1. IAA Public Lecture, Wednesday March 4, 7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB, Dr John Quinn, Gamma ray & optical astronomy with Veritas. More details later.
2. Moon and Venus: the crescent Moon will be passing near Venus on the evening of 27 February (my birthday!) forming a nice grouping in the twilight. Look for the Earthshine on the Moon as the sky darkens. If you have a telescope you'll see that while the Moon is a crescent with a phase of 15%, Venus will be gibbous, with a phase of 64%! Sincve they both have the same angular elongation from the Sun, how can this be? The answer of course is that the Moon lies between us and the Sun (distance 405,500km), whereas Venus is 'on the far side of the Sun', at a distance of 135 million km.
3. Astronomy Stamps. A new set of stamps has been issued in the UK, with the theme Visions Of The Universe, marking the 200th anniversary of the RAS. Various sets are available, or you can just buy them singly.
4. LOOP HEAD STAR PARTY: Run by the Limerick Astronomy Club, this will be held on Friday 28 February from 7 p.m. onwards, at St Cuan's School, Kilbaha, Co Clare. This area, near the SW tip of Co Clare, has very dark skies, so all that's needed is an absence of cloud!
5. Venus. You can't miss brilliant Venus in the SW twilight these evenings. Watch is it moves ever higher out of the bright twilight over the next few months as it approaches its rendezvous with the Pleiades on 3 April..
6. ISS The International Space Station commenced a new series of morning passes on Feb 23 Full details for your location, and lots of other astronomy information, on the excellent free site www.heavens-above.com
7. BETELGEUSE is brightening again.
As my observations indicated last week, Betelgeuse reached a minimum magnitude of about mag 1.6, and is now slowly brightening again: it's about 1.5 or 1.4 at the moment. It seems that the unusually deep minimum was caused by the minima of at least two separate cycles coinciding round about Feb 22.
8. Dark Sky observing event, Cavan Burren Centre, 20 March. I've been asked to run another one of these events, in a very dark sky location, near Blacklion, just across the border from Belcoo. More details later.
9. COSMOS STAR PARTY, Athlone, 3-5 April. More details later
10. International Astronomical Youth Camp in Spain, 12 July – 1 August
The International Astronomical Youth Camp (IAYC) is a three-week long summer camp aiming to promote knowledge of astronomy and related sciences in a unique international atmosphere. The IAYC is an experience unlike any other; a place for unforgettable memories and lifelong friendships. During the camp, 65 young and enthusiastic participants from all corners of the world gather in a remote location in Spain to observe and learn about some of the most spectacular skies on this Earth. Applications for the 2020 camp are being accepted until 5 April 2020.
International Astronomical Youth Camp, 12 July-1 August 2020; Baños de Montemayor, Spain
More information and application are here: www.iayc.org
11. National Astronomy Week, 14 – 22 November.
National Astronomy Week (NAW) will be held in the UK from Saturday 14 November to Sunday 22 November, to celebrate the close approach of Mars. Amateur and professional astronomers will be holding observing events during the week. Seen through a telescope magnifying about 100 times, Mars will appear as a pale orange disc, with its markings clearly visible, at a distance of 80 million km.
Although Mars is at its closest to Earth a month earlier, by November it is well up in the sky during the early evening, allowing younger schoolchildren an opportunity to get a good view of the planet. It will not be as close again until 2033.
As well as Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon will be on show during National Astronomy Week. Details of observing events will be posted on the NAW website.
12. 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
Neutrino mystery may be about to be solved https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200225122956.htm Simple question: when a neutrino changes into one of a different mass, from where does it gain, or how does it shed, the extra mass/energy?
EARTH & MOON
https://247wallst.com/special-report/2019/02/05/19-disasters-that-could-end-the-world/5/ NB Only one of those could possibly "end the world", and it's very very unlikely. Only a few would cause a large human extinction; the rest might cause a few million deaths, but that's insignificant in a population of over SEVEN BILLION! Humans have already caused greater numbers of fatalities in two World Wars. But hey, you always need a good headline!
Deciding how to deflect an asteroid https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200219152843.htm
EXOPLANETS
SOLAR SYSTEM
Water could form in shadow of Martian boulders https://earthsky.org/space/water-on-mars-brines-boulders-sublimation?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=cf62beae88-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_02_02_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-cf62beae88-394571661
Weird black pit found on Mars https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/techandscience/nasa-stares-into-dark-freaky-pit-on-mars/ar-BB10g6jO?ocid=spartandhp
A year of surprising Martian science from Insight https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200224151502.htm
Martian Magnetic field stronger than expected https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/02/200224111342.htm
Marsquake detected by sensor on Insight https://newatlas.com/space/first-direct-data-marsquakes-active-red-planet/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=c13532f66e-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_25_09_16&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-c13532f66e-92786061
SPACE
13. 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 https://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
