Fwd: 4 Lectures, Play, TV, Eclipse, ISS, ISON, CERN @ UCD, GSP, S-L, Weblinks etc

1. IAA LECTURE, 16 October. Dr Deirdre Coffey, UCD. "Exploring the
Cosmos: the View from Hubble and Beyond".
The iconic Hubble Space Telescope has pushed the frontiers of
astronomical knowledge further outwards in many different fields, as
well as giving us some of the most stunning views of our amazing
universe ever seen. But a much more powerful telescope is planned to
replace it - the James Webb Space Telescope. In this talk, Dr Coffey
will outline some of the major achievements of the HST, and look
forward to the JWST, and other important new instruments.
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments.
It will be held in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's
University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m.
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in
hosting these lectures.

2. RAeS Lecture, by Robert Hill. Room 02/026, Peter Froggatt Centre,
QUB, on Thursday 17th Oct. Developing The Final Frontier: the Space
Revolution:
All are very welcome to attend this free lecture, being presented
by Robert Hill from Armagh Planetarium. Robert is the Director of the
Northern Ireland Space Office, and an amazing speaker. The Peter
Froggett Centre is on the N side of the main campus, and adjoins
University Square. The lecture is due to commence at 7 PM, with
refreshments available from 6:30 PM

3: TV - HORIZON: Thursday, 17 Oct. BBC4 8.0 - 9.00pm. "The Horizon
Guide to Mars" Dr. Kevin Fong draws on 45 yrs. of footage from the
Horizon archives. (Thanks to Peter Paice for the alerts)

4. ISS: the ISS has started a new series of evening passes over
Ireland. For details for your location, see: www.heavens-above.com

5. COMET ISON - LATEST: Now brightening significantly; it's now up to
about mag 10, so there is still hope.
See http://www.cometison2013.co.uk/,
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/10/11/comet-ison-plays-coy-with-astronomers/,
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/weather/weather-blog/bal-wx-comet-ison-likely-to-pass-by-sun-intact-scientists-say-20131015,0,6436774.story,
http://www.faulkes-telescope.com/node/2539
and for a bit of fun:
http://www.examiner.com/article/is-comet-ison-accompanied-by-ufos


6. CERN exhibition at UCD: The new Science Centre at University
College Dublin hosts an exhibition about CERN from now to Oct 28th.
The exhibition is self-guided and open to the public 9am to 9pm on
weekdays. A guided tour can be arranged with the faculty in UCD
beforehand though. See http://www.iopireland.org/events/ for details.



7. PENUMBRAL LUNAR ECLIPSE: The moon slides through the northern part
of the Earth's penumbral shadow in a 'partial penumbral lunar eclipse'
on Oct. 18 - 19. In this type of eclipse, the Moon misses the central,
or umbral, shadow of the Earth, but passes wholly, or in this case
partially, through the outer fainter penumbral shadow.

The eclipse begins at 22.51 and ends at 02.50. At mid-eclipse, at
00.50, 76 per cent of the moon's diameter will be immersed in the
penumbra, probably deep enough to cause a faint, yet discernible
darkening of the moon's lower limb.



8. Irish Astronomical Society talk on October 21st: Dr Masha
Chernyakova (DCU) will give a talk entitled "Puzzling Gamma-Ray
Binaries: Theory and Observation". See http://irishastrosoc.org/wp/
for details.



9. "The Life of Galileo" -- November 8th to 10th, at 7:30pm. As part
of the lead up to Science Week, Brecht's "The Life of Galileo" will be
staged by the Greenwood Theatre Company in Dunsink Observatory in a
specially adapted version by David Hare. As the observatory is over
200 years old, it seems like the perfect venue in which to set the
play. Most of the performance will be staged in the Meridian Room
where "Dublin Time" was kept but the audience will have the chance to
move into the South Dome (with its large Victorian Grubb Telescope)
and the Solar System Room for a number of scenes. Seating is very
limited for the 3 performances and tickets (15 euro) can be booked
through the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies website www.dias.ie
by following the links to the "The Life of Galileo". See
http://www.dias.ie/index.php?lang=en for details.


10. RIA LECTURE, CORK, 12 November: The RIA's biennial McCrea lecture
will hosted by UCC on 12 November. Venue: G10 Lecture Theatre,
Brookfield Health Sciences Complex, University College Cork. Date:
Tuesday 12 November 2013, 6 pm.
Royal Irish Academy and University College Cork Biennial McCrea
Astronomy Lecture for Science Week 2013: Are the Laws of Physics
Changing? by Professor John D Barrow FRS, University of Cambridge
Abstract: Astronomers have investigated whether the laws and constants
of physics are the same today as they were billions of years ago. We
will look at what these high-precision observations have been telling
us and see why many physicists believe that the laws of physics may be
different elsewhere in the Universe.
Biography: John D Barrow is an English cosmologist, theoretical
physicist and mathematician. He is currently Research Professor of
Mathematical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. He was elected
as a Fellow to the Royal Society in 2003 and was awarded the Faraday
Medal and Prize in 2008. He is Director of the Millennium Mathematics
Project. See: http://www.ria.ie/Events/Events-Listing/Biennial-McCrea-Lecture

11. Galway Star Party. 1 February 2014.
"City of Stars" is the theme for the 2014 Galway Astronomy Festival
which takes place on February 1st at the Westwood House Hotel with an
emphasis on how exploration of the Cosmos has inspired communities and
cultures in our city that would not otherwise do so, to think about
the Universe. From its humble beginnings in January 2004 to the
present day our Astronomy Festival has become Ireland's biggest annual
gathering of amateur astronomers who come here from around the country
to meet in friendship and to exchange information, successful
stargazing and mutual progress.
The event will follow the same format as last year with six talks
split into two sessions in the morning and evening. A new lunchtime
interlude with two mini observing workshops and in the late evening we
present the new Sir Patrick Moore Memorial Lecture.
1. Dr Deirdre Coffey, UCD. title tba
2. Dr Matt Redman, Director of Centre for Astronomy, NUI Galway: "Star
formation and Star Destruction"
3. Guy Hurst, Editor of "The Astronomer magazine" UK: "The Glory of
Globular Star Clusters"
4. Tom O'Donaghue: "Cosmic Vistas: The Universe in Colour"
www.astrophotography.ie
5. Professor Paul Mohr: "The genius of the Greek naked-eye
astronomers: Measuring the Cosmos with dioptra and trigonometry"
6. Michael O'Connell: "From the Big Dipper to the Southern Cross:
Observing the southern sky Down Under"
2 x 25 min workshops: Paul Byrne IFAS: "Double Stars: Celestial Couples"
2nd workshop TBC
Paul Mohr is provisionally launching his new book about Greek
Astronomy for the amateur astronomer
Tom will exhibit his photos
Paul Byrne is a double star enthusiast from Dublin
The Sir Patrick Moore Memorial Talk: Guy Hurst: "The Astronomer: The
First 50 years" celebrating their Golden Jubilee 1964-2014

12. STARGAZING LIVE returns on 7 - 9 January 2014. The IAA has once
again been asked to be principal partner with the BBC for this
prestigious event. More details later, but mark your diaries now.

13. INTERESTING WEBLINKS:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2461418/How-medieval-stained-glass-creating-ultimate-SPACE-camera-Nanoparticles-used-church-windows-help-scientists-Mars-true-colours-extreme-UV-light.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2461133/Google-D-Wave-quantum-computing-solve-global-warming.html,
Where will it all end? Will the ending be good, or bad? Who knows....
TM
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/clangers-back-childrens-tv-235434460.html#BkMVVvr
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2457332/SpaceX-Grasshopper-rocket-makes-744m-LEAP-sky.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2458602/Scientists-believe-Jupiter-Saturn-rain-DIAMONDS.html?ico=sciencetech^headlines
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2458541/Mars-3D-Images-reveal-red-planets-Grand-Canyon-detail.html
http://www.space.com/23182-gravity-film-worst-space-disasters.html?cmpid=545404
http://www.space.com/23164-supernova-explosion-seeded-solar-system-meteorites.html?cmpid=545404

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


15. NEW LINK! JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is easy: This
link downloads a Word document to join the IAA.
http://documents.irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc
If you are a UK taxpayer, please tick the 'gift-aid' box, as that
enables us to reclaim the standard rate of tax on your subscription,
at no cost to you. You can also make a donation via Paypal if you
wish: just click on the 'Donate' button. See also www.irishastro.org.

Clear skies,
Terry Moseley

I'm now back on Twitter (occasionally - I don't have enough time!),
after some temporary hiccups: @terrymoseley2