Hi all,
1. IAA Public Lecture, Wednesday October 23, 7.30 p.m. "Looking for rings and gas around exoplanets", by Dr Ernst de Mooj, (QUB)
There are now over 4,000 exoplanets known, with over 3,000 positively confirmed. They have an amazing range of sizes, masses, temperatures and orbital periods, and orbit a variety of different types of stars, including some similar to the Sun, and some quite close to Earth. We're now approaching the point where it may be possible to detect life in some cases, if it exists.
Abstract:
The first exoplanet around a Sun-like star was discovered almost 25 years ago - a discovery that has won this year's Nobel prize. Since that time, the field of exoplanet studies has taken a large leap forward. Not only have we now discovered over 3000 planets outside of our Solar System, but we have started to probe their atmospheres. We have even identified a potential giant ring system with a diameter of approximately 90 million kilometers!
In this talk I will show how we can find planets, study their atmospheres, and how we can move forward to search for rings around planets outside of the Solar System.
Details; 7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building , QUB. Admission free, including light refreshments. See www.irishastro.org.
2. Nobel Prize for Physics goes to 3 astronomers.
3. The source of interstellar comet
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7557617/The-second-interstellar-object-detected-came-twin-star-13-light-years-away.html Something doesn't figure here. Kruger 60 is 13.1 LY away. But the comet is described as having come from 5.7 LY away from Kruger 60. That's 43% of the distance it has come! It's like saying that an object arriving at London from the direction of Gloucester actually came 'from Birmingham'!
4. Armagh Planetarium Dome Shows, Mon 28 Oct – Sat 2 Nov.
11am: Little Yellow Star (Toddler Show)
12noon: Perfect Little Planet (Family Show)
1pm: Beyond the Blue (Recommended older audience)
2pm: CapCom Go! (Recommended older audience)
3pm: Sun, Moon and Stars (Family Show)
4pm: We Are Stars (Recommended older audience)
Group Bookings welcome. Please contact reception@armagh.ac.uk or call 028 37523689 for more information
5. Armagh Observatory Tour with Planetarium Dome show
Tuesday 29 Oct, 1pm
Fancy something a little different? Have you ever wanted to peek inside our Observatory Building and learn more about the History and Heritage of our site?
If the answer is yes, then join us on Tuesday 29 Oct!
Begin with a Dome Theatre Show starting at 1pm then enjoy an inspiring tour of our Observatory. Only a small number of Tickets are available for this unique event so book early!
Time: 45mins
Please Note: Due to the nature of the grounds there will be uphill ascents and rough terrain.
6. Dark Matter Day: 31 October
7. Samhain agus Science, DIAS; 31 October - 01 November:
Our annual celebration will kick off with a talk by Peter Coles in 10 Burlington Road, with more events to be confirmed shortly. Once confirmed all details will be available on the Dias website.
8. Armagh Planetarium Adult Takeover, 1 November
On Friday 1 November join us for the Adult Takeover from 6.30pm when Scientific Sue will be entertaining with her adult 18+ Science show.
The performance will include dangerous dinner table tricks, sticky biology, explosive chemistry and dare-devil physics demos and plenty of innuendo for fun loving grown-ups and, as always, Sue will be needing the help of brave volunteers from the audience.
You can also grab a drink, get a Moon green-screen photo and enjoy a music show in the dome theatre as well.
Expect the unexpected and blow away the Autumn blues for this one time only adult science show which aims to stimulate curiosity and imagination whilst also highlighting the relevance and impact of science and engineering on our everyday lives.
Warning: Danger! Science Magic - Fun Guaranteed
This is an evening with a difference and certainly one not to miss so get your mates together and book your tickets before they sell out! Strictly Over 18 Only.
Booking is essential as places are limited. Choose either the 7pm or 8.30pm live science show
Call 028 3752 3689
9. Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 1- 3 November. Newport, Co Mayo. Updates -
Latest news - Astronaut Dr. Robert Thirsk will speak at this year's festival, and we are delighted to confirm that Professor Mark McCaughrean will also be joining the line-up, which also includes Dr Niall Smith of CIT and Blackrock Castle Observatory, and Dr Niamh Shaw, aspiring astronaut.
Also confirmed is DR. NORAH PATTEN is a faculty member at the International Space University and is a citizen scientist-astronaut candidate with Project PoSSUM. An award winning STEM advocate and ambassador. Norah has participated in several citizen science campaigns including microgravity research flights and spacesuit testing and evaluation. In September 2019, Norah is a children's author with the publication of her book 'Shooting for the Stars' by The O'Brien Press.
This is a weekend of fabulous family friendly events featuring astronomy, science, culture and the environment in the communities of Newport, Mulranny & Ballycroy, Mayo. Our festival programme is here and tickets can be purchased online (kids go free!): https://www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie/programme
Norah was a recipient of the Emerging Space Leaders Grant and a Next Generation Plenary panellist at the International Astronautical Congress in 2015. Through a partnership with NanoRacks, Norah initiated and managed 'The Only Way is Up' project which launched Ireland's first student experiment to the International Space Station in 2014. Norah participated in the International Space University Space Studies Program in 2010 and holds a PhD in aeronautical engineering. She currently works as the programme manager at the Irish Composites Center (IComp)Details at www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie
It will be followed by -
10. European Symposium for the Protection of the Night Sky Mulranny, Mayo, 3 - 5 Nov.
UPDATES. The14th European Symposium for the Protection of the Night Sky is to be held in Mulranny, County Mayo, from 3rd to 5th November 2019 (immediately following the Mayo Dark Sky Festival weekend). Please share the dates and details on this event and would love to see you there.
This event is offers a truly international programme, which you can view online here: https://www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie/symposium-programme We have speakers and representative of IDA places all over the world, including Japan, Germany, France, Austria, Spain, UK and more as well as various guest speakers (including the author of the newly published "Lonely Planet guide to Dark Skies", Valerie Stimac).
The European Symposium for the Protection of the Night sky runs over 3 dates, offering a platform for research, activism and policy discussions on protecting the night sky and is licenced by the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) as a sister event to their 2019 AGM and Dark Sky Conference.
The event is open to everyone - academics, activists, architects, astronomers, community groups, conservationists, dark sky advocates, ecologists, engineers, lighting experts, planners, policy makers, scientists, students and more (!) to discuss the challenges and explore the solutions to light pollution and implementing best practices for dark sky friendly lighting.
In particularly we are looking to promote the call for abstracts and would be grateful if you can help us share this international event for Dark Sky Ireland with colleagues in environmental /astronomy & scientific/ dark sky networks. This event will be sanctioned by the International Dark Sky Association.
Information is available on our website www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie/symposium and we will be updating this with more announcements, news and updates on the event as they happen.
11. IAU 100 Astronomy Day in Schools, 10 – 17 November
As one of IAU100's goals is to foster communication and exchange of ideas for the global astronomical community, this also includes the exchange of knowledge and ideas with the next generation of astronomers. The IAU100 has launched the Astronomy Day in Schools Global Project. This initiative hopes to instil some interest and passion for space sciences to continue the momentum of IAU throughout the next 100 years.
Any amateur or professional astronomer is invited to participate by organising astronomy activities in schools taking place around the week 10-17 November 2019, which includes the World Science Day for Peace and Development on 10 November as well as a Mercury transit on 11 November, which offers an exciting outreach opportunity for the visiting astronomers. This project is also a special opportunity for students to directly interact and engage with astronomers in their communities. Organisers of registered events will have the opportunity to win different prizes.
12. Transit of Mercury, 11 November. Full Details of this rare event, which will last roughly from midday to sunset, in next bulletin.
13. Mission Santa, Christmas experience, AOP, every Saturday 30 Nov – 22 Dec. For kids, of course. Booking at www.armagh.space
14. For Sale: Pulsar Telescope Dome, with full control equipment.
The dome is around 5 years old in perfect condition and is currently fully dismantled and available for collection. The dome comes complete with the associated equipment;
· Pulsar Observatory 2.2m full height observatory dome
· Shutter drive kit (including solar panel module plus charger and 12V battery)
· Dome Rotation Drive Kit
· Shelyak Dome tracker kit
· Dome security clamps
· Rubber flooring kit
· Associated cables and wiring and other extras.
Total Price NEW – c £6,500; Price as available £3,500
Contact Dr Andy McCrea of North Down Telescopes, email s.mccrea980@btinternet.com, mob 07799434030
15. INTERESTING WEBLINKS (Disclaimer - Use of material herein from various sources does not imply approval or otherwise of the opinions, political or otherwise, of those sources). NB: If the title in the weblink does not indicate the subject matter, I give a brief simple intro before the link. I may also comment about the link afterwards.
ASTROPHYSICS
Stars which are the strongest magnets in the universe. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191009131744.htm
Milky Way gains more gas than it loses https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191010125615.htm
The Milky Way stole small galaxies from the LMC https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191010113203.htm
Black Holes stunt growth of dwarf galaxies https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191011165322.htm
Ancient stars show that Earthlike planets should be common throughout the universe https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191017141052.htm
Black Hole jets may hinder star formation https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191017111727.htm
Two gas flow directions help build SMBHs https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191015131428.htm
Survey maps outskirts of galaxies https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191015131412.htm
COSMOLOGY
Newton's gravitational constant IS constant https://www.livescience.com/search-for-newton-gravity-changing.html?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8340&utm_content=20191004_LS_Essentials_Newsletter+-+adhoc+&utm_term=3473357&m_i=SdQS2eeBlaS3DPUYJtzzMKPZByNUudrPTwLB1NyGpnpN8l5nsb59bJLqvdC6gY1Tm4YmBALr35bzniz_BjvC9IfGsN7eDXSSSb
https://newatlas.com/physics/axion-radio-listen-dark-matter/
Understanding the development of cosmic scale electromagnetic fields https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191015131434.htm
EARTH & MOON
More than one source for the ice at lunar S Pole. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191010135701.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
https://earthsky.org/human-world/this-date-in-science-6-billion-humans-and-counting?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=45a5e032e7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-45a5e032e7-394571661 This is horrifically scary. It took about 100,000 years to reach 1 billion. Then only 210 years to reach 7 billion. Already the Earth is severely overpopulated - about 5 billion would be a fair maximum. To double that is crazy. We need effective contraception world-wide.
Water on the Moon https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/offbeat/the-mystery-of-moon-water/ar-AAIOhGx?ocid=spartandhp
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7572495/Nobel-Prize-physics-winner-says-humans-NEVER-migrate-planet.html You should never say 'never', but I agree in principle. It's certainly very unlikely that even a 1-way small-crew mission will go in this millennium. As he says, let's look after the Earth! It's the only truly habitable planet we'll have for at least a thousand years. That's not counting temporary scientific research missions, but it's not going to be feasible to transport even 0.001% of our population to the Moon or Mars to live there for at least a thousand years.
EXOPLANETS
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7572495/Nobel-Prize-physics-winner-says-humans-NEVER-migrate-planet.html You should never say 'never', but I agree in principle. It's certainly very unlikely that even a 1-way small-crew mission will go in this millennium. As he says, let's look after the Earth! It's the only truly habitable planet we'll have for at least a thousand years. That's not counting temporary scientific research missions, but it's not going to be feasible to transport even 0.001% of our population to the Moon or Mars to live there for at least a thousand years.
Earthlike planets should be common throughout the universe https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191017141052.htm
SOLAR SYSTEM
High pressure at the edge of the Solar System https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191008115915.htm
https://earthsky.org/space/Mars-river-relic-images?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=96fb0cf09e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-96fb0cf09e-394571661 Note the distinct difference to most terrestrial rivers. This one has short straight sections followed by sharp turns of around 30-50 degrees, usually in alternate directions. Earth's rivers tend to have curved courses, with smooth bends, of varying degrees and radii, of curvature. This implies that the Martian river followed cracks or faults or other structural weaknesses in the Martian crust, possibly of a polygonal pattern. What might have caused those faults? Fascinating.
SPACE
https://newatlas.com/space/virgin-orbit-first-private-satellite-mars-mission/
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7557961/UK-s-moon-rover-launched-2021.html
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7576723/NASA-reveals-two-new-space-suits-explore-moon-surface-five-years.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ico=taboola_feed_desktop_news Spoilsports – Bunny Hopping looks like great fun!
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7574453/First-baby-born-space-12-years.html
No!, no no! Probably quite a few women would go into labour DURING launch due to the stress levels. That could be VERY dangerous as no-one can help with the delivery since everyone is strapped into their seats, and anyway birth in a spacesuit is not really possible. Both mother and baby could die. There are drugs that can delay labour, but they're not 100% effective. And if there's a delay in the launch after they're onboard, the drug effects could wear off before take-off. Also, it can take up to a day after launch to dock with the ISS, which is the only place in space where a birth could happen relatively safely. And how will they get the baby back safely – in its own little spacesuit? This is madness. And it's pointless, except for the publicity.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-7572243/NASA-engineer-proposes-controversial-fuel-engine-violates-laws-physics.html There'd be loss of energy in the elasticity of recoil. This heat would have to be vented, taking away the energy gained. And as the effect only works near light speed (if at all), how would you accelerate it to near light speed in the first place?
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/10/17/virgin-galactic-reveal-what-passengers-will-have-to-wear/
https://newatlas.com/space/boeing-10-core-stages-artemis-sls/
Martian and Lunar soil should support crops https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191015115359.htm
SUN
Ancient Assyrian tablets reveal early solar storm activity https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191016124623.htm
TELESCOPES, TECHNIQUES
Listening for dark matter axions with a tuneable plasmascope. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/10/191009093942.htm
16. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION. 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 .
The Irish Astronomical Association is registered with The Charity Commission for Northern Ireland NIC 105858
DISCLAIMER: Any views expressed herein are mine, and do not necessarily represent those of the IAA.
Clear skies,
Terry Moseley
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