Free sky show, IAA NY Party, Quadrantids, IYA 2009

 

Hi all,

Hope you all had a good holiday season. The sky gave us brilliant Venus as a 'semi-Christmas Star' (though not nearly as prominent as it can be at Xmas in some years), but the best is yet to come....

1. NEW YEAR'S EVE FREE SKY SHOW: Brilliant Venus will be joined by a beautiful crescent moon, with Earthshine (commonly known as 'the old moon in the new moon's arms), and if you look carefully lower down and to the right you'll see a nice pairing of the smallest and the largest planets in our Solar System: Mercury and Jupiter. And if you have a telescope or really big binoculars you can look for the most distant planet, Neptune, though it will be very faint, at magnitude 8. (Yes, I'm reluctantly conceding Pluto's demotion from planetary status for the purpose of this comparison!).

   Firstly, the Moon & Venus: they will be unmistakable, visible in the SW twilight as soon as the sky starts to darken: say about 4.30 p.m. Venus will be 2.7 degrees below & left of the Moon. Venus will be fairly nearly as bright as it can get, at magnitude -4.3, and in a telescope you should be able to spot the phase, which will be 57.9, or just more than 'half'. The Moon will be 15.1% illuminated, and as the sky darkens, look for the lovely 'Earthshine', which is sunlight reflected from the Earth onto the Moon (if you were standing on the Moon at that time you would see an almost 'full' Earth), and then back again to our eyes.

   Next, look for Jupiter and Mercury: Jupiter will be 27 degrees to the lower right of the Moon - that's a bit more than the length of the 'Plough' or the 'Big Dipper'. If you don't know the sky well enough to use that as a scale, just follow a line from the Moon down towards the horizon at an angle equivalent to about 4.00 to 4.30 on a clock face: you should spot Jupiter as a brightish 'star' about 10 degrees above the horizon. However it won't be all that easy to see, as the sky will still be quite bright, and you'll need a clear Western horizon. Jupiter will be magnitude -1.9, but it won't look that bright against the bright sky background. Use wide-field binoculars if you have them, but only after the Sun has set!

   Once you've found Jupiter, look 1.25 degrees below & to its left & you should spot Mercury, noticeably fainter than Jupiter at magnitude -0.7. You should be able to see it without optical aid if the sky is clear & haze-free, but once again binoculars will help. If you have a telescope you might just be able to see the phase, which will be about 72%, i.e. noticeably gibbous.

   Finally, for your last target, you'll have to pick the best time between the sky getting dark enough to see it, and Neptune's decreasing altitude into the thickening low altitude atmosphere and haze, to spot that planet. Neptune will be 4 degrees 38' West of Venus, and 25' further South than Venus, if you have equatorial co-ordinates on your mount. If not, just look 3 degrees 22' below right of the centre of the Moon: that's about 20% more than the distance from the centre of the Moon to Venus. About three quarters of the way along that direction you'll pass the top right member of a line of 3 stars which are a good bit brighter than Neptune, at between magnitude 5 and 6. Neptune will lie just more than a lunar diameter beyond that star. All you'll see will be a faint 8th magnitude 'star', unless you have a fairly powerful telescope which might just show the tiny disc of the planet. I would start looking from about 5 p.m., or a bit later if you are in the far South or West of the Island.

   If you succeed, you'll have seen in one evening the nearest and furthest planets from the Sun, and the largest and smallest planets in our Solar System, plus our own Moon.  And if you are really keen, look for Uranus about 2 degrees above left of 4th magnitude Phi Aquarii, and if you wait until about midnight you'll see bright Saturn rising below the hind quarters of Leo the lion. That's all the planets in our SS, apart from Mars, which is too close to the Sun to be visible from Ireland.  Good Luck!

   (Venus will also be close to the crescent Moon in our evening skies at the end of January and February, but not quite as close as this time, and without Mercury & Jupiter in the vicinity.)

2. IAA NEW YEAR PARTY & FILM - Northern Ireland Premiere: I'm glad to be able to confirm that through the hard work and good offices of IAA Council Member Robert Hill we have been able to obtain the new film 'BLAST!' for its first ever showing in N.I., and only the second screening in Ireland (the first was in a film festival!). We are very grateful to Armagh Observatory and the Northern Ireland Space Office (a.k.a Robert Hill!) for sponsoring this special preview showing! It will get IYA 2009 off to a flying start for the IAA! See details below:

   As already noted, the event will be on Saturday 3 January: The format will be slightly different this year: the main venue will still be the Tudor Private Cinema, Drumhirk Road (off the A22 Comber to Killyleagh Road) in Comber Co Down, where we'll have the private screening of BLAST!

  BUT NOTE: This year we will meet first for a buffet meal in 'McBrides in the Square', Comber before going on to the cinema where we'll provide our own liquid refreshments as before: wine, mulled wine, hot punch, tea, coffee and soft drinks.  Total cost, including the buffet, plus our own refreshments at the cinema, plus the film, is an amazing £10 for adults and £5 for children. Beat that for value! Payment in advance, by cheque payable to the Irish Astronomical Association, to Mr John Hall, 3 Vaddegan Avenue, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT36 7SX, NO LATER THAN Wednesday 31 December. If you want to attend the film only, it will cost £5 per person, but places MUST be booked & paid for in advance!

  Remember: Saturday 3 January, at 6.00 p.m., Mc Brides, The Square, Comber, Co Down, and 7.30 at the Tudor Cinema, Drumhirk Road, Comber.

(Press Release) ..........

BLAST! – Controversial Adventure Story

to Screen at the Irish Astronomical Association New Year Party

Welcome to Astrophysics, Indiana Jones style! Five-time Emmy winner Paul Devlin brings his newest film BLAST! to the Irish Astronomical Association New Year Party at the Tudor Private Cinema, Comber, Co Down – offering an exciting, enlightening ride around the world and across the Universe.

BLAST! follows the filmmaker’s brother, Mark Devlin, PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of astrophysicists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary telescope on a NASA high-altitude balloon. Their adventure takes them from Arctic Sweden to Inuit polar bear country in Canada, where catastrophic failure forces them to try all over again on the desolate ice in Antarctica. No less than the understanding of the evolution and origins of our Universe is at stake on this exciting escapade that seeks to answer humankind's most basic question, How did we get here?

As in director Paul Devlin’s award winning film Power Trip, BLAST! de-emphasizes talking head interviews and dispenses with anonymous narration in favour of capturing the action as it happens. Dynamic storytelling and unique access provide the rare opportunity to reveal the personal and family sacrifices, the obsessions, and even the philosophical questioning of scientists.

.

BLAST! boldly threads through its narrative a dialogue on science and faith between two lead scientists – one an agnostic and the other a Christian. “The film allows its characters to discuss science and religious belief in a most natural way, and with a bit of humour” states Larry Witham, author of By Design: Science and the Search for God. “The typical science documentary omits the topic entirely.”

“My intention is to expose a much larger audience to the fascinating lives of scientists by breaking with some of the conventional approaches to science material,” comments Director Paul Devlin. “This story had all the elements I needed. The extreme events provide the structure for a classically suspenseful narrative, with a built-in twist at the end. The access to my brother’s private life builds emotional resonance, and when I found out that one of the lead scientists was also a devout Christian, I thought, Perfect! ”

The frank look at these issues, especially the religious discussion, has caused controversy among some scientists, many of whom may feel embattled by religious fundamentalism in the United States. However, it has also allowed BLAST! to ignite debate and to inspire general audiences to reconsider the relationship between science and faith.

Filmed on location in 7 countries on 5 continents, BLAST! will screen nationally and internationally in film festivals and in conjunction with the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Upcoming broadcasts of BLAST! so far include, BBC, Discovery Canada, SVT-Sweden, VPRO-Netherlands, YLE-Finland, and Al-Jazeera. Paul Devlin was awarded the 2007 New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) Individual Artist Award for BLAST! A trailer, photos, press package, list of upcoming screenings and additional information is available at http://www.blastthemovie.com

BLAST! will screen at the Irish Astronomical Association New Year Party, 3^rd January at the Tudor Private Cinema, Drumhirk Road, Comber, Co Down, BT 23 5LY, at 7.30 p.m. This special screening is open to IAA members and friends, but places are

Solstice webcast, Free School scopes, FT Challenge, IAA NY Party, Lidl offers

 

Hi all,

1. WINTER SOLSTICE WEBCAST FROM NEWGRANGE, BRU NA BOINNE:

The Irish Node of IYA2009 and the Office of Public Works in Ireland are inviting you to join us in watching a  live webcast of the winter solstice sunrise on December 21st from the megalithic passage tomb of Newgrange, in County Meath, Ireland.

This webcast will be live from 08.30 to 09.30 UTC on December 21st on the IYA2009-Ireland website: http://astronomy2009.ie/. The sunrise is at ~08.55 UTC.  (Hope it's clear!  T.M.)

2.

Dear Colleagues,

I mentioned in a previous message that the Year of Astronomy begins in January 2009. I want to advise you of an offer from the Society of Popular Astronomy to launch the year by giving away astronomical telescopes to schools completely free of charge. The telescope comes with a CD of instructions for use. The idea is to encourage schools to develop an interest in astronomy and to engage young people in discovering the wonders of exploring the night sky. To receive a telescope, each school has to download and complete an application form from the SPA web site www.popastro.com/moonwatch/schools3.php and send it with a submission of not more than 500 words about how the telescope will be used to promote astronomy in the school and community. This has been arranged through the good offices of Robert Hill of NI Space Office at the Armagh Planetarium. Robert has also put together some suggestions for the submission to help the drafting of the form. I have included these below. As you will see from the web site, telescopes are given on a first come first served basis, however we have been assured that any post primary school or special school with a post primary department that applies from NI has a very good chance of receiving a telescope, provided application is made within the next week to ten days. We intend to mark the event with a launch in the New Year so I would be grateful if you would process your application rapidly and send it to the address in the web site and copy it to me by post or email as the Advisers in the Boards will coordinate the distribution along with Robert and the Planetarium staff. I am also investigating the possibility of some training sessions for the use of the telescope. You will note that one of the conditions for acceptance is to link with a local astronomer. Armagh Planetarium has agreed to act as the local resource with support from astronomers at the Observatory in this instance. Give the contact as www.armaghplanet.com and your submission to alyson@armaghplanet.com. If you have any queries please contact me. I strongly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity to acquire a fully functional astronomical telescope.

Best regards

Sean Maguire

Adviser Science & Technology

Project Possibilities for 500 Word Outline

Curriculum: link to Key Stage 3. Underneath the stars and Is there life out there..? thematic units

· Start or enhance astronomy club activities

· Sign up to the free Astrogazers Ireland astronomy schools network in Northern Ireland run by Armagh Planetarium and encourage joint school activities (plus get lots of other free astronomy and space related material throughout the year!)

· Use the telescope to encourage and mentor local primary school (feeder) schools

· Propose a project for the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition

· Propose a project for the Seagate Young Innovators exhibition

· School display on astronomy

· Register with a free UK based robotic schools observatory. Either Faulkes Telescope project (www.faulkes-telescope.com) or National Schools Observatory (http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/)

Register with all Ireland astronomy schools competition 2009

3. Faulkes Telescopes Universe Challenge
One of the highlights of IYA2009-Ireland will be a schools competition, open to all schools in the island of Ireland, using the Faulkes Telescopes – either to obtain new data, or using data from the Faulkes archive. There will be a very exciting prize for the school students their teacher, and also their mentor. Details are given below.
We must come clean at once – we cannot run this important competition without the help and commitment of the professional astronomical community in Ireland, postgrads, postdocs and staff members, to act as mentors to the school groups. Hence this appeal.
Dúshlán na Cruinne le Faulkes
1. The Challenge is for groups of 2-3 school students, aided by their school teacher, at transition year or the equivalent in the North of Ireland, from the whole of the island of Ireland, as part of the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Ireland.
2. The purpose of the Challenge is to promote the study of science (specifically astronomical science) at third level by exposing groups of school students to the lasting satisfaction and fascination of conducting an original research project – including, of course, the times when things do not go well, but which necessitate sticking with the project and ultimately add to its satisfaction.
3. A crucial part of the appeal of the Dúshlán to school students will be the involvement of a mentor - postgrads, postdocs and staff members from Universities and Research Institutes in Ireland – hopefully providing them with an attractive role model. The level of involvement of the mentors will depend upon the number of school groups and the number of mentors – this will be decided at the end of January. Mentors may be asked to work with one or several groups. The level of involvement of mentors must be uniform for all groups and all mentors. The mentor associated with the group which best rises to the Challenge (i.e. the winning group!) will be invited to accept the prize also.
4. The research projects, including data collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation are to be conducted over a period up to approximately six months from February 2009.
5. Data are to be collected using either new observations by the Faulkes Telescopes (http://faulkes-telescope.com/) or from the Faulkes Telescopes data archive. The Faulkes Telescopes are situated in Hawaii and Australia and so can be operated during the normal working day in Ireland. Access to the Faulkes Telescopes for the purposes of the Dúshlán, subject to scheduling by the Faulkes Observatory is guaranteed to all entrant groups.
6. Dúshlán na Cruinne le Faulkes will be offici

Two sad deaths, Ursids, Solstice, IAA New Year Party

 

Hi all,

Two deaths: I'm very sorry to have to tell you of the deaths of two notable Irish astronomers: Dr Maire Bruck, and Rev Grattan Bannister.

Dr Maire T Bruck, nee Conway, a native of Co Meath, died last week, but having been away from my PC a lot since then, I have not been able to pass on the news until now. She did her Doctorate at Edinburgh University, and then went to Dunsink in May 1950. The director then was Dr Hermann A Bruck, and there was an instant attraction and they married within two years. After a long career there, the Brucks moved to Scotland, and Maire continued her work there after her husband retired and later died. She has written widely, with a particular interest in British & Irish women in astronomy. One of her best known books is on the well-known astronomer from Skibbereen, Co Cork: "Agnes Mary Clerke and the Rise of Astrophysics", published by Cambridge University Press in 2002.

   She retained an interest in astronomy right up to her recent illness, and has given several lectures at various venues in Ireland since the turn of the decade. She was emailing me not long ago about some matter regarding astronomy at Newgrange that she wanted some information about.

  She was a charming, intelligent and entertaining lady, and it was always a pleasure to meet her. She is a great loss to Irish astronomy.

It's also with great regret that I have to pass on the news of the death on Monday 15 December of the Rev Grattan Bannister, of Ballydehob, Co Cork, after a short illness. Grattan was one of those unique people whom it's almost impossible to describe. A true gentleman of the old school, a refined, polite and kindly man, and a real character. I don't know his age, but he would have been around 80 as far as I know, and had been actively observing until his recent illness. His particular interest was variable stars, especially eruptive variables such as SS Cygni.

   At my original suggestion, he hosted 'Pluto Parties' every summer in West Cork, where on suitable weekends some of his friends, particularly from the Cork Astronomy Club, would gather in either Ballydehob where he lived, or at the house of two close friends, Bill & Jane Otway in Schull, and we would attempt to see Pluto visually through a selection of telescopes. I attended on every year except one, attracted as much by the craic and the company as by the chance to see Pluto again. We were often beaten by last-minute changes in the weather, but on at least one occasion we did see it in the good old-fashioned way: photons from Pluto directly into your eyes! That was when it was still a planet, BTW, so there are a few of us who have seen all NINE planets in the Solar System with our own eyes!

   Grattan was a great correspondent, and the arrival of a letter from him, in perfect 'copperplate' handwriting, was always a welcome treat. He was a great linguist, and would often quote something from Greek or Hebrew at you, just to make a particular point. And all the meals at the West Cork astronomy events were preceded by Grattan's 'Grace' in Irish. He was not widely known outside the Cork & West Cork circle simply because he lived so far away, and as he did not drive but travelled locally on a tiny motorcycle he was not able to journey very far himself. He always dressed totally in black, and with his tiny, thin and fragile frame, it was amazing how he would go out in the small hours of a winter night just to get some particular observation.

  Anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him will know what I mean when I say that we have lost a true gentleman, and a fine amateur astronomer. I will miss him greatly.

METEORS: Although the Geminids were largely spoiled by cloud on the night of maximum, and a Full Moon in the sky anyway, I did see a few on Sunday evening before the Moon got too high.

   The next shower is the Ursids, with a radiant not far from Kocab, or Beta Ursa Minoris. It's not one of the major showers, with a usual ZHR of about 10, but there have been significant outbursts, in 1945, 1982, and 1986, so it's always worth watching. The maximum is predicted for Dec 22, and you can see some minor activity from about Dec 18 to 24.

WINTER SOLSTICE. The Sun reaches its maximum Southerly declination on Dec 21d 12h 04m, so if you see it transit at local noon that day it will be just about as far South in the sky as it crosses the meridian as it can ever be. After that the days start getting longer again (in the N Hemisphere). (BTW, I haven't forgotten the 'Equinox Question' I posed back in September, and I WILL get round to publishing the answer one of these days!)

IAA NEW YEAR PARTY: Advance note of the astro-social event of the year: the Irish Astronomical Association's annual New Year Party, which usually coincides fairly closely with Perihelion, rather than some non-astronomical event such as Christmas! The format will be slightly different this year: the main venue will still be the Tudor Private Cinema in Comber Co Down, where we'll have a private screening of a film with an astronomical or space theme (final decision on the choice to be taken at a Council meeting tonight!), but this time we will meet first for a buffet meal in Comber before going to the cinema where we'll provide our own liquid refreshments as before: wine, mulled wine, hot punch, tea, coffee and soft drinks. More details very soon, but note your diaries now: Saturday 3 January, at about 7.30 p.m.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Lecture, Schools competition, APOD, Geminids, Leonids 2009

 

Hi all,

1. IAA PUBLIC LECTURE: Irish Astronomical Association meeting, Wed 10 December. "Periodic Radio Pluses From Our Cool Neighbours - A New Stellar Lighthouse?" By Prof Gerry Doyle (Armagh Observatory).  7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. Admission free, including light refreshments. All are welcome.

2. Free Astronomical Telescopes for Post Primary Schools!

The International Year of Astronomy begins in January 2009. I want to advise you of an offer from the Society of Popular Astronomy to launch the year by giving away astronomical telescopes to schools completely free of charge. The telescope comes with a CD of instructions for use.

    The idea is to encourage schools to develop an interest in astronomy and to engage young people in discovering the wonders of exploring the night sky. To receive a telescope, each school has to download and complete an application form from the SPA web site www.popastro.com/moonwatch/schools3.php and send it with a submission of not more than 500 words about how the telescope will be used to promote astronomy in the school and community.

   This has been arranged through the good offices of Robert Hill of NI Space Office at the Armagh Planetarium. Robert has also put together some suggestions for the submission to help the drafting of the form. I have included these below. As you will see from the web site, telescopes are given on a first come first served basis, however we have been assured that any post primary school or special school with a post primary department that applies from NI has a very good chance of receiving a telescope, provided application is made within the next week to ten days.

    We intend to mark the event with a launch in the New Year so I would be grateful if you would process your application rapidly and send it to the address in the web site and copy it to me by post or email as the Advisers in the Boards will co-ordinate the distribution along with Robert and the Planetarium staff. I am also investigating the possibility of some training sessions for the use of the telescope.

    You will note that one of the conditions for acceptance is to link with a local astronomer. Armagh Planetarium has agreed to act as the local resource with support from astronomers at the Observatory in this instance. Give the contact as www.armaghplanet.com and your submission to alyson@armaghplanet.com. If you have any queries please contact me. I strongly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity to acquire a fully functional astronomical telescope.

Best regards

Sean Maguire

Adviser Science & Technology

Project Possibilities for 500 Word Outline

Curriculum: link to Key Stage 3. Underneath the stars and Is there life out there..? thematic units

· Start or enhance astronomy club activities

· Sign up to the free Astrogazers Ireland astronomy schools network in Northern Ireland run by Armagh Planetarium and encourage joint school activities (plus get lots of other free astronomy and space related material throughout the year!)

· Use the telescope to encourage and mentor local primary school (feeder) schools

· Propose a project for the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition

· Propose a project for the Seagate Young Innovators exhibition

· School display on astronomy

· Register with a free UK based robotic schools observatory. Either Faulkes Telescope project (www.faulkes-telescope.com) or National Schools Observatory (http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/)

Register with all Ireland astronomy schools competition 2009.

3. APOD: Belated congratulations to Deirdre Kelleghan whose imaginative sketch of the recent occultation of Venus featured on APOD a few days ago: see http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html and look back through the 'Archive'.  Well done Deirdre!

4. GEMINID METEORS: The best annual meteor shower is the Geminids, which are just starting to produce some activity, and are expected to peak this year on December 13th at 18h. Some activity will persist until about Dec 15/16. Unfortunately this year's display will be spoiled by a Full Moon at maximum, but you should still see some of the brighter meteors. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate: the standard measure of meteor activity) is predicted to be around 100, but you will probably only see about 1/4 of that rate because of the Moonlight. Grab any few hours when the Moon is out of the sky on the days on either side of maximum to get the best view, or if the Moon is up, position yourself so that it is hidden behind a tree or building if possible. The radiant is just North of Castor in Gemini.

5. LEONID MINI-STORM IN 2009? Astronomers from Caltech and NASA are predicting a near-storm of Leonids in 2009 based on a surprising outburst of meteors several weeks ago. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/04dec_leonids2009.htm?list724598

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Conjunction, Occultation of Venus, Lectures

 

Hi all,

1. CLOSE CONJUNCTION OF VENUS, JUPITER & MOON: On the evening of 30 November, Venus will lie just 2° below Jupiter with the Moon 11° to the lower right.

Next evening (1 Dec) the Moon occults Jupiter, with Venus just above right – see below.

On the following evening (2 Dec), Jupiter will lie 2.5°  to the upper right of Venus, with the Moon 11°  to the upper left. All these will be spectacular & beautiful sights, and lovely photo opportunities, especially with the Earthshine on the crescent Moon. Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest 'starlike' objects in the night sky, so this will be a real treat.

And you could also see a passage of the ISS - see www.heavens-above.com for details.

2. MOON OCCULTS VENUS: December 1. The following times are for disappearance and reappearance, to the nearest minute:

Cork: 15.35 – 17.05

Galway: 15.32 – 17.03

Dublin: 15.37 – 17.07

Belfast: 15.37 – 17.07

The times for Belfast & Dublin just happen to be the same, to the nearest minute.

Disappearance will occur at the ENE limb of the Moon. If you can’t actually see the dark (actually Earthlit) portion of the Moon due to sky brightness, just mentally ‘complete the circle’ of the Moon’s outline, to see where the disappearance will occur. Reappearance will be at the West limb of the Moon.

Although disappearance occurs with the Sun above the horizon, both the 13.7% illuminated Moon, and brilliant Venus at magnitude -4.1 should be readily visible if the sky is clear. You should also be able to locate Jupiter 2 degrees to the North in binoculars or a wide field telescope.

The phase of Venus will be about 69%, because it is coming round from Superior Conjunction, on the far side of the Sun. Venus’s diameter will be about 16.5” (arcsecs), so any telescope will show it as a bit more than ‘half full’. Jupiter will be noticeably fainter at magnitude -2.0, but easily visible after Venus has reappeared, when the sky will be darker.

LECTURES:

3. John O'Neill will give a lecture to the IAS in Dunsink Observatory, Castleknock, Dublin, on Monday 1st, at 8 p.m. Entitled "Wonderful Eclipses: The Greatest Saros", it will look at some of the best total solar eclipses to be seen.

4. Tuesday December 2nd: John Lally, TAS, will present the next talk entitled "It's Life Jim, but not as we know it". It takes place in the Presbyterian Church, High Street, Tullamore at 8:00pm.

All are welcome to attend, and admission is €2.00.

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley

Lecture, ISS + Space Shuttle

 

Hi all,

1. IAA PUBLIC LECTURE:

The next IAA public lecture will be on Wed 26 November, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. It will be given by Dave Grennan, & is entitled "Adventures in Digital Astrophotography". Dave is an expert in this field, and recently hit the astronomical headlines when he photographically discovered only the third asteroid ever to be discovered from Ireland (The second having been discovered by Dave McDonald only a few weeks previously, and the first having been found in 1848 - 160 years ago!). Dave will include an account of how he made his discovery in the lecture.

   Admission is free, and all are welcome, including light refreshments.

2. International Space Station + STS 126, Endeavour.

The ISS, with the Space Shuttle Endeavour currently docked with it, is making a series of evening passes over Ireland. Details of passes for your own location are available on the excellent, free, website www.heavens-above.com. Since the Shuttle is attached to the ISS, it may appear even brighter than usual. If you have a telescope with the appropriate tracking facility you can enter the orbital parameters and try to view it as it speeds across the sky at over 17,000 mph. If you are lucky, you may be able to make out the Shuttle attached to the main part of the ISS. It's better to look for it on a pass in late twilight rather than total darkness, since the brightness & contrast will be more favourable then.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

IAA Telescope event, possible Leonid outburst, Robinson Lecture

 

Hi all,

1. "EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT TELESCOPES" The next IAA Meeting will be on Nov 12: It will be a 'Hands-On Telescopes' evening, covering all practical aspects of choosing & using telescopes & binoculars.

We'll have a large selection of telescopes and binoculars on display, covering all the popular types used by amateur astronomers. We'll be giving advice on choosing and using both telescopes and binoculars, with some practical demonstrations.

   TELESCOPE TROUBLE-SHOOTING. And if you have a telescope of your own and are having any problems with it, or just feel that you're not getting the best from it, bring it along (if it's portable), and we'll try to help you with it.

   NEVER USED YOUR TELESCOPE? And if you are one of those people who buy, or are given, a telescope, and you have taken it out of the box, looked at the instructions, and thought 'I'll have a go at assembling it some other time' but have never actually done so, bring it along & we'll do our best to show you how!

   TELESCOPE or BINOCULARS or ACCESSORIES FOR SALE? Bring it/them along, if portable, and you might get a buyer - if the price is right!

      Wednesday November 12, 7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. Admission free, including light refreshments, and all are welcome."

2. POSSIBLE LEONID OUTBURST: There is a chance of a minor outburst of Leonid meteors on the evening of 16-17 November, centred on 01.32 on 17 November, with a ZHR of around 100. (The ZHR is the Zenithal Hourly Rate: the rate which would be seen by an experienced observer, with the radiant in the zenith, in VERY dark skies. Actual observed rates would be much lower).

  This is based on a prediction that the Earth will encounter the edge of the trail of particles emitted during the 1466 perihelion of the parent comet, (55P/Tempel-Tuttle) at 01.32 on 17 November. That was 16 periodic revolutions ago, so it's quite hard to be definite, but past predictions have been remarkably accurate. Indeed, the actual predictions indicated a ZHR of around 1000, but this was toned down to 100 to be on the safe side! The enhanced activity might last for about 6 hours altogether, centred on that time, although that also is very far from a firm prediction. The radiant will be fairly well up in the East at the relevant time, so even though the view will be spoiled by a brightish waning moon, it will be worth having a look.

   There is a prediction for another lesser outburst from a trail from the 1932 passage of the comet, but it is predicted to occur at 21.38 on Nov 18, well before the radiant rises in Ireland. The radiant is located in the 'Sickle of Leo'.

  See: http://www.imcce.fr/en/ephemerides/phenomenes/meteor/DATABASE/Leonids/2008/

3. 2008 ROBINSON LECTURE: The ninth Robinson Lecture will be held on Thursday 20th November 2008 in The Armagh City Hotel, 2 Friary Road, Armagh.
The Lecture will be delivered by Professor Peter W.J.L. Brand FRSE, of the Institute of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh.  The lecture will begin at 8.00 pm and is scheduled to end at 9.00 pm, followed by light refreshments.
       The Armagh Observatory Robinson Lecture is a public lecture held biennially in honour of the Founder of the Armagh Observatory, Archbishop Richard Robinson (1708--1794).
    The title of Professor Brand's lecture is: GOD AND THE UNIVERSE
Attendance at the 2008 Robinson Lecture is free, but if you would like to attend the Lecture, please contact the Armagh Observatory in order to obtain tickets.
   Please write, telephone or send an e-mail to: Mrs Aileen McKee, Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG; Tel: 028-3752-2928; Fax: 028-3752-7174; e-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk.  For more information, see http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/2008/robinson/robinson.html

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley

Mars book by Kevin Nolan, IAA Meeting, IAA Lecture Programme

 

Hi all,

1. A notable new book on Mars by Kevin Nolan from Dublin, "Mars - A Cosmic Stepping Stone" has just been published. Many of you will know Kevin, as he has been the Irish Representative for The Planetary Society for many years, and has given lectures to many amateur astronomy groups throughout Ireland. In fact, he is booked to give one on this very subject to the Irish Astronomical Association on 4 March.

It has been published by Praxis/Copernicus Books of New York, and is a very good quality production. I haven't read it all yet, but am very impressed but what I have seen so far!

Kevin writes: "The book provides an insight into Humanity’s legacy with the planet Mars and examines how Mars may soon play a critical role in uncovering the origin of life on Earth and its cosmic abundance; with important consequences for humanity. With chapters examining the origin and universal context for life, our chequered history of engagement with Mars, current and imminent far-reaching programs for Mars and their results, and their political consequences and impact on planetary biological protection; this book is a comprehensive work on the subject.

My motivation for writing this book stems from responses to public lectures and articles about Mars exploration, where many remain unconvinced by the value of such exploration. This book strives to correct this by revealing the scientific and sociological relevance of such endeavours. And, while the book was thoroughly researched, refereed and provides in-depth and up-to-date science of Mars exploration, it also informs about the many critical issues beyond the core science.

I believe the book to be relevant to a wide readership, most importantly for the general public young and old, but also for educators, media experts, artists, writers, science communicators, entrepreneurs and policy makers considering issues of space exploration; and of course science enthusiasts, undergraduates and graduates and astronomers and scientists seeking a succinct overview."

The production seems to be of the good quality one would expect from this publisher, and Kevin writes with an easy but authoritative style. The coverage is extremely comprehensive, and includes some of the very latest data from the various spacecraft at or on Mars. It's very well illustrated, with 53 colour and 112 monochrome plates, and has a comprehensive index.

“Mars – A Cosmic Stepping Stone” is now available at these (and other) outlets:

Amazon; Books-A-Million; Barnes&Noble; Blackwells; WHSmithEasons; Booksense.com; the_book_depository_; Harvardubookstore; Woodys-books; BUYALLBOOKS

   The official web site for the book is:

http://www.springer.com/astronomy/practical+astronomy/book/978-0-387-34164-4

    The Table of Contents, Extracts, and the Index can all be viewed on-line at Amazon.com; while a description of the book can be found on books.google.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Mars-Cosmic-Stepping-Stone-Uncovering/dp/0387341641/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223320225&sr=8-1

Congratulations to Kevin on this excellent piece of work!

2. The next IAA Meeting will be on Nov 12: It will be a 'Hands-On Telescopes' evening, covering all practical aspects of choosing & using telescopes & binoculars.

3.  There is a mistake in the IAA Programme Card: the lecture by Gerry Doyle should be on December 10, instead of December 12.

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley

Public Lecture, Another Irish Asteroid Discovery

 

Hi all,

1. "Is There Anyone Out There?" The next Irish Astronomical Association public lecture will be by Professor Phil Dufton of the Astrophysics Department in Queen's University, Belfast, and it will examine the possibility of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.

   It will be at 7.30 p.m, in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB. Admission is free, including light refreshments, and all are welcome.

2. Another Irish Asteroid Discovery!  Dave Grennan from Dublin has just discovered a Main Belt asteroid from his observatory in Raheny. The object was found in southern Pegasus, and is provisionally designated 2008 US3. It was magnitude 19.5 at discovery. It's in the asteroid Main Belt, and more details will follow once the Minor Planet Center of the IAU computes its orbit.

Dave's discovery comes just after Dave McDonald's find of 2008 TM9 a few weeks ago. Dave G's achievement is maybe even more incredible, as his observatory is just metres from the DART line in Raheny! This is only the third asteroid ever discovered in Ireland.

Once again, I'm sure you will join me in congratulating Dave G on a superb achievement, which likewise involved much dedication, commitment and skill. This has been an amazing year for astronomy in Ireland, and is a superb lead-in to IYA 2009!

See http://www.irishastronomy.org/cms/forum?func=view&catid=11&id=74040 for more details.

Will it be 'like buses' - you wait for ages and three come along one after the other? Who will be next? Or will it be a case of who will be the first to discover TWO asteroids from Ireland?

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

IAA Special Event: Bru na Boinne, LoughCrew, 2 Observatories

 

There are still some places left on the special IAA Weekend tour of the major astronomical attraction in Co Meath & Westmeath, on 24 - 26 October.

IAA ‘All-Island Trip’ to Newgrange, Knowth, Lough Crew, and Two Excellent Private Observatories, 24-26 October, 2008.

Since the IAA has members all over Ireland, we try now and again to organise an event which would be both accessible and of interest to members all over the island of Ireland. The last event, some years ago, was in Birr, and was very successful.

This time we have arranged a trip to the amazing World Heritage Site of Bru na Boinne near Drogheda, to include visits to both Newgrange itself and Knowth. (If any of you have already been to both those sites, I will also as an alternative conduct a private trip to the other great mound there, Dowth, which is no longer open to the public. Each of those sites has astronomical connections, as I’m sure most of you know. See: http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/0/Boyne+Valley.htm (Knowth); http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/66/Dowth.htm (Dowth);

http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/1/Boyne+Valley.htm;

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/895/boyne_valley_complex.html

We will also visit another fascinating site, Lough Crew, near Oldcastle in Co Meath, which has a whole complex of hilltop mounds, at least one of which has a passage aligned with the equinox sunrise, and has some amazing interior rock-carvings, which are also thought to be astronomically significant. See: http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/45/Loughcrew+Cemetery.htm

http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/46/Loughcrew+%28Carnbane+East%29.htm

http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/892/loughcrew_complex.html

and: http://www.shadowsandstone.com/gallery/874000 for both Bru na Boinne and Lough Crew.

(I can send direct email hyperlinks to those sites on request, to save you typing them in!)

And we will also visit two superb private observatories in the area, those of Gerry Moloney at Oristown near Kells, and John Nooney at Clonkill near Mullingar. Gerry has just replaced his ‘mere’ 28-inch Dobsonian with a 32” computer-controlled Dob in a run-off shed observatory, and John has 3+ telescopes in three different domes, including an 18” equatorial Newtonian + a Meade LX200 14” Ritchey-Chrétien. He also has a small ‘lecture-room’ where we can have a talk etc if the weather is bad. We will also be able to observe at one or both those observatories, if it’s clear.

Obviously the observing is weather-dependant, and if it was raining we couldn't even see Gerry's ‘scopes, as you can't open them up in the rain. And Loughcrew is a hilltop site with fantastic views in good weather, but not so nice if it's wet & windy!  So the idea is to make some things as flexible as possible, to suit weather conditions at the time.

PROVISIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday Evening & Night:

1. Anyone who wants to, particularly those travelling some distance, book overnight accommodation in the Kells - Navan area for the Friday night. I will send details of local accommodation to all who book. We can arrange to meet somewhere locally for an evening meal, if we want to.

2. If it's clear that night, we could go to Gerry's for observing.

Saturday Morning:

3. All: Meet at Bru na Boinne at about 9.30-9.45, for tours of Newgrange and Knowth, or the alternative visit to Dowth. You MUST be at the Bru na Boinne Visitors Centre ABSOLUTELY NO LATER than 10.00, as you have to get your tickets AND make your way on foot to the departure point for the buses to the mounds. This walk takes 10 minutes, or allow longer if you can’t walk at a reasonable pace. (Sorry, but by the very nature of these sites there is no access for people with more than slight mobility disability.) These sites are accessible in all weather conditions, but you will have to spend a considerable time out in the open, so bring appropriate waterproof/warm clothing! NB do NOT go directly to either Newgrange or Knowth – you will NOT be admitted! You must obtain your ticket in advance at the Bru na Boinne Visitors Centre!

4. Approx. 1 p.m. Lunch at the B na B cafe.

Saturday Afternoon:

5. See Loughcrew. This requires a moderately stiff walk about 100 metres up a grassy hill, so bring good strong non-slip boots or shoes. It’s also usually windy on the top (it’s the highest point in Co Meath), so bring warm & preferably windproof outer wear, and waterproof too if it could be showery. ALTERNATIVE: If the weather is too bad for that, we will go to Clonkill, where we will have a lecture or a 'presentation' of some sort in John's 'classroom'. We can also at least get into John's domes to see the telescopes even if it’s raining, even if they can’t be opened up.

Saturday evening:

6. Dinner in Kells area or Mullingar, depending on where we are, followed by –

7. Observing (if clear) at Gerry Moloney's Observatory if we have been at Loughcrew, or at John Nooney's if we have been at Clonkill. ALTERNATIVE: We may have an informal event, such as a quiz somewhere local, or just stay on & socialise in the hotel after the meal.

Saturday Night:

8. B&B, GH, or Hotel accommodation in the Kells area, convenient for Loughcrew.

Sunday Morning:

9. See Loughcrew, if we haven't already done so. ALTERNATIVE: A good lie-in, devotions, or whatever suits you!

Sunday Lunchtime:

10. Lunch locally, in Kells or Mullingar, depending where we are.

Sunday Afternoon:

11. Visit John's observatory at Clonkill, if we haven't already done so. ALTERNATIVE: Loughcrew, if we haven't already done so. ALTERNATIVE 2: If we've already seen Clonkill & Loughcrew: Optional local sightseeing, e.g. the Kells High Crosses, the Kells 'Monument', Belvedere Castle & Gardens near Mullingar; Trim Castle (where part of ‘Braveheart’ was filmed), Ballinlough Castle & Gardens between Kells & Mullingar, etc. Then depart home.

Sunday Evening:

12. If it's the only clear sky we've had all W/E, a short observing session at either observatory for those who have time (if that suits you), otherwise depart home.

That programme is as flexible as possible, to suit the weather conditions. We will try to finalise it at least the day beforehand, depending on the weather forecast, and all who book will be notified by email, or telephone if you don’t have that option. But the Bru na Boinne visit has already been pre-booked, and cannot be changed, and since you will all want to book accommodation locally for either the Friday night or Saturday night or both, I suggest that you do that fairly soon. Details of accommodation in each area will be sent by return to all who book. Detailed directions and maps and GPS co-ordinates will be provided in advance for all sites for all who book.

This is an excellent chance to visit one of the most amazing sites in Europe, and probably the oldest astronomical ‘building’ in the world, predating both Stonehenge and the Pyramids by several centuries. I have been many times, and I still get a thrill every time I stand in the inner chamber in Newgrange! Lough Crew is also very well worth a visit.

And we are VERY grateful to Gerry Moloney & John Nooney for making their private observatories accessible to us, and for being flexible enough to try to accommodate our variable schedule as above.

COST: £16 or €20 per person. The cost includes admission to the Bru na Boinne Visitor Centre, and the conducted tours to Newgrange and Knowth (or Dowth), and Lough Crew, and a token of appreciati

Lectures, Asteroid Hit, Orionids, Robinson Lectures

Hi all,

1. SDAS LECTURE: The next meeting will be on Thursday, October 9th at 8pm
in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin. The title of the talk is "Catch a
falling star" and it will be given by one of Ireland's most experienced
meteor observers, John Flannery. It will discuss meteor observing and meteor
science. All are welcome on the night and admission is free.

2. IAA LECTURE: The next IAA public lecture will be on Wednesday October 15,
at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's
University, Belfast. Albert White will give a talk entitled "Light Pollution
and What You Can do About It". Albert is chairman of ILPAC, the Irish Light
Pollution Awareness Campaign, and as the Ninth European Symposium for the
Protection of the Night Sky, under the auspices of the International Dark
Sky Association, will be held in Armagh next September, hosted by ILPAC and
Armagh Observatory, it's a very topical and important topic. Admission is
free, including light refreshments, and all are welcome.

3. DIRECT HIT: Details of a PREDICTED asteroid impact on Earth a couple of
days ago are on <http://www.spaceweather.com/> http://www.spaceweather.com/
-- this was the first time astronomers were able to predict that a
Near-Earth Object would actually enter our atmosphere. The object was only 1
to 3 metres across so it was barely an asteroid, more a big meteoroid. It's
reassuring that we were able to identify, track, and predict it's trajectory
all in a very short timescale. It exploded over northern Sudan with the
force of approximately 1 kiloton of TNT. More on the story can be found at
<http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~dfischer/mirror/320.html>
http://www.astro.uni-bonn.de/~dfischer/mirror/320.html

4. ORIONIDS: The next meteor shower is the Orionids, peaking on October 20,
with a max ZHR of about 25. But bright moonlight will seriously hamper
viewing so observed rates might be less than half of that. You can see some
Orionids from October 16 to 27, but they will be mainly concentrated around
a day or two either side of maximum.

5. 2008 ROBINSON LECTURE: The ninth Robinson Lecture will be held on
Thursday 20th November 2008 in The Armagh City Hotel, 2 Friary Road, Armagh.
The Lecture will be delivered by Professor Peter W.J.L. Brand FRSE, of the
Institute of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. The lecture will
begin at 8.00 pm and is scheduled to end at 9.00 pm, followed by light
refreshments.
The Armagh Observatory Robinson Lecture is a public lecture held
biennially in honour of the Founder of the Armagh Observatory, Archbishop
Richard Robinson (1708--1794).
The title of Professor Brand's lecture is: GOD AND THE UNIVERSE
Attendance at the 2008 Robinson Lecture is free, but if you would like to
attend the Lecture, please contact the Armagh Observatory in order to obtain
tickets.
Please write, telephone or send an e-mail to: Mrs Aileen McKee, Armagh
Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG; Tel: 028-3752-2928; Fax:
028-3752-7174; e-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk. For more information, see
http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/2008/robinson/robinson.html

6. ROBINSON SCHOOLS LECTURE. In addition, Professor Brand is delivering the
Robinson Schools Lecture in the Royal School Armagh, College Hill, Armagh,
at 2.00 pm on Friday, 21st November 2008. Teachers and pupils who would
like to attend should contact Mr Warren Fowles, The Royal School, College
Hill Armagh. Tel.: 028-3752-2807; e-mail:
sfowles830@royalschool.armagh.ni.sch.uk.
The title of Professor Brand's schools lecture is: BLACK HOLES AND THE
UNIVERSE
For more information on the Robinson Schools Lecture, see:
http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/2008/robinson/robinson-schools.html

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley

IAA Lecture, Taikonauts, WSP, ISS + ATV, Astrocast, ASGI, Star Stories, RIA

Hi all,

1. IAA PUBLIC LECTURE: Wednesday 1 October, 7.30 p.m. The next IAA public
lecture will be by our very own redoubtable & inimitable Dr Andy McCrea.
Entitled "Chasing the Darkest Skies in America and the Lowell Observatory",
it will describe Andy's latest astronomical adventures on the other side of
the Atlantic. It will be held as usual in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics
Building, Queen's University Belfast. Admission is free, including light
refreshments, and all are welcome.

2. CHINA LAUNCHES 3-Man spacecraft: China's Shenzhou 7 spacecraft carrying
a 3-man crew lifted off today from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center and
is now in Earth orbit. During the planned 3-day mission, the Chinese
astronauts or 'taikonauts', will launch a small satellite and conduct their
country's first space walk. As they orbit Earth, Shenzhou 7 and the body of
the rocket that launched it will be visible to the naked eye from many parts
of the globe, but probably not from Ireland. Sighting reports and updates
will be posted on http://spaceweather.com

3. WHIRLPOOL STAR PARTY: Ireland's favourite and longest running Star Party
will be held THIS W/E (26-28 September), at Dooley's Hotel, in Birr, Co
Offaly. Birr Castle is home to the famous Leviathan, which was for 70 years
the largest telescope in the world, and the charge for the Star Party covers
admission to the Castle Demesne to see the Science Centre and the restored
telescope.

The W/E starts with a reception in the hotel on Friday evening, followed
by lectures on the Saturday and Sunday, dinner (optional) on Saturday night,
and observing in the Castle Demesne on Friday and/or Saturday nights if it's
clear.

It's always good craic, with excellent talks, so book your accommodation
if you haven't already done so.

Details on: http://www.shannonsideastronomyclub.com/Whirlpool_2008.htm

4. I.S.S. + ATV Visible in Evening Skies: The International Space Station is
undergoing another series of evening passes over Ireland/UK from now until
October 8th. On board are 3 astronauts Sergei Volkov, Oleg Kononenko, Greg
Chamitoff. When the I.S.S. makes a favourable high pass it can be the
brightest starlike object in the sky (after Venus, and sometimes equalling
Jupiter.)

Also currently visible in the evening skies over Ireland is the recently
discarded ATV, or Jules Verne Transfer Vehicle, which has been detached from
the ISS and is being brought down for a planned re-entry over the Pacific
Ocean. It can get as bright as the brightest stars apart from Sirius, so
it's well worth looking out for. Some passes will be visible from Birr
during the WSP.

Details of both ISS and the ATV are on the excellent, free,
www.heavens-above.com.

5. WORLD ASTROCAST: Please note that the next 'World AstroCast' has as
usual, a "Live" broadcast. Our very special speaker on Sat 4th October at
20-00hrs UT is Prof Pamela L. Gay of the southern Illinois University, and
Astronomycast fame. Her presentation is entitled "The Origins of the
Universe". In this talk she will address the Big Bang and how we know it
happened. She will travel through three lines of evidence, following from
Olbers paradox, through helium abundances, up through the microwave
background.
The webinar is available on the following URL:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/world-astrocast-astronomy
Please pass this on to everyone you know who is interested in Astronomy.
Because it's live you will have the opportunity to ask Dr Gay questions
after the presentation. A unique experience. To avoid disappointment please
check out your audio and PC settings at least 24hrs prior to the
transmission by clicking on the above URL and listening to the previous
speakers pre recorded presentations.

6. ASGI MEETING, UCC, CORK. The Autumn meeting of the Astronomical Science
Group of Ireland will take place in University College Cork, on Thursday
afternoon 2nd and all day Friday 3rd of October.

This is a meeting for professional astronomers, and the talks are
therefore at an advanced level, but members of the Irish Astronomical
Association (and other bodies affiliated to the ASGI) are free to attend if
they wish.

It will be held in the Brookfield Health Sciences Centre on College Road,
close to the main campus. Admission is free. There may be a chance to see
the beautifully restored telescopes in the Crawford Observatory on the main
campus, and if you get a chance you should also see the award-winning
Blackrock Castle Observatory at Blackrock a few miles from the city centre.
See: www.bco.ie/

Details of the ASGI meeting are at: http://astro.ucc.ie/asgi2008autumn/.

If you intend to go, please contact Dr Paul Callanan paulc@miranda.ucc.ie or
Dr Denise Gabuzda (gabuzda@physics.ucc.ie), or Prof Niall O'Murchadha
(n.murchadha@ucc.ie) to give them an idea of numbers.

7. STAR STORIES: Nobelprize.org launches new educational production, Star
Stories. Nobelprize.org, the official website of the Nobel Foundation,
announces the launch of Star
<http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/physics/star_stories/> Stories, a
new educational multimedia production for high school and undergraduate
students that shows how Nobel Prizes awarded for advances in cosmology and
astrophysics have helped to bring us closer to the stars. Star Stories
explains the life and death of stars using a multimedia approach that
incorporates images, animation, video and text. In this interactive
production, you can discover:

* An interactive Universe, which allows you to explore the different
stages in the lifecycle of stars, and the stories behind them. For instance,
discover the biggest explosions in the Universe, what would happen if you
fell into a black hole, and where you can find diamonds bigger than the
Earth;
* Information and stories behind the Nobel Prizes awarded for
breakthroughs in our understanding of the stars. Discover stories such as
how a boat trip helped to uncover what happens to a massive star when it
runs out of fuel, and why it took 25 years to capture the most elusive
particles in the Universe;
* An interactive timeline that allows you to see and access the key
papers that contributed to each Nobel Prize breakthrough in star research —
such as breakthroughs that helped us to see the beginning of time, how stars
shine, and why we are all made from stars;
* Image and video galleries that capture the vastness of the stars and
interviews with Nobel Laureates discussing their discoveries;
* An introductory overview article that links all the Nobel Prize
breakthroughs in stars, from their conception in the primordial gas and dust
to their explosive deaths.
* By looking at the advancement of space research through the popular
appeal of the Nobel Prizes, Star Stories aims to be a useful addition to the
educational toolkit for high school and undergraduate students who wish take
a trip through the Universe and learn about our origins from stardust.

Read more about the Nobelprize.org Educational Outreach Program
<http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/> and our productions. Please let
us know your opinion of what you find on Star Stories and Nobelprize.org
<http://nobelprize.org/> , or any suggestions for how we might improve our
Educational Outreach Program. Merci Olsson, Marketing and Communications
Manager, Nobelprize.org.

8. RIA PUBLIC LECTURE, 16 October: The 2008 Hamilton Lecture, organised by
the Royal Irish Academy, will be given by Professor Lisa Randall of Harvard
University. Entitled "Warped passages: Unravelling the mysteries of the
Universe's Hidden Dimensions", it will be held in the Burke Lecture Theatre,
TCD, Dublin at 7.30 p.m. More details are on:
w.ria.ie/committees/maths/new.html
<http://www.ria.ie/committees/maths/new.html> Admission is free, but by
ticket only, so book early on www.ria.ie

BTW, I'm still getting replies to my 'teaser' question about the equinox in
the last E/M, so the final result, and the answer, will be in the next
mailing. Many replies so far, but only one has got it all correct, or very
nearly so! Can you do better? You've got until Monday....

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley.

Lectures, BAA in Dublin

1. JOHN MASON LECTURE IN BELFAST:

The IAA is delighted to announce that the opening lecture of the 2008-09 season will be given by well-known lecturer, broadcaster, author and astronomy expedition leader, the inimitable Dr John Mason.

   The title is: "An MOT for Hubble - The Future For Space Telescopes"

 John is one of the most entertaining & informative lectures you'll ever hear, and this is sure to be a lecture not to be missed.

   The lecture will be at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday 3 September, in Queen's University Belfast.

N.B.: THIS SPECIAL LECTURE WILL BE IN THE EMELAUS LECTURE THEATRE, in the main building, in QUB. The entrance is through the archway directly opposite the entrance to the Physics Building where the IAA lectures are usually held. Signs will be posted showing the way, so you won't miss it.

   Admission is free, including light refreshments, and all are welcome as usual.

 

2. BAA Out of London Meeting:

The British Astronomical Association will be holding its out of London meeting in association with the IAS in UCD, Belfield on Saturday 6 September.  Entry to the talks is 10 Euro.
Full details are at http://www.irishastrosoc.org/.

 

3. Astronomy Ireland: Lecture on Light Pollution, by Albert White, a founder of the Irish Light Pollution Awareness Campaign; September 8th, 8 pm, TCD.

 

4. South Dublin Astronomy Society: 11 Sept. "The total solar eclipse of 1 August" is featured in this month's meeting of the SDAS in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, at 8pm.

 

Clear skies,

 

Terry Moseley

 

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IAA Opening lecture, BAA Meeting in Dublin, PTTU

1. JOHN MASON LECTURE IN BELFAST:

The IAA is delighted to announce that the opening lecture of the 2008-09 season will be given by well-known lecturer, broadcaster, author and astronomy expedition leader, the inimitable Dr John Mason.

   The title is: "An MOT for Hubble - The Future For Space Telescopes"

 John is one of the most entertaining & informative lectures you'll ever hear, and this is sure to be a lecture not to be missed.

   The lecture will be at 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday 3 September, in Queen's University Belfast.

N.B.: THIS SPECIAL LECTURE WILL BE IN THE EMELAUS LECTURE THEATRE, in the main building, in QUB. The entrance is through the archway directly opposite the entrance to the Physics Building where the IAA lectures are usually held. Signs will be posted showing the way, so you won't miss it.

   Admission is free, including light refreshments, and all are welcome as usual.

 

 

2. BAA Out of London Meeting:

The British Astronomical Association will be holding its out of London meeting in association with the IAS in UCD, Belfield on Saturday 6 September.  Entry to the talks is 10 Euro.

Full details are at http://www.irishastrosoc.org/.

 

3. BAA "Portal to the Universe": You may be interested in this, from President of the BAA, Roger Pickard:

 

"Pamela Gay, who gave a short presentation at the recent Cambridge meeting on "Peer-to-Peer Astronomy Education" has been very busy working on "The Portal to the Universe" website (see below).  She now
seeks help from all those involved in astronomy and especially those who are responsible for making information available via the web.  So, if any member is already involved in providing such content or knows
of a member at their local astronomical society who does, perhaps they could advise Pamela?

She writes:-
"Portal to the Universe
The International Year of Astronomy Cornerstone Project "Portal to the Universe" (PTTU) seeks information on all RSS based astronomy content feeds (Blogs / Podcasts / Vodcasts / etc) and embeddable widgets.
   The Portal to the Universe seeks to become a one stop shop for finding online astronomy content, including news, blogs, pod/vodcasts, image feeds, and astronomy related widgets. We will not be creating content - we will be showcasing content from the community. Details on the Portal to the Universe can be found here: http://www.astronomy2009.org/cornerstone-projects-mainmenu-80/the-portal-to-the
-universe-mainmenu-85.html
   We are set to go into beta on December 1, 2008, and to make that launch a success we are working to index all blogs pod/vodcasts, image feeds and other new media content. If you are a new media content
provider and would like your content included in the beta release of PTTU, can you please contact Dr. Pamela L. Gay at pamela@starstryder.com with the following:

To appear on PTTU -
Site Name:
URL:
RSS Feed:
The byline is:
Tagline (1-sentence description is):
This site is [Clean] [Explicit] [Somewhere in between]
    For office use only -
The correct contact person is:
The correct contact email is:"

We will also be building a yellow pages of astronomy, including all astronomy community participants, from machinists building mounts to artists creating space related jewellery and all the observatories, vendors, and science centers in between. If you would like to be notified when online forms are available to sign up to be in the directory, please also email pamela@starstryder.com."
   Roger Pickard, President".

 

Clear Skies,

 

Terry Moseley

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Lunar Eclipse, Astronomy at Mount Stewart, BAA Meeting in Dublin, WSP

Hi all,

 

1. ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, 16 August: 

   Following the Solar eclipse on 1 August at New Moon, the next Full Moon on 16 August also provides an eclipse - a lunar one this time, of course. It will be a partial eclipse, but with a much greater magnitude than the solar eclipse as seen from Ireland. At maximum, almost 81% of the Moon will be in the Earth's shadow, and the rest will be dimmed by the outer fainter penumbral shadow. From Ireland, the Moon will rise already partially eclipsed, at about 20.45 from Belfast & Dublin, and a bit later the further West you go.

    Maximum eclipse will occur at 22.10 BST. The Moon's altitude then will be less than 10 degrees, so you'll need a good clear SE horizon to see the eclipse properly.

   The Moon will pass through the NNW part of the Earth's shadow, so it will be the SSE part of the Moon that will be deepest in the eclipse. The moon leaves the umbra, or the main part of the Earth's shadow, at 23.44.

    Eclipse Perseids?  Although the eclipse won't be total, the Moon will be dimmed enough for the 15-20 minutes or so centred on maximum eclipse for us to be able to spot some late Perseids if we are lucky. see www.irishastro.org.

 

2. ASTRONOMY DAY AT MOUNT STEWART, CO DOWN, SUNDAY 17 August.

The Irish Astronomical Association and Armagh Planetarium will be jointly hosting another one of the very popular and successful astronomy days at the magnificent National Trust property at Mount Stewart, near Greyabbey, Co Down. It will run from 2 - 5 p.m., with just the normal National Trust admission charges applying, although IAA members bringing telescopes etc will get in free.

   The Planetarium will have the mobile stardome, and there may also be rocket-launching etc.

   The IAA will have the usual solar telescopes and filtered binoculars etc for safely viewing the Sun. (Amazingly, given the recent weather, we actually had a mainly sunny afternoon for our Solar day at Carnfunnock Country Park last Saturday, and though there were no sunspots visible, we had some nice views of a detached prominence, and I gave a tour of the dozen or so different sundials which are a feature of the Park).

   And our own 'Ulsternaut', Derek Heatly, will be doing his usual feature on his forthcoming trip into space.

   So there's something for everyone, and we hope to see lots of you there.

 

3. BAA Meeting in Dublin, 5-7 September: The BAA's Annual 'Out of London' meeting will this year be held in Dublin, co-hosted by the IAS: The weekend starts on Friday, September 5th with a visit to Birr Castle and concludes on Sunday, September 7th with a trip to Newgrange. The main meeting on the Saturday includes a wide range of speakers.

On Saturday September 6th if people wish to attend the talks only they can pay at the door.  IAS & BAA members, and University Students: 8 Euro each. All others 10 Euro.

If people wish to attend any other side events on this weekend they must book through the BAA immediately, at: http://britastro.org/baa/images/stories/meetings/BAA_Dublin_2008_programme_and_booking_form.pdf

 

 

 4. WHIRLPOOL STAR PARTY, 26-28 September. Advance notice that Ireland's major annual astronomy festival, the Whirlpool Star Party, hosted by the Shannonside Astronomy Club, will be held once again at Birr, Co Offaly, home of the famous 'Leviathan', which was for 70 years the largest telescope in the world. It's always a great weekend of craic, great astronomy talks, exhibitions, 'scopes & accessories & books for sale, observing & socialising. Details on: www.shannonsideastronomy.com

 

Clear skies,

 

Terry Moseley

 

 

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IAA Solar Day, Perseids, Lunar Eclipse, Sky at Night

1. IAA SOLAR DAY. The first of this year's popular IAA 'Solar Days' will be
held at Carnfunnock Country Park on Saturday 9 August, from 2 to 5 p.m. As
usual, we'll have a good selection of solar telescopes & ordinary telescopes
with special solar filters and/or Sun projection systems. Spots have been rare
recently, but the solar telescopes will also show prominences on the limb, and
faculae and plages on the disc. Carnfunnock Country Park also has the best
collection of sundials in Ireland, all of different types. We'll have
alternative entertainment if it's cloudy, so come along for some spectacular
views of our nearest star.

2. PERSEID METEORS. The 'Old Faithful' of meteor showers is with us once
again, now building up to the maximum rate expected on August 12. Some Perseid
meteors are already appearing, but the rate does not reach a really noticeable
level until about August 7/8.

The peak is forecast for about 09h on the 12th, so best rates
will be seen on the night of 11/12, just before dawn starts to lighten the sky.
The waxing gibbous Moon will interfere somewhat on the night of
maximum, with First Quarter being on the evening of the 8th, and Full Moon on
the evening of the 16th. But the Moon will set by about 00.30 that
night, giving a reasonable dark-sky window before dawn for keen observers.

The radiant, from where the meteors appear to originate, is in
NE Perseus, not far from the famous Double Cluster. It is above the horizon all
night from Irish/British latitudes, so some meteors can be seen as soon as the
sky gets dark enough - say by about 11.30 p.m.

The maximum ZHR is forecast to be about 80, but
please note that you won't actually see that rate!
Why? The ZHR, or Zenithal Hourly Rate, is defined as the rate that would be seen
by an experienced observer, in a very dark sky, with the radiant in the
zenith. Even though the Moon will set well before dawn, and even if you
observe from a very dark location, there's one insuperable problem - the radiant
does not reach the zenith before dawn! From Belfast, for example, it only
reaches an altitude of about 65 degrees before the sky starts to brighten. So
don't believe so-called experts and commentators who just blindly quote the
official ZHR as the rate that the average person will see, ignoring all the
other factors! I even heard one professional astronomer say that the ZHR rate
could be seen by anybody, not just on the night of maximum, but during the whole
2 weeks or so that the shower is officially 'active'!

However, 65 degrees is still quite good, so if all other
conditions are favourable, you might see 60 to 70 Perseids per hour during that
moonless window from a very dark site. Add in about another 10 sporadic meteors
per hour, and it starts to become quite a respectable show.

Rates drop off during the few days after maximum, and with the Moon
brightening to Full on the 16th, you won't see so many on the nights after
maximum. - But see below.....

3. ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, 16 August: Many people in Ireland saw the partial
eclipse of the Sun on 1 August. I watched it through filtered binoculars from
the office, and colleagues there were quite impressed with the view just with
binocs! Many IAA members got nice photos: see www.irishastro.org.

Well, that was New Moon, and at the next Full Moon, on 16
August, there's also an eclipse - a lunar one this time, of course. It also will
be a partial eclipse, but with a much greater magnitude that the solar eclipse.
At maximum, almost 81% of the Moon will be in the Earth's shadow, and the rest
will be dimmed by the outer fainter penumbral shadow. From Ireland, the Moon
will rise already partially eclipsed, at about 21.45 from Belfast & Dublin,
and a bit later the further West you go.

Maximum eclipse will occur at 22.10 BST. The Moon's
altitude then will be less than 10 degrees, so you'll need a good clear SE
horizon to see the eclipse properly.

The Moon will pass through the NNW part of the Earth's shadow,
so it will be the SSE part of the Moon that will be deepest in the eclipse. The
moon leaves the umbra, or the main part of the Earth's shadow, at
23.44.

Eclipse Perseids? Although the eclipse won't be
total, the Moon will be dimmed enough for the 15-20 minutes or so centred on
maximum eclipse for us to be able to spot some late Perseids if we are
lucky.

4. The SKY AT NIGHT: Title: "Double Vision" (The Large Binocular
Telescope). If you missed the first broadcast on the 3/4 August, it
will be shown again as follows (thanks to Peter Paice for the info):
BBC 4 8 pm. Tues. 5 Aug.

Repeat: BBC 2 Sat. Aug. 9.

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley

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BAA/IAS Meeting Dublin 5-7 Sep 2008

With regard the BAA/IAS Meeting on Dublin 5-7 Sep 2008:

Would IFAS Society/Club Secretaries please please download the BAA Dublin Booking Form (PDF):

http://britastro.org/baa/images/stories/meetings/BAA_Dublin_2008_programme_and_booking_form.pdf

and circulate to as many of their members as possible.

Also could you please put a notice on your web page/magazine/newsletter.

hope to see you there for what promises to be a great weekend,

John
Vice-President, IAS

IAA Summer BBQ, Armagh P, Lecturer position, 4th July.

Hi all,

1. IAA Summer BBQ & Rocket Launching, Sunday 29 June:
The IAA's summer BBQ will again be held at Greencastle Planetarium at the
Maritime Museum, Greencastle, Inishowen, Co Donegal, where we'll have a
planetarium show, followed by real live rocket launching under the expert
tutelage of the director, Ash McFadden, followed by our BBQ.

Normal admission prices to the Maritime Museum and
Planetarium.

Remember, Sunday 29 June, starting at 12 noon
if you want to build your own rocket from a kit, or 2 p.m. if you just want to
see the starshow & the rocket launching.

2.
Armagh Planetarium Summer Blast off!
Blast off into a fun filled
family weekend at Armagh Planetarium on Saturday 28th and Sunday
29th June. It will be packed full of free activities for all
the family such as face painting, rocket building and competitions, as well as
the chance to check out one of our spectacular new shows in Ireland's only full
dome digital theatre (you can get into one show per family for free but you must
pre-book!) Our new shows
for family groups and children
up to 10 years old is the amazing 'Zula Patrol: Under the weather'. This
CG-animated show features a cast of loveable characters who take the audience on
a rollercoaster ride across the Solar System teaching them about science and
astronomy in a very entertaining comedic style.

The Zula
Patrol are a crew of wacky alien space explorers who must stop the evil but
bumbling villain Dark Truder (and Trixie, his talking hairpiece) before he
steals weather systems from the planets. If Truder gets away with this, he will
have the key to finding a magic ruby and become ruler of Planet Zula. The story
is fun with some great catchy songs, engaging and cute characters and funny
jokes. The show is superbly designed and animated in a colourful 'retro' style
and the audience will pick up facts about Earth and its neighbouring planets
without even realising that they are learning. 'Zula Patrol' covers the whole
dome in exciting action so this is a great show for small people and their
grown-ups. I am sure it will go down a storm!

Can you name
the Seven Wonders of the World? What about the
Seven Wonders of the Universe? In its thirty minutes running time 'Seven
Wonders' (narrated by Sean 'Sharpe' Bean) will take our audiences on two
separate voyages to ancient times on Earth and then out into the remote depths
of Space. The show covers the ancient wonders of the world, depicting them as
never before in their full glory. The audience will investigate the theories of
how these wonders were created and the stories of their downfalls before moving
out into space to get a glimpse of some of the Universe's great celestial
natural wonders. There are spectacular views of globular clusters and nebulae;
they look stunning in the full dome format. Every astronomer has his or
her own list of most wonderful sights in the Cosmos, how many of yours will be
among the Seven Wonders?

'Invaders of
Mars' is a very special show. Made by Evans and Sutherland with assistance
from Goto, ESA and ourselves at Armagh, it
tells of how the planet Mars, that tantalising red beacon in our skies, has
intrigued people on Earth for centuries. Could it be the home of alien life?
Could we fly there to see its wonders with our own eyes? Nowadays robotic
explorers from Earth are revealing the ancient secrets of Mars and showing us
just how our neighbouring world is both alien yet so like our own
planet.

This
spectacular new show will let our visitors see Mars as the astronomers of the
past did, before taking you on an unforgettable trip to the Red Planet with our
space probes from the Mariners of the 1960s right up to today's Mars Express and
Exploration Rovers. They will see mighty volcanoes, the biggest canyon
ever discovered and signs of water ice, before taking a peek at future times
when humans voyage in person to this mysterious world. I hope the audience for
this show will feel as though they too are invading Mars in
person.

We are
also pleased to welcome Knights of the
Empire, who will be attending this event in full Star Wars costume.
Space, Fun, Astronomy, excitement… it's all at Armagh
Planetarium.

Admission to one show and exhibition area is
free! (Maximum one show per family)
Check our website for more details

www.armaghplanet.com.
Pre-booking is Essential Call 02837523689.

(Colin
Johnston and Alyson
Kerr)

3. Lectureship, University of Dublin, Trinity College

Post
Title: Lecturer in Astrophysics
Status: Permanent
Dept/Faculty:
School of Physics
Closing Date: 12 noon on Friday, 1st August,
2008
Salary: The appointment will be offered on the
Lecturer salary scale
€37,343 - €75,365 / €77,875 - €85,599 per annum.

The
School of Physics wishes to appoint a Lecturer in Astrophysics with a proven
research track record.
This permanent position is funded for the first three
years by the Higher Education Authority (Ireland)
under its SIF Cycle II
programme and thereafter by Trinity College.

Applicants must have a Ph.D.
in astronomy or astrophysics and at least two years' postdoctoral experience in
either solar or stellar physics. Ideally the successful candidate will develop a
research activity which strengthens existing themes in the group. The
candidate's publication and funding record must be
commensurate with
experience.

Currently there are 2 lecturers, 4 postdoctoral staff, and 8
postgraduate students working in the astrophysics
group. Current research
involves both ground- and space-based observations, and also utilises
high
performance computing facilities available both locally and nationally.
Information on these themes and the
group in general is available at: http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Astrophysics/research.php

The
successful candidate will join the two existing academic staff members in
handling an expanding
undergraduate astrophysics programme, as well as
participate in postgraduate supervision within the
School. As a result, the
candidates should have some previous experience in teaching to undergraduate
and/or postgraduate students. Previous success in obtaining research funding
will be advantageous. Background information on the astrophysics group can be
obtained at:
http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Astrophysics

Lecturers from
other institutes currently assist in providing astrophysics courses and
supervising final year projects. In particular close ties are maintained by the
nearby Cosmic Physics School of the Dublin
Institute for Advanced Studies,
and interaction with staff and students through attendance at their
seminar
series is encouraged.

Candidates should submit a full
curriculum vitae, list of publications, research plan, summary of teaching
experience and a statement of the approach to teaching and the names of three
referees to:

Ms. Joanne Smith, Recruitment Executive, Staff Office,
Trinity College, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 896 1749
Fax: +353 1 677
2694
Email:joanne.smith@tcd.ie

WE WELCOME APPLICATIONS BY EMAIL.
TRINITY COLLEGE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER"

4. Fourth of July. Are you ready to
celebrate? No, not USA Independence Day. For everyone on Earth, it's Aphelion
Day. That's the day when the Earth is furthest from the Sun in its annual
circuit around its elliptical orbit. From that day on, we'll start gradually
getting closer to the Sun again as we head for Perihelion, or our closest
point to the Sun, early in the New Year. The difference is not huge: the
variation is from 152m km to 147m km, and it's not enough to outweigh the
seasonal effects of the tilt of the Earth's axis, which gives us our Northern
and Southern summers and winters. But if you are observing the Sun USING ONLY
PROPER SOLAR TELESCOPES OR FILTERS OF COURSE! - then that's the day when the
Sun's image will be smallest.

Clear
Skies,

Terry
Moseley

Michael Foale, Painting Prize, Names in Space, BA/Dublin, PhD Post.

Hi all,

1. Michael Foale at Armagh Planetarium on Thursday 5 June: A final reminder
about this event: This is from Naomi Francey." Please find attached an
invitation to Armagh Planetarium's latest event. We are having astronaut
Michael Foale coming to visit and are holding a presentation and question
and answer evening on the 5th June from 6.30 to 8.00 at the Planetarium. We
would like to invite the members of the IAA if any would like to attend.
There are limited places so it's a first-come, first-served basis. If they
contact me by email I can put their names on the list. If you have any
questions or queries don't hesitate to contact me. naomi@armaghplanet.com

Regards, Naomi"

Naomi Francey, Armagh Planetarium, College Hill, Armagh, Co. Armagh, BT61
9DB. Tel 028 3852 4725.

2. Dublin girl wins painting prize: This excellent painting of a nebula has
won a prize in ESO's 'Catch a Star 2008'. The artist is a young female pupil
in Saint Andrews Junior College in Blackrock. Congratulations to Ashley!

http://www.eso.org/public/outreach/eduoff/cas/cas2008/slideshow.html?cas=1067#i

3. Names in Space. If you like the idea of sending your name into space,
free, here are links to

Send your name to the Moon on LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter): the
deadline is June 27.

You can also send your name in search of a habitable planet on the
Terrestrial Planet Finder mission, KEPLER. 1st Nov. is the deadline for this
one. On the KEPLER mission you can write some words as well. You can also
download a starmap showing its field of search plus the location of those
exoplanets already discovered. KEPLER is linked to International Year of
Astronomy 2009.

http://planetary.org/special/messages,

www.namesinspace.seti.org

4. BAA out of London Meeting. The British Astronomical Association will be
holding its 2008 "Out of London Meeting" in Dublin on the first weekend of
September, hosted by the Irish Astronomical Society.

The weekend starts on Friday 5th with a visit to Birr Castle and
concludes on Sunday 7th with a trip to Newgrange. The main meeting on the
Saturday includes a wide range of speakers. The weekend coincides with a
major sporting event in Dublin so it is advisable to book your accommodation
and travel as soon as possible. Full details of the venue and suggestions
for accommodation are on the BAA website at:
http://www.britastro.org/dublinmeeting

Details are also in the link below. Note your diary now & book soon, as
the trips have limited places. Book through the BAA only!
http://homepage.eircom.net/~irishas/meet/baameet.htm

5. PhD position, Centre for Astronomy, NUI Galway: Candidates should submit
a letter outlining their suitability for the position, plus full curriculum
vitae (PDF format), to include the names, addresses and emails of 3 referees
(at least 2 of which are academic referees), by email to Ray Butler
(ray.butler@nuigalway.ie).

Details: Applications are invited for a research position (Ph.D.
fellowship), funded by a Science Foundation Ireland Research Frontiers
Programme award to the "Star Clusters & Variability" group.

The PhD project is "Probing the existence of Black Holes in Globular Star
Clusters – by identifying and tracking their high-velocity stars". This is a
collaboration between the project P.I. in the Centre for Astronomy at the
National University of Ireland, Galway (Dr. Ray Butler) and researchers in
the University of California at Santa Cruz (Prof. Jean Brodie), the
Institute for Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh (Dr. Dougal Mackey),
and Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Massachusetts (Dr. Jay
Strader).

The research focuses on the development, validation and deployment of
advanced image enhancement methods for Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imagery
of the centres of Globular Clusters. These are believed to harbour
intermediate-mass Black Holes – the "missing link" between stellar black
holes and galactic supermassive black holes. Near-miss encounters with a
massive black hole would greatly speed up passing stars. The project will
identify such anomalous stars, by tracking their motion across the cluster,
in images taken over baselines of a few years (1990s to the present) by HST
and by the Keck Telescope with adaptive optics.

This project offers the opportunity to gain experience and develop
practical expertise in the technologies which are driving the future of
astronomical research: image processing and simulation, space telescopes,
adaptive optics, precision astrometry, crowded-field photometry, N-body
dynamical simulations, data-archive mining, and project co-ordination via
Web3.0 instruments.

Travel for training and research exchange to the collaborating institutes in
California and Edinburgh, and to the Keck Observatory (Hawaii), is
anticipated. Funding is available for 3 years. The student will receive a
monthly tax-free stipend, worth €16k-17k annually. In addition, University
registration fees and all other research costs will be covered.

Requirements: Candidates should have, or expect to obtain, a minimum of a
2.1 (Second Class Honours Grade 1) honours degree in Physics, Astronomy,
Astrophysics, or a related discipline. This position is available from
September 1st 2008.

Contact: Dr. Ray Butler, Centre for Astronomy, School of Physics, National
University of Ireland, Galway. Phone: 091 493788. Email:
ray.butlernuigalway.ie Web: http://www.astro.nuigalway.ie/
Closing date: Friday 18 July 2008.

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley

Lidl Binocs, IYA '09, MS astronomy, 'Scope for sale, Astronauts & Photos wanted

Hi all,

1. Lidl 10x50 Binocs. From Monday 19 May Lidl will again be selling the Bresser 10x50 binocs for £14.99 in UK/NI. I don't know the price in ROI, but usually it's comparable. I have a pair of these and am very happy with them as a second pair which I keep in the car at all times. They are not 'Five Star', but they are probably 'Four Star', and are very good value at that price. They have BAK4 prisms (the best), and fully coated lenses. The field of view is quoted as 114m at 1000m, which equals 6.5 degrees, which is OK. They have central focussing, with individual eye adjustment. They also have a tripod attachment point at the front of the centre focus bar, They come with a strap and a light carry case. They are basically a 'clone' of the equivalent Meade model, which is a good guarantee of quality, and they have a 5-year guarantee.…

2. Volunteers for IYA 2009. I'm sure you all know that the UN General Assembly has designated 2009 as "International Year of Astronomy" to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescopic observations of the sky. It's also the 40th anniversary of the first Moon landing.
There will be a world-wide series of astronomy events, aimed at bringing astronomy to all. Contact your local astronomy club to see what they are planning.
The Irish Astronomical Association in particular is planning a wide variety of events, right across the country. We are looking for volunteers in all areas who would be prepared to help out at, for example, observing afternoons+ evenings. The plan is for an afternoon event focussing on the Sun, with night sky observing that same evening, with other activities if it's cloudy. These will obviously concentrate in the early spring and autumn, when darkness falls fairly early.

3. Microsoft astronomy: Microsoft research has released the beta version of the Worldwide telescope. just in case you have not seen it, please link to http://www.worldwidetelescope.org/ for the download.
Quoting the Blurb from the web site:
"WorldWide Telescope is a rich visualization environment that functions as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground- and space-based telescopes to enable seamless exploration of the universe.
Choose from a growing number of guided tours of the sky by astronomers and educators from some of the most famous observatories and planetariums in the country. You can pause a tour at any time and explore on your own. Or you can stop and research a deep sky object with the multiple information sources available. When you're ready, rejoin the tour where you left off.
WorldWide Telescope, created with Microsoft Corp.'s high-performance Visual Experience Engine, enables seamless panning and zooming around the night sky, planets and image environments. View the sky from multiple wavelengths: See the X-ray view of the sky and zoom into bright radiation clouds, and then cross-fade into the visible light view and discover the cloud remnants of a supernova explosion from 1,000 years ago. Switch to the Hydrogen-Alpha view to see the distribution and illumination of massive primordial hydrogen cloud structures lit up by the high-energy radiation coming from nearby stars in the Milky Way.
These are just two of many different ways to reveal the hidden structures in the universe with the WorldWide Telescope. Pan and zoom from aerial views of the moon and selected planets, and see their precise positions in the sky from any location on Earth, at any time in the past or future. The WorldWide Telescope is a single rich application portal that blends terabytes of images, data and stories from multiple sources over the Internet into a media-rich, immersive experience. Space explorers of all ages will feel empowered to navigate and understand the universe with the WorldWide Telescope's simple yet powerful user interface."

4. For Sale: Meade Lightbridge 12" Dobsonian f/5. In excellent condition with extras. Details as per Telescope House website- www.telescopehouse.com. Extras included: Astrozap shroud; all collimation and locking screws replaced with Bob's Knobs; wheeled base for moving; blackened struts; handles for lifting.
Buyer collects. Price – First £450. Contact - Philip Baxter 07999811066 or e-mail Philip_baxter@excite.com

5. ESA Astronauts wanted: From Monday 19 May ESA, the European Space Agency, will commence the search for new prospective astronauts. Both Ireland & the UK are members of ESA, so any UK or Irish citizen can apply. You need an appropriate science degree or pilot experience, and have to be within certain age limits, and healthy. See the ESA website for details.

6. COMET PHOTOS WANTED: From Dr Mike Simms: The Ulster Museum is putting together a whole load of new displays. Included will be a section on meteorites and the early history of the Earth and Solar System. I also want to briefly mention comets as a possible source of organic molecules and water for the early Earth. A picture of Hale-Bopp would be nice to include. There are thousands available on the internet but it would be nice to use an image (fully acknowledged of course) by someone in the IAA. It would need to be fairly high resolution but then, most of you starmen seem to have pretty fancy cameras these days! Could you send out a call to any IAA members to send me any good images of Hale-Bopp (probably best to use that one as it is the one most people will remember seeing) that they would like us to consider. All the best, Mike". Contact Mike at michael.simms@magni.org.uk
Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley