Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Fwd: Cassini pic, AstroPlay, AP events, Scopes sale, IAA/RSPB BWSO event, Pics wanted


Hi all,
 
1. EARTH SMILED FOR SATURN: Last Friday evening, NASA's Cassini spacecraft photographed Saturn and its entire ring system during a total eclipse of the Sun. The images also captured, in natural colour, a glimpse of our own planet and the Moon, next to Saturn and its rings on a day that was the first time Earthlings knew in advance their picture would be taken from a billion miles away.    
I'm sure I can see our IAA group at Delamont Country Park! In fact, is that me waving in the top left corner?
 
2: IAA SATURN EVENT was a great success: To mark the event, the IAA held a special Saturn Observing Event, at Delamont Country Park. The great weather continued, blessing us with clear skies. We started with a 'Bring Your Own' BBQ followed by observing the Moon and Saturn, and then 'posing for the picture' by Cassini. See the photos on the IAA website www.irishastro.org
 
3. ASTRONOMY PLAY, DUBLIN:
Amy from Take the Space (manager.takethespace@gmail.com) sent a message. "Dear members of The Irish Astronomical Association, I'd like to tell you about the Irish premiere performance of a play about women, their men and astronomy from Take the Space who previously produced HANGING HOOKE. STELLA will be performed at Dublin Festival of Curiosity on the 26th and 27th of July. We are hoping that STELLA will create a small marriage between Art and Science, which is why we would love to see you there.  Yours sincerely, Amy: Take the Space. 07403664281." The Play is in the Smock Alley Theatre, in Exchange Street Lower, off Wood Quay.
4. SUMMER EVENTS AT ARMAGH PLANETARIUM. Launch rockets, become a Jedi Master, meet Star Wars Stormtroopers, make your own pinhole camera or take part in our Laser Quest!  These are just some of the wonderful activities on offer this summer at Armagh Planetarium.  We also have three brand new Digital Theatre shows for you to enjoy as well!
 
5: SUMMER SCOPES SALE, from North Down Telescopes:
I have a couple of second hand scopes which might be of interest to members - they are excellent bargains
* Skywatcher 10" 250px Flextube dobsonian Telescope - second hand, all as new, boxed - Excellent value - £480. See;
 
* Celestron CPC 800 - rare opportunity to own this magnificent second-hand instrument - £1,350 - just a few months old - massive savings on new instrument with full Celestron Warranty, boxed etc. See:
 
Both scopes, although second hand are boxed and come as new with one year warranty.
 
6. IAA at the 'RSPB BWSO', 10 August.  The IAA has been asked to participate in an event organised by the RSPB at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum at Cultra, near Holywood, Co Down. Entitled the 'Big Wild Sleep Out', it will feature overnight camping, with all sorts of night-time activities, including skywatching (if clear), and starshows with the mobile planetarium. It will be just coming up to the maximum of the Perseids meteor shower, so we should see some good activity from a fairly dark site, if it's clear.
  The event is now on the RSPB, NMNI, Cotswold Outdoor and IAA websites. Cotswold Outdoor will be offering prizes of a tent worth £250, 5 family spots and we also have 5 RSPB goody bags with mugs, biscuits, chocolate and RSPB wildlife books all to be won!
 
7. PICS FOR NEW IAA WEBSITE PHOTO GALLERY. President and webmaster Paul Evans has produced an excellent new photo gallery on the updated IAA website. See www.irishastro.org.  We would love to have any photos from members showing past IAA events and activities for a "Pics from the Archive" section. Credits will be given to respective owners of course. 

8.
INTERESTING WEBLINKS: 
 
9. TWITTER: Follow the IAA on Twitter:  @IaaAstro
 
10. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo. Look under 'Countryfile'.
 
11. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is easy: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://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 www.irishastro.org. 
  
Clear skies,
Terry Moseley

I'm now back on Twitter, after some temporary hiccups: @terrymoseley2
 


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Thursday, 20 June 2013

Thanks, Solstice, ISS, TV on TSE, NLCs, Astro Shop, Saturn, Solarfest, Weblinks

Hi all,
  
1. THANKS. First of all, thanks to all the many people who have sent me congratulatory emails or texts about my award of The British Empire Medal in the recent Queen's Birthday Honours, for 'Services to astronomy'. I have tried to reply to them all, but may have missed some!
 
2. SUMMER SOLSTICE. The Sun will reach its most Northerly point in the Sky on June 21 at 07.03, marking midsummer. From then on, days will shorten :-( but nights will lengthen :-)
 
3. ISS: NO longer visible from Ireland until the latter part of July. The Shenzhou and Einstein ATV supply vehicles have successfully docked with it.
 
4. TV PROGRAMME ON SUN & ECLIPSE: The BBC are showing "The Secret Life of the Sun" at 20.00hrs 23rd June on BBC 2.  The programme follows Dr Francisco Diego leading the Astro Trails solar eclipse project to Mount Carbine in Queensland for last November's Total Solar Eclipse.  It is claimed that it gives a fairly serious and sympathetic view of the eclipse following fraternity. The producer says he can make DVDs available after the transmission.
5. Noctilucent Clouds: We are now in the season for NLCs. Andy McCrea & Paul Evans got some superb images, look on the IAA website: www.irishastro.org. Look low on the Northern horizon for the hour or two around local midnight (that's in GMT: by your watch, say around 01.00)
 
6. NEW ASTRONOMY SHOP IN DUBLIN: Scopes and Space Ltd is Ireland's newest online and retail store. Based in Unit A8 Airside Enterprise Centre, Swords, Co Dublin. Visit our website to see our wide range of products http://www.scopesandspace.ie/  Our shop will be opened on July first.
   We are stocking a large range of products which include for the first time in Ireland: Orion telescopes, Takahashi, Officina Stellare, Scope Dome and Lunt Solar Systems. We also carry a wide range of CCDs and Planetary cameras from SBig, Starlight Xpress, Finger Lakes Instruments to name just a few.      
   Scopes and Space are also delighted to be looking after the young astronomers of Ireland with our kid's range of telescopes and science and astronomy books. We will have lots more exciting products coming online soon so please keep an eye on the website http://www.scopesandspace.ie/  or contact us on sales@scopesandspace.ie The shop will be open 6 days a week; come and visit our new showroom from the first of July.
 
7. SMILE FOR SATURN: On July 19, 2013, NASA's Cassini spacecraft will photograph Saturn and its entire ring system during a total eclipse of the sun.  Cassini has done this twice before during its previous 9 years in orbit, but this time will be different.
   "This time, the images to be collected will capture, in natural colour, a glimpse of our own planet next to Saturn and its rings on a day that will be the first time Earthlings know in advance their picture will be taken from a billion miles away," says Carolyn Porco, Cassini imaging team lead at the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado.
   "While Earth will be only about a pixel in size from Cassini's vantage point 1.44 billion kilometres away, the team is looking forward to giving the world a chance to see what their home looks like from Saturn. We hope you'll join us in waving at Saturn from Earth, so we can commemorate this special opportunity."
    Unlike two previous Cassini eclipse mosaics of the Saturn system the July 19 image will be the first to capture the Saturn system with Earth in natural colour, as human eyes would see it. It also will be the first to capture Earth and its moon with Cassini's highest-resolution camera.
   This latest image will continue a NASA legacy of space-based images of our fragile home, including the 1968 "Earthrise" image taken by the Apollo 8 moon mission from about 240,000 miles (380,000 kilometres) away and the 1990 "Pale Blue Dot" image taken by Voyager 1 from about 4 billion miles (6 billion kilometres) away. July 19th, concludes Porco, "will be a day for people all over the globe to celebrate together the extraordinary achievements that have made such interplanetary photo sessions possible. And it will be a day to celebrate life on the Pale Blue Dot."
   To learn more about the public outreach activities associated with the taking of the image, visit: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/waveatsaturn .
 
7A: IAA SATURN EVENT, 19 JULY: To mark this significant event, the IAA will be holding a special Saturn Observing Event, probably at Delamont Country Park. This imaging event will take place between 22:27 and 22:42 BST, and Saturn will be visible in the twilight sky low in the SW, so we'll be in the picture. Bring your lasers and torches to shine at Cassini for the photo! More details later, or check the IAA website: www.irishastro.org.
 
8. SOLARFEST 2013, DUNSINK: Saturday, June 29th, will feature 5 talks on our nearest star from both amateur and professional astronomers. There will also be a workshop on building a magnetometer and solar observing if the weather permits. Tours will be given of the Observatory and the South Dome. All are welcome and admission is free.
Note: Bring your own lunch. Complimentary tea and coffee will be provided.
  Among the amateur astronomer speakers are John Flannery, John O'Neill and Terry Moseley. More details can be found at  http://www.irishastronomy.org/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=11&id=97507&Itemid=40#97540
Admission FREE, but by ticket only: apply to ifas.solarfest@gmail.com

9. INTERESTING WEBLINKS: 
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/06/18/labour-councillor-simon-parkes-sex-alien-marriage-_n_3458236.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular. No Comment. Oh darn, I can't resist this one: If she is 'reptilian', why does he call her the Cat Queen'? T.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2341769/Star-Wars-style-planets-TWO-SUNS-capable-housing-alien-life-orbit-single-star.html?ico=sciencetech^headlines But this ignores various other factors, such as the orbital stability of any planets, and their climatic variations. T.
 
10: HUNT FOR NEAREST EXOPLANETS: A RARE ALIGNMENT OFFERS OPPORTUNITY TO HUNT FOR PLANETS. The Hubble telescope will have two opportunities in the next few years to hunt for Earth-sized planets around the nearest star, the red dwarf Proxima Centauri. These will be in 2014 October and 2016 February when Proxima passes nearly in front of two other stars. 
    Red dwarfs are the most common class of stars in our Milky Way galaxy; about 10 times as common as sun-like stars.  Every such star ever born is still shining today, because they evolve very slowly. Since lower-mass stars tend to have smaller planets red dwarfs are good places to hunt for Earth-sized planets. 
    Previous attempts to detect planets around Proxima Centauri have failed, but it may be possible to detect any smaller terrestrial planets by looking for microlensing effects during the two rare stellar alignments. Microlensing occurs when a foreground star passes close to our line of sight to a more distant background star.  The image of the background star may be distorted, brightened and/or multiplied, depending on the alignment between the foreground lensing object and the distant star.
  The events should enable astronomers to measure precisely Proxima's mass, by seeing how far the background stars are offset from their real positions in the sky.  The offsets would result from Proxima's gravitational field warping space.  If there are any planets, their gravitational fields will produce small extra positional shifts. Because Proxima is so close, the area of sky warped by its gravity is larger than for more distant stars, making it easier to look for shifts in apparent stellar positions. Only the most sensitive telescopes will be able to measure the positional shifts. The proposed Gaia space telescope and the VLT in Chile may be able to make measurements comparable with Hubble's. (Adapted from an SPA item)

11. TWITTER: Follow the IAA on Twitter:  @IaaAstro


12. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo. Look under 'Countryfile'.
 
13. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is easy: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://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 www.irishastro.org. 
  
Clear skies,
Terry Moseley
I'm now back on Twitter, after some temporary hiccups: @terrymoseley2
 
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Tuesday, 18 June 2013

IAA @ Glenavy & Carnfunnock, BBQ, ISS, NLCs, Binocs, TV, Solarfest, J. B-Burnell

Hi all,
  
1. IAA at Glenavy: We will be presenting another evening of astronomy at Glenavy, Co Antrim on Friday 14 June as part of their Fun Week. This will run from 7 to 10 pm, with shows in the Stardome, telescopes and binoculars on display, an exhibition of meteorites and space memorabilia. If it's clear, we'll be observing a nice fat crescent Moon, and maybe we'll be able to get Mercury and Venus, although they will both be low down in the brightish twilight.
The event will be in the grounds of St Aidan's Hall, in the centre of the village. More details will be on the IAA website: www.irishastro.org. 
 
2. IAA SOLAR DAY, CARNFUNNOCK COUNTRY PARK. We'll be holding another of these very popular solar days at Carnfunnock Country Park on the A2 Antrim Coast Road just a few miles N of Larne, on Saturday 15 June, 2 - 5 p.m. Solar telescopes, the biggest collection of sundials in Ireland, an astronomy exhibition, and of course the mobile planetarium with shows for young and old. More details later.
 
3. IAA MIDSUMMER BBQ: This will be held at about 5.15 p.m., immediately after our Solar day at Carnfunnock CP on Saturday 15 June: see above.
   As usual, you bring all your own food, drinks, plates, glasses, cutlery etc. We will supply the cooking facilities, i.e. a selection of barbecues, charcoal etc. But if you have your own portable BBQ, bring it along - the more variety and different cooking times & temperatures the better.
 
4. ISS evening passes: The ISS is now giving a series of evening and early morning passes over Ireland, as the nights shorten. Details as always on the excellent, and free www.heavens-above.com  

5. Noctilucent Clouds: We are now in the season for NLCs, and there was a lovely display last week. Andy McCrea & Paul Evans got some superb images, look on the IAA website: www.irishastro.org. Look low on the Northern horizon for the hour or two around local midnight (that's in GMT: by your watch, say around 01.00)
 
6. Binocular offer at Lidl: Lidl have another interesting Bresser binocular offer starting from Thursday 13 June. It's for a rather rare size: 8 x 60, in Porro Prism design. There's very little information about it on the leaflet or website, but the optics are described as BK7, which is not quite as good as the BAK4 spec, though still OK. And the price of £29.99 for 60mm objectives is very good.
   However, older readers beware: these binoculars will have an exit pupil of 7.5mm diameter (given by aperture / magnification), which is significantly larger than the pupil of the fully dark-adapted human eye for almost everyone over the age of 35 or 40. That means that all of the light collected by those large lenses simply cannot enter your eyes, so you don't get the advantage of the larger apertures. Even for younger readers, the average dark-adapted human eye pupil is only 7mm in diameter, so unless you are on the larger size of average in pupil size, even you won't be able to take in quite all of the light gathered by these lenses. And you won't be able to test this effect for yourselves in the shop, as obviously it will be brightly lit.
   So, maybe a bargain for younger readers, but be aware of that caveat.
 
7. INVITATION TO BBC SPOTLIGHT SPECIAL From Pippa Cooke, BBC:
I am trying to find audience members for Spotlight Special. I was hoping that some members of the Irish Astronomical Association may be interested in participating and would appreciate it if you could circulate this email. This audience special will be presented by Noel Thompson, and will be recorded in Blackstaff Studios, Great Victoria Street, Belfast on Tuesday 18th June.
   Like Question Time, the style of the programme is a question-and-answer format and we would like to find people who have a keen interest in current affairs, and who want to get their voices heard by our panel. We do ask those wishing to attend to do so in their own capacity, rather than as a representative of any group or organisation.
We ask people to arrive at Blackstaff Studios between 6:30pm-6:45pm on Tuesday 18th June. On arrival, audience members will be required to submit their questions to the panel, and will also have the opportunity to catch up on the news of the day and have a cup of tea. The programme recording will take place between 8:15pm-9:15pm, and the programme will broadcast at 10:35pm on BBC1 that same evening.
   Although we cannot guarantee that every audience member will have a chance to ask a question, we do encourage all audience members to get involved in any debate that follows a question. For that reason, we are interested in finding audience members who would be keen to get involved on the night, as audience participation really is at the heart of a successful programme. We need to contact all audience members. So, if people wish to attend with friends or family, please could they give the names and daytime telephone numbers of all the members of their group.
Please ask anyone who is interested to contact me: 028 9033 8378, or  Pippa.Cooke@bbc.co.uk
   (NB: This programme will be on the final day of the G8 summit. We will not know in advance what topics will be covered, but given the timing, possible subjects might include global issues such as climate change, overpopulation, space exploration or maybe even the impact threat to Earth & what are we doing about it? 
   And remember: if you ask a question, or speak, you do so as an individual, not representing the IAA! 
   If you intend to go, please let me know so that we have some idea of the response to this invitation.  Thanks. Terry
 
8. SOLARFEST 2013, DUNSINK: Saturday, June 29th, will feature 5 talks on our nearest star from both amateur and professional astronomers. There will also be a workshop on building a magnetometer and solar observing if the weather permits. Tours will be given of the Observatory and the South Dome. All are welcome and admission is free.
  Among the amateur astronomer speakers are John Flannery, John O'Neill and Terry Moseley. More details can be found at  http://www.irishastronomy.org/index.php?option=com_kunena&func=view&catid=11&id=97507&Itemid=40#97540

 
9. Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, FRS, in Dublin: You are invited by the European Parliament Information Office and WITS (Women in Technology and Science) to attend a special afternoon with Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, renowned astronomer and discoverer of pulsars, who is originally from Lurgan, Co Armagh. There is a considerable body of opinion that argues that she should have been a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of pulsars.
   I was lucky enough to have Jocelyn sit beside me at the recent BBC commemoration event for Sir Patrick Moore in Broadcasting House in London, and we had a good chat about her career, and how she's just as busy as ever!
   Prof Bell Burnell has been President of the Royal Astronomical Society, and of the Institute of Physics (UK & Ireland). She was also active in astronomy education in the Open University, and is currently visiting Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University. She was also recently elected Pro-Chancellor of Trinity College, Dublin. IAA members have been honoured to have had two (or is it three?) great public lectures from her.  
   The event will conclude with an interview covering Prof Bell Burnell's work over her long and distinguished career. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jocelyn_Bell_Burnell 
   The free event will be on Thursday, June 20th, at 12:00pm at 43 Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. Please book your place by emailing  epdublin@ep.europa.eu or phoning 00353 (1) 605 7900.
 
 10.
INTERESTING WEBLINKS: 
http://www.space.com/21480-extraterrestrial-civilization-heat-seeking-telescope.html?cmpid=527255 NB:
This would be SEVEN times the aperture of any optical telescope yet built, and double that of the proposed E-ELT,
 
 
 
11. TWITTER: Follow the IAA on Twitter:  @IaaAstro


12. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on  
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo. Look under 'Countryfile'.
 
13. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is easy: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://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 www.irishastro.org. 
  
Clear skies,
Terry Moseley
I'm now back on Twitter, after some temporary hiccups: @terrymoseley2
 
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