Prof Smartt: Inaugural Lecture, Galway lecture, IAA AGM, Mercury, research posts

 

Hi all,

1. PROFESSOR STEPHEN SMARTT - INAUGURAL LECTURE:

Queen's University, Belfast; School of Mathematics and Physics: The Head of School cordially invites you to the Inaugural Lecture by Stephen Smartt, Professor of Astrophysics.

    ‘SUPERNOVA: A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH’, on Thursday 1 May 2008 at 5.00 pm, Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB. Admission free.

2. Galway Astronomy Club: Lecture, "The Who, Why, Where, What & When of Irish Astronomy", by Terry Moseley:  Monday 28 April, 8 p.m. Claddagh Hall, Nimmo Pier, Galway. See:
http://galwayastronomyclub.ie/claddaghhallinfo.html

3. Mercury well placed in evening sky: Mercury, the elusive innermost planet, will reveal itself in the evening twilight in late April and early May. It can be fairly bright, but is always difficult to see as it never moves far from the Sun in the sky, and so can only be seen low down in the evening or morning twilight.

   You could look for it with good binoculars as early as 25 April, when it will be bright, but very low down in the WNW sky by the time the sky is dark enough to see it. It then moves gradually further out from the Sun, and by the end of April you should be able to find it using binoculars: start looking about half an hour AFTER sunset. (Never look anywhere near the Sun in the sky with binoculars or a telescope, so always wait until the Sun has set!). Once you've found it with binoculars you can usually see it with the unaided eye when you know where to look.

   If you don't know in just what direction to look, note the point on the horizon where the Sun sets, and then about 30 minutes later look about 7-8 degrees above and just to the left of that spot. 5 degrees is about the diameter of the usable field of view of most binoculars. If you don't spot it then, keep looking: by 40 minutes after sunset it will be a bit lower, and almost vertically above the point where the Sun set; - about 5 degrees above the horizon.

   On 2 May it will pass just to the left of the lovely Pleiades star cluster, although they will appear much dimmed in the twilight, and you'll need binoculars to see even the brighter members of the cluster.

    If you still can't find it, hope for a clear sky on the evening of 6 May, when the lovely thin crescent Moon will pass just over 2 degrees (4 Moon diameters) to the right of Mercury. Next evening the Moon will be about 12 degrees to the upper left of Mercury.

4. IAA AGM REPORT: At the Irish Astronomical Association's AGM in Belfast on 16 April, the new Council elected was as follows.

President: Mr Pat O'Neill

Vice Presidents: Philip Baxter, George Brannan

Secretary: Danny Collins

Treasurer & Membership Secretary: John Hall

Members: R. Campbell, R. Cobain, D. Collins, K. Doyle, R. Hill, A. McCrea, T. Moseley.

5. Research position: PhD Position in Exp. Physics NUI Maynooth
   Funding is available for 1 PhD student (3 years) in the Submillimetre Astronomy Group at NUI Maynooth, working under the supervision of Dr. Neil Trappe. The position will involve modelling, optimising and optically
testing receiver instrumentation for ALMA (Atacama Large Millimetre Array) in collaboration with receiver groups at the Space Research Organisation of the Netherlands and Chalmers Technical University, Sweden.
   The position will commence in September 2008. Applicants must have relevant qualification (1st or upper 2nd class honours BSc. degree) and will be considered by submission of a CV, statement of interest and description of any previous experience in optics or electromagnetism. Submissions must include contact details for 2 referees. Research involves potential extended visits to collaborating institutes.
  Neil Trappe, Exp. Physics, NUI Maynooth, Maynooth, Co Kildare, Email: neal.a.trappe@nuim.ie.

For some additional information see: http://physics.nuim.ie/research/index.shtml

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

LECTURE, OBSERVING/ASTRONOMY EVENING, AGM + BRING & BUY

 

Hi all,

1. DCU ASTROPHYSICS COLLOQUIUM SERIES: Wednesday, 9th April, 2008, 3:00 pm. Research and Engineering Building, Room N115, Dublin City University. Speaker: Professor Richard Ellis (Oxford University). Title: "Gravitational Lensing: Einstein's Unfinished Symphony". All are welcome to attend. (Sorry for the short notice - I only received notification at 01.00 this (Wednesday) morning! T.M.

2. IAA ASTRONOMY EVENING, MOUNT STEWART, GREYABBEY, CO DOWN, Sat 12 April. The Irish Astronomical Association will be holding another public astronomy evening with telescopes, talks, exhibition, and a portable planetarium at the National Trust's Mount Stewart House near Greyabbey, Co Down. We start at 8.0 p.m., so have your telescopes etc ready by then. IAA members bringing telescopes or binoculars get in free; otherwise standard NT admission charges apply. All welcome. See www.irishastro.org for more details.

3. IAA AGM + 'Bring & Buy'. The Irish Astronomical Association's AGM will be held on Wednesday 16 April at 7.30 p.m. in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. We will combine it with an astronomical and space 'Bring & Buy' sale, to start immediately after the official business. So bring along all your old or spare astronomy or space items - eyepieces, filters, finders, adapters, photo items, IT items, binocs, tripods, telescopes, mounts, accessories, books, magazines, videos, CDs, DVDs, posters, photos, meteorites, space memorabilia, and anything else that might be of interest. And bring along plenty of cash, as you never know what bargains might be there for the taking. Bring along a biro or two and plenty of 'Post-It' notes to price your items, and a few plastic bags to help your customers stagger away with their heavy loads! Also a separate price-list just to be sure. The IAA will not be responsible for any of the items on sale, so it's up to you to look after them. This is not like a 'car-boot sale' - there's no charge to bring along your items, and the IAA will not be taking any 'cut' from the sales: we are doing this just as a service to the astronomical community.

   To allow room for everyone, we'll also use the front row of desks, as well as the lecture counter at the front, and maybe a table or two. So get there early to get the best space!

  Everyone is welcome to attend, and admission is free, including light refreshments afterwards, but of course only current IAA members can vote on any Association business.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

COSMOS, ISS, Planet Earth, SDAS, IAA at Mount Stewart

 

Hi all,

A final reminder -

1. COSMOS 2008: April 4 - 6. Hosted by the Tullamore Astro Society: Ireland's second longest running Star Party takes place at Annaharvey Equestrian Centre, Tullamore, Co Offaly.  Details are on the TAS website: www.tullamoreastronomy.com, or Contact: Seanie Morris: (087)6825910.  Speakers include:

• Dr. Miruna Popescu, Armagh Observatory:

• Mr. Pat O'Neill, Irish Astronomical Association:

• Professor John Zarnecki, Open University:

• Dr. David Asher, Armagh Observatory:

• Mr. Trevor O'Donoghue, Kerry Astronomy Club:

• Mr. Albert White, South Dublin Astronomy Society and ILPAC:

• Mr. John Lally, Tullamore Astronomical Society:

See: http://www.irishastronomy.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=8506

2. The ISS + the now docked European 'Jules Verne' ATV are currently making evening passes over Ireland. The ATV has just made the first ever totally automatic docking in space, closing in on and then attaching itself to the enormous ISS. Details of visibility of these passes as always are on the excellent, free, site www.heavens-above.com

3. PUBLIC LECTURE:

The Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming, by Professor Ray Bates: Dublin, Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, Wednesday 9th April 2008 at 1800

and

Wexford, McLure Suite, Whites of Wexford Hotel, Thursday 10th April 2008 at 2000

The natural greenhouse effect due to the heat-absorbing gases such as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is essential for maintaining a comfortable temperature for life on earth. As the concentrations of the naturally occurring greenhouse gases are enhanced by man-made emissions, however, things may become very uncomfortable. In this talk, the basic mechanism of the greenhouse effect will be described and the consequences of man’s activities in raising greenhouse gas levels will be discussed.

Ray is Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at UCD and Emeritus Professor of Meteorology at the University of Copenhagen. He was formerly a senior scientist in the Laboratory for Atmospheres at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Centre. For most of his career he has been involved in research on modelling the earth’s atmosphere and in recent years has concentrated on studying the basic physics of the greenhouse effect.

More details from: Andrea Kwateng, International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE) www.planetearth.ie,  c/o Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), +353 86 0443013, andrea.kwateng@crucial.ie, andrea.kwateng@gsi.ie

4. SDAS MEETING DEFERRED: Due to other circumstances that have arisen we have to defer the meeting to April 10th. Apologies for any inconvenience caused. John Flannery,
South Dublin Astronomical Society. www.southdublinastronomy.org, tel: (086) 81 81 931

5. IAA ASTRONOMY EVENING, MOUNT STEWART, GREYABBEY, CO DOWN, Sat 12 April. The Irish Astronomical Association will be holding another public astronomy evening with telescopes, talks, exhibition, and a portable planetarium at the National Trust's Mount Stewart House near Greyabbey, Co Down. We start at 8.0 p.m., so have your telescopes etc ready by then. IAA members bringing telescopes or binoculars get in free; otherwise standard NT admission charges apply. All welcome. See www.irishastro.org for more details.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

NAM Public Lectures, ISS + ATV, COSMOS, Mount Stewart event

 

Hi all,

1. We have just a very few tickets left for the following NAM public lectures:

NAM - PUBLIC LECTURES:

RAS NATIONAL ASTRONOMY MEETING, 1 – 4 April 2008, Queen’s University, Belfast.

Over 600 astronomers and space scientists (an all-time NAM record!) are gather for the 2008 Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting (NAM 2008). NAM 2008 will be hosted by Queen’s University, Belfast and runs from 1 to 4 April 2008.

At NAM 2008 scientists will present new research in many aspects of astronomy and space science, including the early history of the Universe, planets around other stars, the vision for space exploration, black holes and the impact of ‘space weather’ on the Earth.  

For the general public, three keynote speakers will give lectures on the risk of asteroid impact, the Hubble Space Telescope and the way in which science influences popular science fiction. The Irish Astronomical Association has secured 50 tickets for the Lectures on Tuesday 1st and Thursday 3rd April, and 100 tickets for the lecture on the HST on 2 April, as that is one of our own IAA lectures. These tickets will be available by application via our website www.irishastro.org : These lectures are:

A. "Tunguska 2008: 100 Years of the NEO Impact Hazard"

Professor Mark Bailey - Armagh Observatory
Larmour Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Tuesday 1^st April, 19:00.

2008 is the one-hundredth anniversary of the most recent significant extraterrestrial body known to have run into the Earth: the famous 30 June 1908 Tunguska Event, which devastated some 2000 square kilometres of forest in a remote part of Siberia. Since then, advances in astronomy have confirmed that the phenomenon of impacts is a key driver of planetary evolution, ranging from the cause of the largest craters and mare (or "seas") on the Moon, to the evolution of life on Earth. This has led to our modern understanding that impacts by relatively small astronomical bodies (comets, asteroids and fragments thereof) have the potential to produce occasionally catastrophic environmental changes on Earth. The objects, which range in size from typically a few tens of metres across to many kilometres in diameter, orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits that cross those of the planets and are sometimes the closest extraterrestrial objects accessible to direct observations or to visits by spacecraft. Those that cross or come close to the Earth's orbit are called Near-Earth Objects (NEOs), and it is these that have the potential to collide with our Earth. This talk will review our growing understanding of the resulting extraterrestrial impact hazard and especially its implications for various aspects of civilization and for our wider understanding of mankind's and Earth's place in the Universe.

B. "Adventures with the Hubble Space Telescope". (IAA LECTURE)

Lars Lindberg Christensen of the Space Telescope European Co-ordinating Facility
Larmour Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Wednesday 2^nd April, 19:30.

The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most successful scientific projects of all time, both in terms of its scientific output and in terms of its almost iconic public appeal. Hubble's enormous impact derives from its ability to exploit a unique scientific niche where no other instruments can really compete at the moment - consistently delivering super-sharp images and clean, uncontaminated spectra, also in the elusive infrared and ultraviolet. This has opened up new scientific territory and resulted in many paradigm-breaking discoveries. Hubble's exquisite image quality has enabled astronomers to gain entirely new insights into the workings of a huge range of different astronomical objects and provided the visual overview of underlying astrophysical processes taking place planets, stars and galaxies.

    On top of all this astronomers are lucky scientists. Their telescopes do not only produce results of great scientific value, but also of eye-catching beauty and artistic potential. This talk aims to also show how Hubble has built a bridge between science and art.

    This lecture is presented in association with the Irish Astronomical Association.

C. "The Science of Science Fiction in TV and Films".

Professor Francis Keenan - Queen's University Belfast Astrophysics Research Centre
Larmour Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Thursday 3^rd April, 19:00.

Science-fiction films and TV shows are extremely popular, with many of the top-grossing movies of all-time being science-fiction, while Star Trek (and its various spinoffs) is one of the most-watched TV series. As a result, for many people their main exposure to scientific ideas and concepts is via the medium of science-fiction films and TV. In this presentation, the accuracy (or otherwise!) of the science in science-fiction films and television programmes is discussed, and illustrated using clips from films and TV shows including Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica and Aliens.

A full and up to date schedule of these and other events can be found on the official website at http://nam2008.qub.ac.uk

    The conference is principally sponsored by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and Queen’s University, Belfast.

FURTHER INFORMATION: NAM 2008: http://nam2008.qub.ac.uk.

Astronomy at Queen’s University Belfast: http://star.pst.qub.ac.uk

RAS: http://www.ras.org.uk

STFC: http://www.stfc.ac.uk

UKSP: http://www.uksolphys.org

MIST: http://www.mist.ac.uk

2. The ISS and the European 'Jules Verne' ATV are currently making evening passes over Ireland, and both are visible together as the ATV approaches the ISS to make the first ever totally automatic docking in space. Details as always on the excellent, free, site www.heavens-above.com

3. Don't forget the next major amateur astronomical event in Ireland: COSMOS 2008: April 4 - 6. Hosted by the Tullamore Astro Society: Ireland's second longest running Star Party takes place at Annaharvey Equestrian Centre, Tullamore, Co Offaly.  Details are on the TAS website: www.tullamoreastronomy.com, with more going up soon, or Contact: Seanie Morris: (087)6825910.  Speakers so far confirmed include:

• Dr. Miruna Popescu, Armagh Observatory: Topic on the Sun: Title TBA,

• Mr. Pat O'Neill, Irish Astronomical Association: Title TBA

• Professor John Zarnecki, Open University:  "Touchdown On Titan"

• Dr. David Asher, Armagh Observatory:    Topic on Tunguska Astro-impact, 100 years on: Title TBA

• Mr. Trevor O'Donoghue, Kerry Astronomy Club: "Transient Lunar Phenomenon"

• Mr. Albert White, South Dublin Astronomy Society and ILPAC:  "Pulsars & The Parkes Telescope"

• Mr. John Lally, Tullamore Astronomical Society:  "Countdown: Interesting Facts & Figures in the Universe"

4. IAA ASTRONOMY EVENING, MOUNT STEWART, GREYABBEY, CO DOWN, Sat 12 April. The Irish Astronomical Association will be holding another public astronomy evening with telescopes, talks, exhibition, and a portable planetarium at the National Trust's Mount Stewart House near Greyabbey, co Down. We start at 8.0 p.m., so have your telescopes etc ready by then. IAA members bringing telescopes or binoculars get in free; otherwise standard NT admission charges apply. All welcome. See www.irishastro.org for more details.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley