Irish Astronomical Association News: January 2012

Monday, 23 January 2012

S/L a huge success, Lectures, IAA Live on radio, 27 Jan, ISS, Venus, Aurorae

Hi all,

1. BBC / IAA Stargazing Live Whopper Event! The IAA's major BBC Two Stargazing Live event at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre on Tuesday evening was a HUGE success! In spite of cloudy skies, we had an official attendance figure of 1200 people that evening (not estimated - counted by an automatic monitoring device)! Photos are still being put up on the IAA website, www.irishastro.org. Thanks to ALL who helped make the event such a success - if I (or Philip) haven't already thanked you directly, please take this as a sincere expression of our gratitude for all the people who helped, in whatever role.

The BBC were especially pleased with our role as the following quote from Senior Producer Jenny Rea indicates:

To Terry and all at the Irish Astronomical Association, Andy and everyone from Lough Neagh Discovery Centre, Doctors Pedro and Chris from Queen's University, Mary from Armagh Planetarium and to BBC colleagues; many many thanks for making last night's Stargazing event such a huge success!
It was a truly fantastic event and it was such a pleasure to work with you all. The fact that most people ran out of resources and the Star Dome had to put on two extra shows, was an indication of how successful it really was. Thanks to the staff at LNDC for making us all feel
welcome and being so well organised. Thank you to the IAA who brought astronomy to the shores of Lough Neagh and who were available for every media request.
And Jenny also said that we were 'a very professional bunch of amateurs'.

Such praise from a Senior Producer in the world's top broadcasting organisation is praise indeed!

We also had a tremendously successful event at QUB on the Monday evening. The Astrophysics Dept at Queen's asked us to provide telescopes and volunteers for a 'Jupiter Watch' in front of the main building. The sky was totally clear until after 9 p.m., and many hundreds of people queued for ages to see through the telescopes. Even though we had ten 'scopes, ranging in size up to the powerful 16" (400mm) Lightbridge, the queues were like something at Disneyworld! We saw both Io and Europa reappear from eclipse during the event. For many people, it was their first view through a telescope, and everyone was delighted.

We also provided volunteers and telescopes for the Armagh Observatory / NIEA event at Beaghmore Stone Circles / An Creagan centre in the Sperrins in Co Tyrone on Wednesday night. Although we only got a few brief clear spells, everyone was fascinated by the mysterious stone circles, and we also had two great talks in An Creagan afterwards. Two hundred people were recorded at that event.

Prof Mark Bailey, Director of Armagh Observatory, asked me to pass on the following message: Please pass on my thanks to all in the IAA for their help yesterday, and for coming along to swell the numbers, especially considering the difficulty in getting to and from An Creagan! Too bad about the damp weather, though I think everybody had a good time. Best wishes, Mark.

Once again, thanks to all the IAA members who helped out at those two events.

2. IAA LECTURE, 25 January: The Astronomical Association's next public lecture will be given by Paul Evans, IAA: Title: "Manned pace Exploration, the First 50 Years". Paul, the IAA's webmaster, is a life long spaceflight enthusiast, and regularly visits The Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to see launches. Paul is also an expert photographer, so I'm sure we will be treated to some amazing images.

The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 25 January, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org

3. SDAS MEETING January 26: "When Venus crosses the Sun.": (From John Flannery). Venus takes centre-stage this year on June 6^th when at inferior conjunction the planet crosses the Sun's disk during the last transit of Venus we'll see in our lifetime. Venus transits are the subject of our first talk this year on Thursday, January 26^th at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh. I'll be looking at the history of Venus transits, why they were so important, and what are the prospects for this year's transit. Do come along on the night to hear about these rare events. All are welcome and admission is free.

4. IAA 2-hour Live Radio Broadcast, 27 January! The Irish Astronomical Association has also been invited by the BBC to present a 2-hour live astronomy programme on Radio Ulster on the evening of Friday 27 January from Delamont Country Park, near Killyleagh! We will have a large selection of powerful telescopes and binoculars for viewing the sky, plus the Stardome mobile planetarium, and all the usual other attractions. This will broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m., live, no matter what the weather! So lots of interesting items will be included, to cope with either clear or cloudy skies. The presenters are the well-known Anne-Marie McAleese and Darryl Grimason.

We will be in action from about 6.30 onwards, setting up the telescopes and exhibition and viewing the sky if clear, so come about then if you want good views of the Moon and Venus through the telescopes.

5. ISS: the International Space Station is now in a series of morning passes. See www.heavens-above.com for details of this, and other bright satellites, Iridium Flares etc, for your own location.

6. Venus, the Evening Star: Is now really prominent in the evening twilight, and will be a brilliant 'evening star' as seen from Ireland through the Spring, and will be very well placed in late March as it approaches the Pleiades. It's visible lowish in the SW after sunset, at magnitude -4.1, and apparent diameter 13" (arcsecs). It is gradually moving out from the Sun, and will become a brilliant and unmistakable object through February and March.

Also note how it is getting closer to Jupiter. Hold out your arm towards Venus, then bend it at the elbow and clench your fist: the apparent distance now between Venus and Jupiter is just about the apparent length of your arm like that. Check the distance between them every week from now on, and see how the separation decreases until they pass each other on 13-14 March.

7. Aurora alerts. A lot of people who are not particularly interested in astronomy have asked me about seeing an aurora from Ireland/UK. I'm therefore going to set up a separate alert bulletin for possible aurora events only. If you know anyone who would like to get alerts of chances when aurorae might be visible from here (but not these more comprehensive bulletins), send me their email address, or ask them to email me directly.

I will of course include such information in these general astronomy bulletins too!

(There were some reports of aurorae this evening (Sun/Mon), but nothing visible from Glengormley from 11.45 - 01.40. However, the light pollution here is getting worse and worse, so I could miss a faint one.)

8. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro

9. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo

10. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc. See also www.irishastro.org.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Monday, 16 January 2012

S/gazing Update, Lecture, Galway SP, Spacecraft crash, Space/Astro News, Aurorae

Hi all,

1. BBC's STARGAZING LIVE is on 16-18 January, featuring the Irish Astronomical Association with a 2-hour broadcast extravaganza from Lough Neagh Discovery Centre (LNDC) near Lurgan, Co Armagh, on the evening of Tuesday 17th, and other activities on the Monday and Wednesday.

The IAA has been recognised by the BBC as an official 'Partner' in delivering this part of the programme. More on the IAA website: www.irishastro.org.

Look out for the following highlights:

Monday 16th: A public "Jupiter Watch" will be held by members of the IAA in association with the School of Mathematics and Physics in front of the main building at Queen's University, from 6 pm to 9pm. If it's cloudy, Dr Chris Watson will give a public lecture in the Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, entitled "Jupiters around other stars". See: http://tinyurl.com/qubjupiterwatch
Tuesday 17th: IAA Events at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre:

*Public Observing if clear: Venus, Jupiter, + all the usual Deep Sky wonders with a selection of powerful telescopes and binoculars.

*Stardome presentations: due to the expected demand, these will be ticket only, issued on a first come - first served basis.

*Amazing Photo Exhibition: The fantastic A0 size photos produced for IYA 2009 will again be on show, plus some of the best from other sources.

*Telescope and binocular exhibition: see all the varieties available, the pros and cons of each, and learn how to use them to their best capacity.

*Meteorites: an exhibition of many different sorts of meteorites - hold in your hand a piece of outer space (if you can hold it!), with experts there to talk about them.

*Our first "Ulsternaut" - Derek Heatly from Co Down, who has booked to go into space with Virgin Galactic's Spaceship Two will be there to talk about his training experiences and forthcoming flight, with videos.

*Astrophotography for beginners" - A 'taster session' by our own expert, Paul Evans.

*Q&A session: 'Everything you always wanted to know about astronomy' - a panel of experts will be there to answer questions from the public on everything from the Andromeda Galaxy to the Zeeman Effect.

*Hands-on demos: How to make a comet, etc.

*EU-UNAWE

*3-D Modern Astronomy show, presented by Robert Hill from N.I. Space Office.

*Children's activities, such as making willow stars.

In other words, something for everyone.

See: www.irishastro.org and www.bbc.co.uk/stargazing for updates.

See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo - put "Belfast" in the search box and see all our next events!

Wednesday 18th: Armagh Observatory and NIEA: Stargazing LIVE at An Creagan and Beaghmore: Where the Heavens Meet the Earth
Armagh Observatory and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) together with An Creagan and the Omagh and Cookstown District Councils are hosting a day of FREE Stargazing LIVE activities at An Creagan and the nearby Beaghmore Stone Circles. This is a unique megalithic site and the best Darksky site in Northern Ireland.
Following a series of Universe Awareness (EU-UNAWE) astronomy and science-based activities for local KS2 school children at An Creagan, in the afternoon there will be an opportunity, weather permitting, to visit the Beaghmore Stone Circles and learn more about the stones from Living History players and a professional archaeologist. This element of the FREE Stargazing LIVE event will take place from approximately 3.30pm to 5.00pm. Participants will watch the Sun going down and observe the bright planets Venus and Jupiter, both visible in the southern sky, as well as the first stars to appear after sunset. See http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/2012/stargazing/
Further information about this Stargazing LIVE event will be available from the Observatory website. Meanwhile, anyone wishing to participate in either the afternoon or evening events is requested to obtain their FREE ticket(s) by telephoning or sending an e-mail to: Mrs Aileen McKee at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh; Tel: 028-3752-2928; e-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk.

Armagh Planetarium will also be presenting a Stargazing Live event on Wednesday 18th January. They will be screening special FREE presentations of their brand new digital theatre show 'Experience the Aurora' at 7pm and 7.45pm. All seats for these shows must be pre-booked in advance. Places are limited so you are advised to book early to avoid disappointment (Tel: 02837 523689). They will also be joined by experts from the Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomical Society who will be bringing along a range of telescopes for public night sky viewing. They will also be on hand to help with any telescope queries you may have. So if you have a telescope and are not sure how to use it, this is your chance to get some expert advice from the NIAAS members.

Planetarium Director Dr Tom Mason has over 40 years experience working with meteorites. He will show you how to identify meteorites and also provide examples of the most commonly misidentified objects which are not meteorites. On display for the first time will be the Planetarium's latest lunar meteorite acquisition, as well as a fragment of Mars and various other specimens. Feel free to bring along any rock samples that you would like Dr Mason to identify.

For younger visitors there will be a special Stargazing arts and crafts room where they can have fun making space objects.

6:30pm Doors open; Public telescope viewing commences; Stargazing arts and crafts commences

7:00pm Experiencing the Aurora show *Remember to pre-book your seats!

7:30pm Meteorite Workshop

7:45pm Experiencing the Aurora show *Remember to pre-book your seats!

8:30pm Meteorite Workshop

9:30 Doors close

2. IAA LECTURE, 25 January: The Astronomical Association's next public lecture will be given by Paul Evans, IAA: Title: "Manned pace Exploration, the First 50 Years". Paul, the IAA's webmaster, is a life long spaceflight enthusiast, and regularly visits The Kennedy Space Centre in Florida to see launches. Paul is also an expert photographer, so I'm sure we will be treated to some amazing images.

3. IAA 2-hour Live Radio Broadcast! The Irish Astronomical Association has also been invited by the BBC to present a 2-hour live astronomy programme on Radio Ulster on the evening of Friday 27 January from Delamont Country Park, near Killyleagh! We will have a large selection of powerful telescopes and binoculars for viewing the sky, plus the Stardome mobile planetarium. This will broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m., and lots of interesting items will be included, to cope with either clear or cloudy skies. The presenters are the well-known Anne-Marie McAleese and Darryl Grimason. More details on this later.

4. Galway Astronomy Festival - January 21st 2012 is on "New Frontiers of the Universe". It will be held as usual in the Westwood Hotel, Newcastle, Galway (just on the outskirts of the city, on the N59 road to Clifden).

PROGRAMME:

9am-10.00 Registration
10.00-10.15 Official Opening
10.15-11.15 Carl O' Beirnes: Irish Astrophotography
11.15-12.15 Brian Harvey M.A.: Future Missions to the Moon and Mars
12.30-14.00 Midday break and Workshop by Jan Kotek on celestial maps
14.00-15.00 Dr. Niall Smith: Refurbishing derelict castles and defunct dishes – frugal innovation with real scientific impact
15.00-15.30 Tea/Coffee
15.30-16.30 Dr. Ronan Mc Nulty: Faster than light Particles and the latest results from CERN
16.30-17.00 Raffle and closing session
19.00 Dinner
21.00 Observing in Brigit's Garden http://www.brigitsgarden.ie/

We look forward to seeing you, hopefully under clear skies. For more details see: http://galwayastronomyclub.ie/

5. PHOBOS GRUNT probe crashes back into Pacific: Russia's Defence Ministry says a failed probe designed to travel to a moon of Mars has crashed, showering debris over the southern Pacific, according to news reports. The ministry said the fragments fell on Sunday 775 miles west of Wellington Island. The Phobos Grunt was one of the heaviest and most toxic space junk ever to crash to Earth, but space officials and experts said the risks posed by its crash were minimal as the probe's toxic rocket fuel and most of the craft's structure were to burn up in the atmosphere anyway.

6. CHINA AND INDIA TO BUILD WORLD's LARGEST TELESCOPE: Hot on the heels of the announcement of the next step towards the building of the 40-meter E-ELT (see previous bulletin), China and India are catapulting to the forefront of astronomy research with their decision to join as partners in a Hawaii telescope that will be the world's largest when it's built later this decade. China and India will pay a share of the construction cost - expected to top $1 billion - for the Thirty Meter Telescope at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano. They will also have a share of the observation time. It's the first advanced telescope in which either nation has been a partner. The Thirty Meter Telescope's segmented primary mirror, which will be nearly 100 feet across, will give it nine times the light-collecting area of the largest optical telescopes in use today. Its images will also be three times sharper.
The telescope, known as TMT, will be able to observe planets that orbit stars other than the sun and enable astronomers to watch new planets and stars being formed. It should also help scientists see some 13 billion light years away for a glimpse into the early years of the universe. If completed on time, it will be by far the world's largest until the E-ELT is completed, planned for a few years later.

7. SCIENTISTS CREATE THE SURFACE OF A STAR ON EARTH: The 'Z Machine' at the University of Texas, Austin, was built to simulate nuclear weapon detonations, but now devotes around 15 per cent of its time to experiments such as the star simulation, reports Inside Science. The machine produces huge amounts of energy - enough to melt diamonds. The machine can output power equivalent to 80 times Earth's total consumption. It has generated temperatures of 3.7 billion Kelvins, the highest ever created by humankind, including the centre of hydrogen bomb explosions. It also routinely generates electrical power equivalent to 80 times Earth's total power output. In the 'white dwarf' experiment, researchers simulated the 'spectrum' of a white dwarf's surface by firing 26 million amps of electricity through tungsten wires, which vaporises them, releasing X-rays. When the X-rays hit a container of hydrogen gas, it ionises and reaches a temperature of around 10,000 degrees centigrade, to recreate the conditions on the surface of a star.

8. DARK MATTER IN UNIVERSE MAPPED: 'Dark matter' is a theoretical - and controversial - substance which is undetectable by telescopes on earth, but thought by some scientists to account for up to three quarters of the mass of the whole universe. But scientists have mapped it for the first time, detecting dark matter by the 'ripples' it causes in space and time. Scientists studied 10 million galaxies in four regions of the sky using a 340 megapixel camera in Hawaii, looking for dark matter by the distortion of light from galaxies behind it - the gravity from dark matter 'bends' the light on its journey to us.The result is a map of dark matter on a huge scale - a tract of space measuring a billion light years. The international project involved studying images collected over a period of five years by the Canada-France Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea mountain in Hawaii.Galaxies included in the survey were typically six billion light years away. They emitted their light when the universe was six billion years old, roughly half the age it is today.

9. ISS: the International Space Station is now in a series of morning passes. See www.heavens-above.com for details of this, and other bright satellites, Iridium Flares etc, for your own location.

10. Venus, the Evening Star: Is now readily visible in the evening twilight, and will be a brilliant 'evening star' as seen from Ireland through the Spring, and will be very well placed in late March as it approaches the Pleiades. It's visible lowish in the SW after sunset, at magnitude -4.1, and apparent diameter 13" (arcsecs). It is gradually moving out from the Sun, and will become a brilliant and unmistakable object through February and March.

11. Billions of Planets in the Milky Way? More than 100 billion planets could populate the Milky Way galaxy, and many of the undiscovered worlds could be the size of Earth, according to a study released last week. Using a statistical analysis of data collected by a world-wide team of astronomers, the study shows smaller planets are more common than massive Jupiter-sized gas giants.

The results, which are published in the journal Nature, were released by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. "This means, statistically, every star in the galaxy should have at least one planet, and probably more," said Kailash Sahu, a member of the international team reporting on the study.

See: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1201/11exoplanets/

12. Aurora alerts. A lot of people who are not particularly interested in astronomy have asked me about seeing an aurora from Ireland/UK. I'm therefore going to set up a separate alert bulletin for possible aurora events only. If you know anyone who would like to get alerts of chances when aurorae might be visible from here (but not these more comprehensive bulletins), send me their email address, or ask them to email me directly.

I will of course include such information in these general astronomy bulletins too!

13. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro

14. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo

15. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc. See also www.irishastro.org.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Monday, 9 January 2012

Lectures, Stargazing Live, IAA/Radio, Galway AF, IFAS award, E-ELT, ISS, Venus

Hi all,

1. IAA LECTURE, 11 January: The Astronomical Association's next public lecture will be given by Prof Stephen Smartt of QUB: Title: "Astronomy with the PanSTARRS1 Telescope"

The PanSTARRS1 is a 1.8 meter (60-inch) diameter telescope on Haleakala, Hawaii, and is designed to automatically search the skies for objects that either move or change their brightness from night to night. It contains the world's largest digital camera, with 1,400 megapixels, and can image a patch of sky about 40 times the area of the full moon, much larger than any similar-sized telescope on Earth or in space.

The giant digital camera will take over 500 exposures each night and send about four terabytes of data (equivalent to what 1,000 DVDs can hold) for analysis. Computers will rapidly compare each exposure with corresponding ones taken either a few minutes or a few days earlier to find objects that have moved or whose brightness has changed.

Primarily designed to search for 'killer asteroids', it is expected to discover about 100,000 asteroids and to determine if any of them are on a collision course with Earth. It will catalog five billion stars and 500 million galaxies. It will also be used to compile the most comprehensive digital map of the 75 per cent of the universe visible from Hawaii.

Astronomers will also use the data to find brown dwarfs and distant quasars, to watch supernova explosions in distant galaxies and to test their latest theories concerning dark matter and dark energy. PS1 is the experimental prototype for the larger PS4 telescope, which will have four times the power of PS1 and is planned for Mauna Kea.

Prof Smartt is actively engaged in supernova research, and is recognised as a leading authority on the subject, and leads a very progressive and well-respected team in QUB in this field. Supernovae are not just the most powerful and violent explosions in the universe (if we include the latest evidence for 'hypernovae' in the same genre), they are vital tools in establishing the distance to remote galaxies, and hence the size of the universe. And they provided the first clues that the expansion rate of the universe is speeding up, the so called 'accelerating universe'. On top of that, the heavy elements that make life possible here on Earth are created in supernova explosions - without them, we wouldn't be here! So interest in them is at an all-time high, and the results from PanSTARRS1 will provide much invaluable data.

The lecture is on WEDNESDAY 11 January, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org

2. Major Public Lecture at QUB: "Latest News From the Large Hadron Collider", by Dr. Tara Shears, Thursday 12th January, 6:30 pm
   The School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast presents a lecture on the latest news from the largest science experiment ever built. The talk will be given by Dr. Tara Shears from the University of Liverpool, a renowned expert in particle physics and accomplished public speaker.
   The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the most powerful particle collider ever built. It is capable of creating (fleetingly) the fundamental particles which form everything in the universe. In particle physics we've understood much about these tiny objects, and can describe their behaviour in an incredibly successful theory. However, there are many known unknowns: where and what is the mysterious Higgs particle? Why is there so little antimatter in the universe? What is dark matter? We have built the LHC to try to find answers, and in this talk, Dr. Shears will show you the latest findings.
   The lecture will be at 6:30 pm on Thursday 12th January in the Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB. Complimentary tea and coffee will be served in the Great Hall in the Lanyon Building (main entrance) from 6:00 pm - 6:20pm.
   If you wish to attend this lecture, please reserve seats by either going to the website http://tinyurl.com/QUBPhysics or by calling 028 9097 3202.
    This talk has been sponsored by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast.

3. BBC's STARGAZING LIVE returns on 16-18 January, featuring the Irish Astronomical Association with a 2-hour broadcast extravaganza from Lough Neagh Discovery Centre (LNDC) near Lurgan, Co Armagh, on the evening of Tuesday 17th, and other activities on the Monday and Wednesday.

The IAA has been recognised by the BBC as an official 'Partner' in delivering this part of the programme. More on the IAA website: www.irishastro.org.

Look out for the following highlights:

*Public Observing if clear: Venus, Jupiter, + all the usual Deep Sky wonders with a selection of powerful telescopes and binoculars.

*Stardome presentations: due to the expected demand, these will be ticket only, issued on a first come - first served basis.

*Amazing Photo Exhibition: The fantastic A0 size photos produced for IYA 2009 will again be on show, plus some of the best from other sources.

*Telescope and binocular exhibition: see all the varieties available, the pros and cons of each, and learn how to use them to their best capacity.

*Meteorites: an exhibition of many different sorts of meteorites - hold in your hand a piece of outer space (if you can hold it!), with experts there to talk about them.

*Our first "Ulsternaut" - Derek Heatly from Co Down, who has booked to go into space with Virgin Galactic's Spaceship One will be there to talk about his training experiences and forthcoming flight, with videos.

*Astrophotography for beginners" - A 'taster session' by our own expert, Paul Evans.

*Hands-on demos: How to make a comet, etc.

*EU-UNAWE

*3-D Modern Astronomy show, presented by Robert Hill from N.I. Space Office.

*Children's activities, such as making willow stars.

In other words, something for everyone.

See: www.irishastro.org and www.bbc.co.uk/stargazing for updates.

See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo - put "Belfast" in the search box and see all our next events!

For younger visitors there will be a special Stargazing arts and crafts room where they can have fun making space objects.

6:30pm Doors open; Public telescope viewing commences; Stargazing arts and crafts commences

7:00pm Experiencing the Aurora show *Remember to pre-book your seats!

7:30pm Meteorite Workshop

7:45pm Experiencing the Aurora show *Remember to pre-book your seats!

8:30pm Meteorite Workshop

9:30 Doors close

4. IAA 2-hour Live Radio Broadcast! The Irish Astronomical Association has also been invited by the BBC to present a 2-hour live programme on Radio Ulster on the evening of Friday 27 January from Delamont Country Park, near Killinchy! More details on this later.

5. Galway Astronomy Festival - January 21st 2012 is on "New Frontiers of the Universe". It will be held as usual in the Westwood Hotel, Newcastle, Galway (just on the outskirts of the city, on the N59 road to Clifden).

PROGRAMME:

We look forward to seeing you, hopefully under clear skies. For more details see: http://galwayastronomyclub.ie/

6. IFAS ASTRONOMER OF THE YEAR, 2011: Congratulations to Irish Astronomical Association member Neill McKeown, who has been voted IFAS astronomer of the year. Neill has written the comprehensive monthly Observing Guide for IFAS for the last five years, and also produces a modified version for all the IAA's fortnightly meetings throughout our lecture season. Well done indeed to Neill: a well-deserved award for all the hard work!

7. CHILE APPROVES SITE FOR THE E-ELT: How would you like a 40 meter telescope? Not 40 meters long: 40 meters in diameter! The European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) is now a step nearer, as Chile has agreed to provide a site and support for this behemoth.

The telescope's 40-metre (some sources say 42 metre, and that was the original proposal) main mirror will make it by far the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world and enable it to take images 15 times sharper than the HST.

To try to grasp just how big that is, it's almost the size of 5 doubles tennis courts!

At a ceremony in Santiago, the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfredo Moreno, and ESO's Director General, Tim de Zeeuw, signed an agreement that secures donated Chilean land for the telescope, a protected area around it, and support from the Chilean government for the establishment of the E-ELT.

The new telescope will be completed by early next decade and will be placed at Cerro Armazones, 20kms from the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory.

See for example:

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/10/17/european-extremely-large-_n_1015138.html

8. ISS: the International Space Station will commence a series of morning passes on Jan 13. See www.heavens-above.com for details of this, and other bright satellites, Iridium Flares etc, for your own location.

9. Venus, the Evening Star: Is now readily visible in the evening twilight, and will be a brilliant 'evening star' as seen from Ireland through the Spring, and will be very well placed in late March as it approaches the Pleiades. It's visible lowish in the SW after sunset, at magnitude -4.1, and apparent diameter 13" (arcsecs). It is gradually moving out from the Sun, and will become a brilliant and unmistakable object through February and March.

10. Aurora alerts. A lot of people who are not particularly interested in astronomy have asked me about seeing an aurora from Ireland/UK. I'm therefore going to set up a separate alert bulletin for possible aurora events only. If you know anyone who would like to get alerts of chances when aurorae might be visible from here (but not these more comprehensive bulletins), send me their email address, or ask them to email me directly.

I will of course include such information in these general astronomy bulletins too!

11. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro

12. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo

13. Welcome to all the new members who have joined the IAA over the last few months - far too many to name here!

14. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc. See also www.irishastro.org.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Thursday, 5 January 2012

Star Party, Lectures, BBC Stargazing, IAA/Radio, Galway, Comet, Venus, Aurorae

Hi all,

1. IAA NEW YEAR PARTY, 7 January: The annual social event of the year will be on Saturday 7 January. The format is the same as before: meet first for buffet eats at 5.30 for 6.0 at McBrides in The Square, Comber, then on to the Tudor Cinema for some hot punch or soft drinks and the film "Cowboys and Aliens", followed by George's renowned quiz, with lots of prizes. We have ordered more food per person this year, so even the late arrivals should get enough!

And of course there will also be my seasonal hot punch on arrival at the Cinema: this will be available in two varieties of alcoholic strength to suit all tastes, and driving options.

We have also arranged for the car park to be treated with salt/grit if necessary, after the very slippy conditions there last year.

Directions: McBrides is in The Square, (NE corner) in Comber, at the junction of the A21 towards Ballygowan and the A22 towards Killinchy. GPS: 54 deg 33' 1" N; 5 deg 44' 44" W. You can park in the Square itself.

Directions to the Tudor Cinema from Comber: Take the A22 towards Killinchy, and about 1 mile beyond the end of the 30 mph speed limit sign, take the FIRST RIGHT into Drumhirk Road. GPS for this junction: 54 deg 31' 59.5", 5 deg 43' 54.6" W. The entrance to the Cinema is about 500 yards along Drumhirk Road, on the left - look out for signs for our event. Follow this laneway to the end, and it will bring you to the car park. GPS: 54 deg 31' 47" N, 5 deg 44' 15" W. Advance Booking is essential: see the IAA website: www.irishastro.org if you haven't already got a booking form.

2. IAA LECTURE, 11 January: The Astronomical Association's next public lecture will be given by Prof Stephen Smartt of QUB: Title: "Astronomy with the PanSTARRS1 Telescope"

3. MAC EVENT: Midlands Astronomy Club presents a Telescope night for Beginners - Tuesday January 10th. Taking place in the Presbyterian Church, High Street, Tullamore at 8pm, MAC members and experienced amateur astronomers will be on hand to provide demonstrations and tips on how to get the most out of your telescope or binoculars. The latest version of SkyMaps for January will be available free and copies of our 2012 Calendar will also be on sale (€5 each). Admission is €2.00 and all are welcome (children and adults alike).

4. Major Public Lecture at QUB: "Latest News From the Large Hadron Collider", by Dr. Tara Shears, Thursday 12th January, 6:30 pm
   The School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast presents a lecture on the latest news from the largest science experiment ever built. The talk will be given by Dr. Tara Shears from the University of Liverpool, a renowned expert in particle physics and accomplished public speaker.
   The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is the most powerful particle collider ever built. It is capable of creating (fleetingly) the fundamental particles which form everything in the universe. In particle physics we've understood much about these tiny objects, and can describe their behaviour in an incredibly successful theory. However, there are many known unknowns: where and what is the mysterious Higgs particle? Why is there so little antimatter in the universe? What is dark matter? We have built the LHC to try to find answers, and in this talk, Dr. Shears will show you the latest findings.
   The lecture will be at 6:30 pm on Thursday 12th January in the Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB. Complimentary tea and coffee will be served in the Great Hall in the Lanyon Building (main entrance) from 6:00 pm - 6:20pm.
   If you wish to attend this lecture, please reserve seats by either going to the website http://tinyurl.com/QUBPhysics or by calling 028 9097 3202.
    This talk has been sponsored by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and the School of Mathematics and Physics at Queen's University Belfast.

5. BBC's STARGAZING LIVE returns on 16-18 January, featuring the Irish Astronomical Association with a 2-hour broadcast extravaganza from Lough Neagh Discovery Centre (LNDC) near Lurgan, Co Armagh, on the evening of Tuesday 17th, and other activities on the Monday and Wednesday.

The IAA has been recognised by the BBC as an official 'Partner' in delivering this part of the programme. More on the IAA website: www.irishastro.org.

Final details are still being fine-tuned, but look out for the following highlights:

*Public Observing if clear: Venus, Jupiter, + all the usual Deep Sky wonders with a selection of powerful telescopes and binoculars.

*Stardome presentations: due to the expected demand, these will be ticket only, issued on a first come - first served basis.

*Amazing Photo Exhibition: The fantastic A0 size photos produced for IYA 2009 will again be on show, plus some of the best from other sources.

*Telescope and binocular exhibition: see all the varieties available, the pros and cons of each, and learn how to use them to their best capacity.

*Meteorites: an exhibition of many different sorts of meteorites - hold in your hand a piece of outer space (if you can hold it!), with experts there to talk about them.

*Astrophotography for beginners" - A 'taster session' by our own expert, Paul Evans.

*Hands-On demos: How to make a comet, etc.

*3-D Modern Astronomy show, presented by Robert Hill from N.I. Space Office.

*Children's activities, such as making willow stars.

In other words, something for everyone.

See: www.irishastro.org and www.bbc.co.uk/stargazing for updates.

See also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo - put "Belfast" in the search box and see all our next events!

Wednesday 18th: Armagh Observatory and NIEA: Stargazing LIVE at An Creagan and Beaghmore: Where the Heavens Meet the Earth
Armagh Observatory and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) together with An Creagan and the Omagh and Cookstown District Councils are hosting a day of FREE Stargazing LIVE activities at An Creagan and the nearby Beaghmore Stone Circles. This is a unique megalithic site and the best Dark-Sky site in Northern Ireland.
Following a series of Universe Awareness (EU-UNAWE) astronomy and science-based activities for local KS2 school children at An Creagan, in the afternoon there will be an opportunity, weather permitting, to visit the Beaghmore Stone Circles and learn more about the stones from Living History players and a professional archaeologist. This element of the FREE Stargazing LIVE event will take place from approximately 3.30pm to 5.00pm. Participants will watch the Sun going down and observe the bright planets Venus and Jupiter, both visible in the southern sky, as well as the first stars to appear after sunset. See http://star.arm.ac.uk/publicevents/2012/stargazing/
Further information about this Stargazing LIVE event will be available from the Observatory website. Meanwhile, anyone wishing to participate in either the afternoon or evening events is requested to obtain their FREE ticket(s) by telephoning or sending an e-mail to: Mrs Aileen McKee at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh; Tel: 028-3752-2928; e-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk.

For younger visitors there will be a special Stargazing arts and crafts room where they can have fun making space objects.

6:30pm Doors open; Public telescope viewing commences; Stargazing arts and crafts commences

7:00pm Experiencing the Aurora show *Remember to pre-book your seats!

7:30pm Meteorite Workshop

7:45pm Experiencing the Aurora show *Remember to pre-book your seats!

8:30pm Meteorite Workshop

9:30 Doors close

6. IAA 2-hour Live Radio Broadcast! The Irish Astronomical Association has also been invited by the BBC to present a 2-hour live programme on Radio Ulster on the evening of Friday 27 January from Delamont Country Park, near Killinchy! More details on this later.

7. Galway Astronomy Festival - January 21st 2012 is on "New Frontiers of the Universe". Oscar Wilde reminds us that although we are all in the gutter, some of us are looking at the stars. This years Galway Astronomy Festival addresses the theme "New Frontiers of the Universe" from a professional as well as an amateur astronomer's perspective. The event, now in its 9th year, has become one of the most popular events in Ireland, where amateurs and professionals meet in friendship. This is essential for exchanging information, successful stargazing and mutual progress. We look forward to seeing you, hopefully under clear skies. For more details see: http://galwayastronomyclub.ie/

8. ISS: the International Space Station is just ending a series of evening passes over Ireland, and will commence a series of morning passes on Jan 13. See www.heavens-above.com for details of this, and other bright satellites, Iridium Flares etc, for your own location.

9. UNBELIEVABLE COMET PICTURES FROM THE SPACE STATION
The International Space Station's commander has again seen the grandeur of comet Lovejoy in new pictures taken from the orbiting outpost, this time also capturing the Earth's horizon and background stars in exquisite detail. see
http://spaceflightnow.com/station/exp30/111225comet/

10. Venus, the Evening Star: Is visible as a brilliant 'evening star' from Ireland through the end of March, and will be very well placed in late March as it approaches the Pleiades. It's already visible low in the SSW after sunset. It is already as bright as magnitude -4.0, and apparent diameter 13" (arcsecs). It is gradually moving out from the Sun, and will become a brilliant and unmistakable object through February and March.

11. Aurora alerts. A lot of people who are not particularly interested in astronomy have asked me about seeing an aurora from Ireland/UK. I'm therefore going to set up a separate alert bulletin for possible aurora events only. If you know anyone who would like to get alerts of chances when aurorae might be visible from here (but not these more comprehensive bulletins), send me their email address, or ask them to email me directly.

I will of course include such information in these general astronomy bulletins too!

12. TWITTER: the IAA now has a twitter account. twitter@IaaAstro

13. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See the forthcoming IAA events on
http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo

14. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc. See also www.irishastro.org.

Finally, I hope you all have a very healthy and happy New Year. And just for the record, it won't end on 21 December 2012!

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley