the future of astronomy communication.
19: 2026 Eclipse planning.
1 year since the Great North American Eclipse — Here's how the 2026 total eclipse will compare
This may be of interest to those planning observing locations for the total solar eclipses in 2026 and 2027
Global risk map reveals the most dangerous countries and cities
And weather prospects for the coming eclipses such as the one in Spain in 2026, and N. Africa in 2027, are on www.eclipsophile.com . The discussions there will help you pick a site for the eclipse, as weather is one of the important factors to consider.
20: Recurrent Nova T Corona Borealis – We're still waiting!
It's well over a year now since the first predictions of an 'imminent' outburst! But, it could explode any time, so, keep an eye on it - comparison charts can be found on the websites of the BAA Variable Star Section, or the AAVSO. The current magnitude is around 10, so you'll need a good telescope to see it now.
(BTW, don't confuse it with the other nearby famous variable star, R CrB, which does the opposite – it stays normally around 6th magnitude, but occasionally dims to as faint as magnitude 14 or 15!)
Anyway, do keep an eye out – T CrB lies just outside the East side of the circle of the 'Crown', about a degree from Epsilon CrB, but you really do need charts to observe it properly. It's now visible in the sky in the East each night before midnight.
It's at Declination: 25° 55′ 12.613″; R.A.: 15h 59m 30.1622s)
21. DIFFICULT TEASER ANSWERED!
How and when did a bird become a mammal?
No correct answers yet, so here's a clue – the mammal is an aquatic one.
Another clue: It involves movement.
Another clue: it relates to the stars.
Peter Millar does it again! The answer is: In 1992 Rho Aquilae moved into the neighbouring constellation of Delphinus because of its proper motion. This was nothing to do with precession (which moves the boundaries along with the stars): it was the star's actual motion through space: it just happened to lie very close to the border between Aquila (the Eagle) and Delphinus (the Dolphin) when the boundaries were officially drawn by the IAU, and its proper motion brought it across that boundary.
Well done Peter – I haven't kept count, but I think he has now had more wins here than anyone else. (Open to correction, of course)
22. EASY TEASER – No correct answers
How are Uranus and Pluto twinned?
Clue: You'll discover it if you search hard enough.
Another clue: Not what, but where.
Another clue: If you guessed you'd have an 0.08333333… chance of being right.
Final clue: Both planets were 'discovered', rather than having been known since ancient times.
The answer is that both were discovered in the constellation Gemini. Hence 'twinned'. And if you just guessed a zodiacal constellation, you would have a 1 in 12 chance of being right, or 0.083333
23: New EASY TEASER:
What's next in this sequence: Aldebaran, Rigel, Capella, …..?
24: New DIFFICULT TEASER:
Where in astronomy would you find the following sequence of letters (ignoring variable stars) - "Z Z'
Clue: Note the space between the letters.
Remember, send answers to me only at my aol address: terrymosel@aol.com.
25. 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:
This galaxy cluster has mysterious cosmic tendrils over 200,000 light-years long (image)
It's the biggest explosion since the Big Bang
James Webb telescope spots tiny galaxies that may have transformed the universe
Huge galaxy cluster is wrapped in a cocoon 20 million light-years wide, NASA space telescope finds
Astronomers have found the universe's missing matter at last, thanks to exotic 'fast radio bursts' | Space
Astronomers discover ultrapowerful black hole jet as bright as 10 trillion suns lit by Big Bang's afterglow | Space
James Webb Space Telescope discovers smallest 'failed stars' ever seen
Astronomers see the 1st stars dispel darkness 13 billion years ago at 'Cosmic Dawn'
Is the Hubble Tension Starting to Go Away? - Universe Today This is confusing. In one paragraph it refers to measurements of Cepheid variables, and in the next paragraph it says it's measurements of supernovae and red giants. The source is New measure of the universe's expansion suggests resolution of a conflict | University of Chicago News which doesn't mention Cepheids.
https://cosmicpursuits.com/2146/moving-stars/ Watch this! Amazing! Pause the video as soon as the stars appear. Locate the Plough / Big Dipper upside down near the top left. Follows the Pointers down to Polaris. Continue that line to the MW, and just to the left of that intersection, in the MW, is Cassiopeia, and to the left of that is Perseus. To the right of Cassiopeia is Cygnus. Just above the MW in this region is bright Vega. On the other side of the NW, is fairly bright Altair.
Now that you have your bearings, go back to the Plough, and start the video running. Note that the stars in the Plough move apart and away quickly, as they are fairly close. Polaris also moves away from its current position. Vega moves fairly quickly down to the bottom left, as does Altair, as they are both quite close. Note the very nearby pair of Alpha & Beta Centauri above the MW near the middle, at the very start of the animation – they fly off quickly to the upper right, as they are very close. Look for the Pleiades as a tiny cluster below the MW on the left – they move quite slowly and eventually disappear off the LHS, and then reappear on the RHS! Look for Orion on his side just below the MW on the RHS – Betelgeuse and Bellatrix are the ones nearest the Right Hand edge of the frame. Aldebaran is on the very edge on the RHS. Find Castor & Pollux very close together just on the other side of the MW, above Orion, at the very start of the video. They move away very quickly! There will be no Gemini for the astrologers in the future! (The Orion Nebula shows quite brightly, which confuses the constellation pattern a bit at first.) The Orion pattern does change, but only slowly, as most of those stars are so far away. There's one puzzling thing – I can't locate Sirius! Was it too bright for Gaia's sensors, and wasn't recorded? Or does it move so quickly that it was only recorded for a fraction of a second? Note that many stars move in curved lines or loops – a result of the combination of the Sun's motion and their own. And of course they appear to change in brightness as they move nearer or further from us. Go back to the beginning and put your mouse pointer where Polaris is, and keep it there. After Polaris moves away, there's no other bright star in that position until about 2m 30s into the video, which is about 3,180,000 years from now! Which shows how lucky we are right now. It moves on quite quickly too, and there will be no other bright North Pole star within the next 5 million years, (Of course, the NCP may not be in the same position in 3,180,000 years as it is now, but that's another story!) The main lesson is that the constellations are both totally 'man-made', and very ephemeral! Even as recently as 15,000 years ago, the 'Pointers' did not point to Polaris! If the link above does not work. Moving Stars - Cosmic Pursuits
New Measurements for M87's Supermassive Black Hole: Spin and Accretion Rate - Universe Today
James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe, spanning over 13 billion years
Fascinating. But this isn't a map, which looks at a surface area. It's a tunnel, or a borehole, back through space and time. A bit like an ice-core sample from the Greenland ice-sheet. A Terrifying Simulation of a Black Hole Gobbling Up a Neutron Stars - Universe Today
Scientists discover two new galaxies in the cosmos (they mean two new supermassive Black Holes!)
Scientists find the most intense explosion ever seen in the universe
https://www.astronomy.com/science/jwst-gazes-into-the-distant-past-through-gravitational-lens/
https://www.sciencealert.com/water-discovered-around-a-young-sun-like-star-for-first-time
Magnetic fields appear to be as old as the universe itself. What created them?
Scientists use giant magnets to solve a 20-year-old dark matter mystery
How an odd star in the 'Gaia Sausage' could help solve one of astronomy's most enduring mysteries
COSMOLOGYTiny 'primordial' black holes created in the Big Bang may have rapidly grown to supermassive sizes
Big Bang theory is wrong, claim scientists
Is the Hubble Tension Starting to Go Away? - Universe Today
New research challenges everything we know about the Big Bang Ahem. You forgot to say where this "overly dense collection of matter" came from in the first place. A rather important question, I would suggest.
EARTH & MOON The Earth could be soon flung out of orbit or into the sun all thanks to a passing star This is alarmist crap. There is no star that could pass close enough to the solar system to 'soon' fling Earth out of its orbit or into the Sun. If there was one that close, and on such a trajectory, Gaia would have found it. The motion of the nearby stars relative to the Sun (or vice verse) has been plotted accurately for the next FIVE MILLION YEARS - and there are none that will come within even 10% of the required distance. You might expect this from the garbage press, but not from the Independent. (see the item under 'Astrophysics' above)
The moon may be much older than we thought
NASA's Top 5 Technical Challenges Countdown: #1: Survive the Lunar Night - Universe Today
Odds of 'city killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 striking Moon increase and
James Webb telescope ups the odds that 'city-killer' asteroid 2024 YR4 will hit the moon in 2032
While the impact (if it occurs) will probably be on the Earth-facing side of the Moon, unfortunately for us it will occur during daylight, and with the Moon below our horizon. (Private comm from Prof Alan Fitzsimmons). But if an impact was certain, it would be worth travelling to somewhere that it was visible!
Elon Musk says SpaceX could begin 'decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft' after Trump threat to cancel contracts | Space Two spoiled overgrown schoolboys.
Earth's CO2 hits highest recorded level in human history, experts say (I was at the Scripps Institute last year – well worth a visit!)
Private Japanese spacecraft crashes into moon in 'hard landing,' ispace says | Space Better luck next time.
Lunar landers and 'Transporter' tankers: Blue Origin unveils its blueprint for the moon
Battle for the moon underway as nations fight for $1trillion of precious metals
Magnetic North Pole shows unusual movement
EXOLIFETitan May be the Liveliest Place in the Solar System - Universe Today
EXOPLANETSSpace breakthrough as astronomers discover rare 'Jupiter-like' exoplanet on fringes of Milky Way And that's almost the same orbital period as Jupiter
James Webb Space Telescope sees 1st exoplanet raining sand alongside 'sandcastle' partner world
This may have exoplanets - James Webb Space Telescope discovers smallest 'failed stars' ever seen
James Webb Space Telescope discovers planets forming in space's most punishing environments
Astronomers Find a Hidden Planet Partly in the Habitable Zone of its Star - Universe Today
Life in another solar system possible as scientists discover super-Earth | Watch
A hidden 'super-Earth' exoplanet is dipping in and out of its habitable zone
Ginormous planet discovered around tiny red star challenges our understanding of solar systems
And Astronomers Find a Hidden Planet Partly in the Habitable Zone of its Star - Universe Today If that's the only massive planet in the system, then it's not that surprising. The ratio of the total mass of that planet to its star would be less than the total mass of Jupiter + Saturn + Uranus + Neptune to our Sun. The only difference would be that it's all concentrated in one body. You would get the mass of that exoplanet by the merger of two or three Uranus/Neptune-mass planets.
James Webb Space Telescope unveils fiery origins of a distant, hellish exoplanet
IMAGESStar-forming cloud Chamaeleon I looks like a cosmic masterpiece in new Dark Energy Camera image (video)
NASA spacecraft around the moon photographs the crash site of a Japanese company's lunar lander
Astronomers capture the most intricate picture of a galaxy in a thousand colors ever seen (photo, video)
NASA spots Martian volcano twice the height of Mount Everest bursting through the morning clouds: Space photo of the week
NASA:NASA's FY 2026 Budget Request has been Released - Universe Today
Traveling to Mars and Ceres Using Lunar Gateway as a Springboard - Universe Today
SOLAR SYSTEM Astronomers discover the largest comet from the outskirts of the solar system is exploding with jets of gas and
Scientists spotted a giant comet spewing gas 2 billion miles from sun | Mashable Another ridiculously useless size comparison. City-sized. How big is a city? – Armagh is a city. Or maybe it's the size of LA? Or London Or Mexico. Or Shanghai. Then it says it's 85 miles diameter – which is actually bigger than almost any city on Earth!
Possible dwarf planet found at edge of solar system
James Webb telescope discovers 'a new kind of climate' on Pluto, unlike anything else in our solar system | Live Science
'Uranus is weird.' Big moons of tilted ice giant hide a magnetic mystery, Hubble telescope reveals
NASA's Voyager spacecraft captures stunning 'wall of fire' images at Solar System's edge
Space breakthrough as mysterious dark streaks on Mars discovered 50 years ago are not what scientists initially believed
Titan May be the Liveliest Place in the Solar System - Universe Today What's this about "negative 180 degrees"? It's just "minus 180 degrees",
Why Astrobiologists Are Obsessed With Europa, Titan, and Enceladus
This looks interesting. European Mars orbiter spies crumbling crater 'soaked in layers of Martian history' (photo)
An 'invisible threat': Swarm of hidden 'city killer' asteroids around Venus could one day collide with Earth, simulations show | Live Science
James Webb telescope discovers 'a new kind of climate' on Pluto, unlike anything else in our solar system
Webb Watches Haze Rise and Fall in Pluto's Atmosphere - Universe Today
Space study says robots will mine asteroids and goods will be 'Made In Space' within 50 years
Long, dark 'streaks' spotted on Mars aren't what scientists thought
Passing stars threaten the solar system's delicate balance
How a new planetarium show helped scientists unlock a cosmic secret
Discovery: The brightest planet in the universe The brightest planet in the universe??? So they know for a fact there that are no other planets anywhere else in our galaxy, or in any of the other trillions of galaxies, that are more reflective than this one. Wow - that's worth a Nobel Prize, for sure. OTOH, it could be that they don't know the difference between our Solar System, and a galaxy, and the universe. Which is a bit like not knowing the difference between a leaf and a tree and a forest.
Then of course they say in the text that it 'may be one of the brightest objects in the SS'- Doh! SPACE The Science Behind Building Shelters On Mars Quite a good article. But the main problem won't be the technology. They will never be able to go out without a full spacesuit, heating system, oxygen and water.
No seas, lakes or rivers, no clouds, no history, no architecture, no animals, no birds, no butterflies, no nature, just rocks, sand and occasional dust devils.
It will be EXTREMELY cold every night, and dangerously cold even during the day except at local summer noon. They will have very limited electricity until they build huge solar panel farms, and a very high capacity battery system to store power for nighttime. Eventually they will have to build a small nuclear power station.
All water will have to be recycled, and it will be a long time before they even have enough spare to fill a kids' inflatable swimming pool. There will be no sewage system, so their sh*t will literally have to be used as fertiliser or put outside in a big pile at regular intervals. At least it won't smell!
They will be living 'cheek by jowl' in small apartments. You will HAVE to like your neighbours! Cooking will have to be communal for a long time, to conserve power. There will be no BBQs! The food will be bland and often reconstituted - it will be a very long time before they get fresh milk, fresh meat, and even longer before they get fish.
And it will be a long time before they're allowed any pet bigger than a beetle!
Exercise will be entirely limited to gym equipment - until they build a giant rotating wheel coupled to a generator where everyone walks in the same direction, to generate power.
Communication with Earth will be subject to a time delay of from about 4 mts to about 40 mts (send to return) depending on the relative positions of Earth and Mars. There will be a period of around a month every 2 years when no communication at all will be possible.
They will be at constant risk from radiation, and a lesser but non-negligible risk from meteorite impacts. Healthcare facilities will be very basic for a long time, and probably the busiest people in whatever healthcare they have will be the psychiatrists!
Lunar landers and 'Transporter' tankers: Blue Origin unveils its blueprint for the moon
https://www.universetoday.com/articles/missions-to-mars-starship-three-months.
Space study says robots will mine asteroids and goods will be 'Made In Space' within 50 years
SPACE POLLUTION:Satellite streaks: Can the huge new Vera Rubin Observatory function in the megaconstellation age?
SUN
Parker Solar Probe swoops into solar corona again! https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2025/06/19/nasa-spacecraft-touches-sun-for-final-time-in-defining-moment-for-humankind/
Scientists use satellites to mimic a total solar eclipse in space
The sun's poles have flipped. A spacecraft is watching what happens next. | Mashable
First ever footage of Sun's south pole revealed by ESA spacecraft | Watch I'm 99% sure this report is AI generated, but it seems ok.
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES
Satellite streaks: Can the huge new Vera Rubin Observatory function in the megaconstellation age?
Scientists use satellites to mimic a total solar eclipse in space
World's biggest camera will reveal its first-ever photos next week
Proposed NASA radio probe could use gravity 'lumpiness' to reveal the insides of alien worlds
FINAL WORD:
"The treasures hidden in the heavens are so rich that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment." - Johannes Kepler
26. 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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