Irish Astronomical Association News: October 2010

Saturday, 30 October 2010

Lectures, Shuttle, Cassini Comp, IAA Observing, Hartleyid meteors? ISS, BCO

Hi all,

1. The next IAA Lecture will be on Wed 3 November, in the Bell Lecture Theatre, QUB, It will be given by Dr John Quinn, Senior Lecturer in the Astrophysics Department at UCD. TITLE: "Gamma Ray Astronomy - A New Window on the Extreme Universe"

Gamma Rays are the most energetic forms of electromagnetic radiation, and Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) emit many times more energy than we see in even a Supernova explosion. Another very topical talk, with recent discoveries of ever more energetic, and ever more distant, GRBs. They may be associated with Black Holes, or collisions between White Dwarfs or Neutron Stars, so it's bound to be a fascinating lecture, with the very latest news.

Time: 7.30 p.m. Venue: Bell Lecture Theatre, main Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. Free parking is available on the main campus, right beside the lecture theatre, from 5.30 pm onwards. Admission free, including light refreshments: All are welcome. See www.irishastro.org for full details of the programme.

2. SHUTTLE DISCOVERY CLEARED FOR BLASTOFF NEXT MONDAY
After reviewing normal processing and weekend work to fix a small fuel
leak, NASA managers cleared the shuttle Discovery for launch on November 1 to begin a space station resupply mission, the orbiter's 39th and final flight. With the ISS currently making nice evening passes over Ireland (see next item), it may be possible to see the two craft approaching other for docking.

3. ISS: The ISS is currently making a good series of evening passes over Ireland. See www.heavens-above.com for full details for your location.

4. REMINDER - DEADLINE 5 NOVEMBER!

Cassini Scientist for a Day competition.

This is open to pupils aged 11-18 yrs old in all schools in Ireland.

Glenlola Collegiate in Bangor won one of the first prizes a couple of years ago so it would be good to get another great response.

The Cassini Mission to Saturn is one of the greatest robotic space exploration missions of our time. Now you have an opportunity to become involved and maybe put your school's name on the map internationally.

How: By taking part in The Cassini Scientist for a day Contest 2010

Why: This contest increases awareness of space exploration, technology, engineering and science.

The Task: Write a 500 word essay on why the Cassini Spacecraft should target certain objects for imaging and investigation.
How do I do that? Watch three short videos, decide which is the most interesting for you, write your essay based on that.

The Cassini website would be your main source of reference for information. Watch this video for an introduction: http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientistforaday9thedition/international/
Watch these videos to choose your essay subject Rhea, Titan or Saturn itself? You decide, its your adventure. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/education/scientistforaday9thedition/targets/
There are three age groups: 11-13 years old, 14-16 years old, 17-18 years old

The Prizes: All winners will be given a copy of their chosen target image which will be taken by the Cassini spacecraft in October 2010. The youngest category winner will also get an iPod shuffle and books by Lucy Hawking. The middle category will win a Nintendo DS and books by Lucy Hawking. The oldest age category winner will be offered a one week research placement with Professor Carl Murray from Queen Mary University London.

Deadline 5 p.m. on November 5^th Include your name, age, postal address, name of your school, name of teacher, teacher's email address.

5. SCIENCE WEEK IRELAND, 7 - 14 November. Kevin Nolan has sent me the following link to a major event he is running for Science Week Ireland: See: www.scienceweek.ie The web site for pointing to the event is: http://www.knect.ie/planetary

6. Public Lecture by Dame Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell "Will the world end in 2012? - The astronomical evidence."

12 Nov, 7.30 p.m. in the Royal Irish Academy, Dawson St, Dublin. Admission free, but by ticket only. Book via www.ria.ie

I regularly get asked "What's all this about the world going to end in December 2012 (sometimes more specifically, on Dec 21, the winter solstice, 2012)?" I've been debunking that since I first learnt about this via the internet about 4-5 years ago, but the myth persists, and is growing. Of course it's rubbish, but it will be very interesting to hear what Dame Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell FRS, former President of the RAS, and of the Institute of Physics, has to say about it. Jocelyn is a 'local girl', originally from Lurgan, Co Armagh, and I'm sure that there will be a lot of interest in this talk, so book early.

7. IAA OBSERVING NIGHTS: 12 or 13 November: Delamont Country Park. The Irish Astronomical Association will be holding another observing night for members, and for any members of the public who want to come along, at a nice dark sky site at Delamont Country Park, near Killyleagh, Co Down. The format is: we observe on the Friday night if it's clear; if not, we try again on the Saturday night.

Check www.irishastro.org on the afternoon of each of those dates for an update on whether we will be there or not, and for directions to the location, and other details.

It gets cold at night now these evenings, so wrap up REALLY warm, from head to toe, and bring along any portable telescopes or binoculars you may have.

8. PUBLIC LECTURE, ARMAGH, 18 November: The Biennial "Robinson Lecture" will be given by Prof Chris Impey of the University of Arizona, in the City Hotel, at 8 p.m. "Astrobiology: Implications of Life Beyond Earth"
Either we are alone in the universe or not; either way, the implications are staggering. This talk considers the prospects for and implications of life beyond Earth. Biological adaptation to extreme conditions makes it very likely that variations on biology will be present on moons and planets around many of the billions of Sun-like stars in the Milky Way. The nearly 500 planets already found around other stars are forerunners of Earth-like planets that astronomers expect to be finding in the next few years. With exobiology still a blank slate, consideration will be given to potentially unusual forms of life.

Attendance at the Robinson Lecture is free, but if you would like to attend the Robinson 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 at sign

arm.ac.uk.

See http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/index.html

9. 'HARTLEYID METEORS'? A pair of unusual fireballs over Canada and the south-eastern USA have experts wondering if Comet Hartley 2 might produce a meteor shower in early November. See http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/27oct_hartleyids/

10: BCO EVENTS:

First Fridays at the Castle Free Monthly Event
Friday 5 November 2010
www.bco.ie/firstfridays. Blackrock Castle Observatory hosts open nights on the first Friday of every month with inspired activities for visitors of all ages. The internationally award winning Cosmos at the Castle is open and free to the public, Stargazing from 7pm is in association with the Cork Astronomy Club and BCO's growing band of Astronomy Volunteers.
    6-8pm: Hands on Workshops: Great World Wide Starcount - how to take part
Enjoy one of our family friendly workshops (every half hour) with Frances McCarthy, BCO's in house teacher and astronomer.http://www.windows2universe.org/citizen_science/starcount/
    8pm: Ben Burress - Web of Stars
Meet Ben Burress, astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, California; live on a web link from the USA to learn about CSSC's magnificent telescopes. Ben will take us on a journey through the collection of astrophotographs taken with these instruments by Cork students and launch the image exhibit Web of Stars
    For more information on these and future events at Blackrock Castle Observatory
call us 00 - 353 - 21- 4357917, email info@bco.ie or visit www.bco.ie/upcomingevents
http://www.facebook.com/BlackrockCastleObservatory
   http://twitter.com/blackrockcastle

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Saturday, 16 October 2010

Lectures, Comet Hartley, Successful WSP, Irish asteroid award & Observatory code

Hi all,

1. The next IAA Lecture will be on Wed 20 October, in the Bell Lecture Theatre, QUB, It will be given by Prof Don Pollacco of the Astrophysics Department at QUB. TITLE: "The Next Generation Exoplanet Surveys: Super-Earths in the habitable zones of late type stars"

A very topical talk, with the recent announcement of the discovery of a 'Super-Earth' in the so-called Goldilocks zone (neither too hot nor too cold) of a star in Libra. This is arguably the hottest topic in astronomy today, and Don is involved in some of the leading research programmes in the field, so it's bound to be a fascinating lecture, with the very latest news.

2. Comet Hartley will be closest to Earth on 20 October, although unfortunately the view will be spoiled by bright moonlight. Estimates of its magnitude vary widely, but it should be visible to the unaided eye from a dark site when the Moon is out of the way.

It is in Auriga around the 20^th and passes to the NE of the open clusters M36, M37 and M38 around the 22^nd/23^rd. By the end of October it is Gemini, visible from about 22:00. For more details and finder charts see: www.aerith.net, http://cometchasing.skyhound.com, and http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/%7Ejds/

3. A Great Whirlpool Star Party -

The resurrected WSP was held as before in Dooley's Hotel, Birr, Co. Offaly, with a great series of lectures, and a tour of the new solar radio telescope in Birr Castle demesne.

Congratulations to Tony O'Hanlon and Mike Murphy for arranging this event almost entirely on their own, and let's hope for an even bigger and better event next year.

It was great to see many old, as well as some new, faces there.

We also managed to squeeze in the autumn IFAS meeting into the tight schedule. Hopefully they will have a bit more help in arranging the next one: I'll volunteer for a start.

NB: Note change of date and venue for the lecture below:

4. Free Public Lecture in TCD, 19 October: "Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe: Einstein's Blunder undone!" by Prof Bob Kirschner of Harvard University.
Ten years ago, astronomers found astonishing evidence that the expansion of the universe is speeding up. We did this by observing exploding stars half way across the observable universe. We attribute cosmic acceleration to a mysterious "dark energy" that speeds up cosmic expansion, but whose nature we do not fully understand. Curiously, in 1917, Einstein invented the "cosmological constant" as a kind of cosmic repulsion, to balance out gravity to produce a static universe. He abandoned it in the 1930s when the universe was found to be expanding. These new results show we need a form of "dark energy" that is very much like Einstein's cosmological constant to explain the universe we live in. In this strange new picture of the universe, dark energy makes up about 70% of the universe, dark matter about 25%, and only 5% is composed of the ordinary matter that makes up galaxies, stars, planets, and people.
Venue: in the Paccar Lecture Theatre, Science Gallery, TCD, at 7:30pm TCD. All welcome. Reception afterwards. Entry via Pearse St/Science Gallery entrance
See: https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~rkirshner/, http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Astrophysics/
http://www.sciencegallery.ie/, For directions, see:
http://www.tcd.ie/Maps/map.php?q=science+gallery. Admission free.

5. Cassini Scientist for a Day competition.

This is open to pupils aged 11-18 yrs old in all schools in Ireland.

Glenlola Collegiate in Bangor won one of the first prizes a couple of years ago so it would be good to get another great response.

How: By taking part in The Cassini Scientist for a day Contest 2010

Why: This contest increases awareness of space exploration, technology, engineering and science.

Deadline 5 p.m. on November 5^th Include your name, age, postal address, name of your school, name of teacher, teacher's email address.

6. Public Lecture by Dame Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell "Will the world end in 2012? - The astronomical evidence."

12 Nov, 7.30 p.m. RIA Dublin. Admission free, but by ticket only. Book via www.ria.ie

7. PUBLIC LECTURE, ARMAGH, 18 November: The Biennial "Robinson Lecture" will be given by Prof Chris Impey of the University of Arizona, in the City Hotel, at 8 p.m. "Astrobiology: Implications of Life Beyond Earth"
Either we are alone in the universe or not; either way, the implications are staggering. This talk considers the prospects for and implications of life beyond Earth. Biological adaptation to extreme conditions makes it very likely that variations on biology will be present on moons and planets around many of the billions of Sun-like stars in the Milky Way. The nearly 500 planets already found around other stars are forerunners of Earth-like planets that astronomers expect to be finding in the next few years. With exobiology still a blank slate, consideration will be given to potentially unusual forms of life.

arm.ac.uk.

See http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/index.html

8. Michael O'Connell honoured with Official Observatory Code. Michael O'Connell has been awarded the status of an Observatory Code from the International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center. Astroshot Observatory (www.astroshot.com) is now officially I87. Well done to Michael, who has established himself a serious observer with not only good equipment, but knowing all the proper procedures for valuable observations.

And congratulations also to Dr Niall Smith of Blackrock Castle Observatory (www.bco.ie) in Cork which was awarded their code earlier in October.

9. Another Irish Amateur Astronomer gets Asteroid Honour. Last, but certainly not least, I'm delighted that my old friend and colleague, Jimmy O'Connor from the IAS in Dublin, has been honoured by the IAU by having an asteroid named after him: 30558 Jamesoconnor

James, for 61 years a member of the Irish Astronomical Society, was presented with the award at a meeting of the IAS and SDAS in Gonzaga College on Thursday, October 14th.

The citation from the International Astronomical Union reads: "Irish amateur astronomer James O'Connor (b. 1931) has been a stalwart of the Irish Astronomical Society for sixty years, serving as president, secretary and council member. He has also written a history of the Society covering the years 1937--2006. The name was suggested by J. McConnell."

The asteroid was discovered on 2001 July 16 by the Lowell Observatory Near-Earth-Object Search (LONEOS) at the Anderson Mesa Station. The asteroid is a Main Belt object orbiting the Sun with a period of 3.31 years.

I'm sure you will all join me in congratulating Jimmy on the award. I have known Jimmy since the late Sixties when we had joint meetings of the IAS Dublin & Belfast Centres in Dundalk.

The presentation was made by John McConnell. John has worked closely over the past two years with Dr Brian Marsden, Director Emeritus of the Minor Planet Center and Dr Ted Bowell, Principal Investigator of LONEOS, to help bring about this recognition of Jimmy's contributions to Irish astronomy.

More details about Jimmy's asteroid can be found at http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=jamesoconnor&orb=1 – N.B: some system firewalls may flag the site as containing malicious code. However, this is generally due to firewall rules that are preventing Java from running (to generate an orbit diagram of the asteroid) so it should not be an issue.

(Adapted from an announcement by John Flannery)

The list of asteroids officially named after Irish amateur astronomers now reads (in numerical, not date, order):

(6860) Sims -- in memory of Alan Sims, former IAS Chairman

(8515) Corvan -- after Armagh amateur astronomer Pat Corvan

(9929) McConnell -- after Northern Ireland amateur astronomer John McConnell

(16693) Moseley -- after Northern Ireland amateur astronomer Terry Moseley

(21782) Davemcdonald -- after Irish amateur astronomer Dave McDonald

(30558) Jamesoconnor -- after Irish amateur astronomer James O'Connor

(42531) McKenna -- after Northern Ireland amateur astronomer Martin McKenna.

The Magnificent Seven!

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Wednesday, 6 October 2010

Irish supernova, WSP, 4 Lectures, Cassini Comp, ISS, V. dark Cork Sky

Hi all,

1. FIRST IRISH SUPERNOVA! Dave Grennan, discoverer of two asteroids, the first of which was the first one discovered in Ireland for a century and a half, has now discovered a supernova in a distant galaxy - the first ever such discovery from Ireland. And all from his own observatory in Raheny, North Dublin!

The galaxy is 290 million LY away, so the star actually exploded before even the age of the dinosaurs, and the light has been travelling through space ever since!

There are various types of supernovae (use your favourite search engine for more info!), and this one seems to be a "type 1 b/c", but with various peculiarities, making it particularly interesting. This type is caused by rapid transfer of material from one star to another in a close binary system, making the receiving star unstable so that it undergoes a massive explosion.
Dave's discovery was made during a search undertaken on September 17th, but as independent confirmation is required, it has only just been officially announced. It is now designated as 2010ik. See www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/lists/RecentSupernovae.html

Supernova expert Prof. Stephen Smartt of Queen's University Belfast and his team used the 2.5metre Nordic Optical Telescope at La Palma in the Canaries to analyse the spectrum & confirm the type of supernova explosion.
Very many congratulations Dave - all your skill, determination & hard work pays off in the long run!

2. The next IAA Lecture will be on Wed 6 October, in the Bell Lecture Theatre, QUB, It will be given by Dr Martin Hendry of the Astrophysics Department at Glasgow University. TITLE: "Did we really go to the Moon?"

I'm sure all of you have heard of the various conspiracy theories which claim that the Apollo astronauts did not really land on the Moon, and that the whole thing was a gigantic fake, filmed in some vast hidden secret film studio. The proponents of this claim put forward various arguments about the lighting of the scenes on the Moon (or in the studio, as they claim), the lunar dust, the rocket exhausts etc etc. Dr Hendry provides a very informative, entertaining, and well illustrated analysis of these theories, and describes how they .... Well, you'll just have to come along and find out! Others argue that in fact the Americans actually landed on the Moon decades earlier to meet up with the Aliens, and that the Apollo flights were just a cover up! Whether you believe any of these theories or not, it's a brilliant lecture, and one you won't want to miss! Assuming that the Aliens don't abduct him before he gets here!

3. Whirlpool Star Party, 9-10 Oct -

The event will be held as usual in Dooley's Hotel, Birr, Co. Offaly and a full programme of lectures is scheduled along with observing, if clear, from the grounds of Birr Castle in the lee of the great Leviathan, the historic 72-inch telescope built by the 3rd Earl of Rosse in the 19th Century. Speakers include Prof John Brown, Dr Lyndsay Fletcher, Mr Tom Boles, Mr Leo Enright, Dr John Quinn, Dr Niall Smith.

Full details of the weekend can be found at http://www.birrcastle.com/events-exhibitions-birr-castle-ireland.php

I have a list of all the known accommodation in Birr and the surrounding area (over 100 places) which I will send to anyone on request, but I'll attach the names of the B&B's and GH's closest to Birr at the end of this E/M: If you can't get booked in any of those, you may have to try some of the others from the complete list.

4. Free Public Lecture in TCD, 18 October: "Dark Energy and the Accelerating Universe: Einstein's Blunder undone!" by Prof Bob Kirschner of Harvard University.
Ten years ago, astronomers found astonishing evidence that the expansion of the universe is speeding up. We did this by observing exploding stars half way across the observable universe. We attribute cosmic acceleration to a mysterious "dark energy" that speeds up cosmic expansion, but whose nature we do not fully understand. Curiously, in 1917, Einstein invented the "cosmological constant" as a kind of cosmic repulsion, to balance out gravity to produce a static universe. He abandoned it in the 1930s when the universe was found to be expanding. These new results show we need a form of "dark energy" that is very much like Einstein's cosmological constant to explain the universe we live in. In this strange new picture of the universe, dark energy makes up about 70% of the universe, dark matter about 25%, and only 5% is composed of the ordinary matter that makes up galaxies, stars, planets, and people.
Venue: Edmund Burke Theatre, Arts Block, Trinity College Dublin, Time: 19:30, Admission free.

5. Cassini Scientist for a Day competition.

This is open to pupils aged 11-18 yrs old in all schools in Ireland

Glenlola Collegiate in Bangor won one of the first prizes a couple of years ago so it would be good to get another great response.

How: By taking part in The Cassini Scientist for a day Contest 2010

Why: This contest increases awareness of space exploration, technology, engineering and science.

Deadline 5 p.m. on November 5^th Include your name, age, postal address, name of your school, name of teacher, teacher's email address.

6. The ISS has started another series of morning passes over Ireland: details for your location are on www.heavens-above.com.

7. Public Lecture by Dame Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell "Will the world end in 2012? - The astronomical evidence.

12 Nov, 7.30 p.m. RIA Dublin. Admission free, but by ticket only. Book via www.ria.ie

arm.ac.uk.

See http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/index.html

9. VERY DARK SKY IN WEST CORK: Just back from a great trip to Cork & West Cork. We saw one of the darkest skies I've seen recently in Ireland from near our B&B north of Rosscarbery, on Sunday night. M13 was clearly seen with the unaided eye, in spite of being only about 45 degrees above the horizon. And I gave up trying to count the number of stars visible in the Square of Pegasus (not that they were innumerable, but there were so many visible that it was hard to keep track of them as I counted them!). Measurements with a Sky Quality Meter gave a figure of 21.56 for the magnitude of the sky brightness per square arcsec of sky. In other words, the total light coming from the sky centred on the zenith (including all the stars, the Milky Way etc) was the equivalent of one star of magnitude 21.56 spread over each square arcsecond of sky, on average. Not bad, eh? That's the way it should be!

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley