Hi all,
(NB, all times are summer time when in force, for convenience)
1. IAA lecture via Zoom, 4 November, 19.30, by Prof Alan Fitzsimmons, QUB, "What makes a comet "Great"?
This should be good! Alan is a very popular, informative and entertaining speaker, and a world-renowned authority on comets.
SYNOPSIS:
Hopefully, many members of the IAA saw comet NEOWISE this summer. Although was a great comet to see, it wasn't a "Great Comet". That title is reserved to the best and brightest of the comets. But what is it about a comet that can make it a "Great Comet"? This talk will look at the physical and dynamical reasons that make comets "Great", illustrated by previous apparitions of these magnificent objects.
Biography
Alan Fitzsimmons is a Professor of Astronomy in the Astrophysics Research centre at Queen's University Belfast. He saw his first comet in 1983 while walking to the pub, and hasn't looked back since. He also still enjoys looking at comets.
Link: Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84213718994?pwd=ZlRMdmdHay9iM1UxMXlHZUFGTWoxUT09
Meeting ID: 842 1371 8994
Passcode: 166505
2 . No Blue Moon on October 31!
The hype has started already! A 'Blue Moon' on Halloween! Wow! I'm not even going to say 'So what?'.
But it's not going to be a Blue Moon (BM), which is the name now mistakenly given by some to the 2nd Full Moon (FM) in a calendar month. That's a total misnomer, arising from 3 separate but connected mistakes. Here's the story.
The term Blue Moon arose in the expression 'Once in a Blue Moon', meaning an extremely rare and unusual event. It followed the major explosion of Krakatoa in 1883, which threw so much fine dust and aerosols into the upper atmosphere that the Moon literally appeared blue for some time afterwards. And it wasn't just the Full Moon which was affected, it was apparent any time the Moon was bright in a dark sky. That event was so unexpected and unusual that it gave rise to the expression 'Once in a BM', meaning any very rare, and especially, unusual event. Fair enough.
Then in 1937 the editor of the Maine (US state) Farmer's Journal (MFJ), perhaps unaware of the Krakatoa event, came up with his own version, which was that when there are 4 FMs in a Season (Spring, Summer etc), the third one of the four was a 'Blue Moon'. Where he got that idea from, no-one knows. And with all due respect to the good farmers in Maine, the editor of the MFJ is not an arbiter of astronomical terminology! Mistake No. 1.
Then in 1946, an article in Sky & Telescope magazine cited the MFJ article, but Pruett, the author, misinterpreted the article to mean that the BM was the name given to the 2nd FM in a month, whenever that occurred. Mistake No. 2.
Sky & Telescope later published an admission that they had got it wrong – good for them.
Then Deborah Byrd, the presenter of a US radio show called EarthSky, happened upon the original S&T article, apparently unaware of the later correction, and in 1980 she started calling the 2nd FM in any month a BM. From there, it crept into popular culture – the astrologers took it up, and that was it: It spread to this side of the Atlantic, and then round most of the English-speaking world. Mistake No. 3.
Although the error was pointed out to Byrd many times, she continued to promote the name. She now also uses it for the 3rd FM in a season with four, as per the original MFJ article, which of course is also wrong.
As for the astronomy – there are 2 FMs in the same month on a regular and fairly frequent basis. There must be, simply because there are either 30 or 31 days in every month except February, while the average interval between FMs is 29.5 days (29.53059 to be precise). So if there's a FM at the beginning of those months, there will be another one at the end of the month. This month, it's Full on 1 Oct at 21.05, and again on 31 Oct at 14.49. Big deal. It's no more remarkable than the fact that sometimes there are 5 Sundays, or 5 Saturdays, in a month. It's simple maths.
And obviously, it's not a rare event. The last time was in March 2018, and the next in Aug 2023. It will happen 8 times between now and 2037. And sometimes it's even more frequent – it happened 3 times between December 2009 and March 2010! – Hardly a 'very rare event' !
Anyway, why give the event, such as it is, the name of a colour? The FM will not appear any different from any other FM! (Although just by coincidence, this will be the most distant FM of the year). Why not call it a Crazy Moon, or a Salty Moon? Or Sweet, or Sour, or Noisy, or Quiet, or Clean or Cute or any other name? Of course, it's none of those things, just as it isn't blue, but they're all just as valid for that reason.
And if you do want to give it a colour name, why choose a colour that already means something else, which will cause confusion? Why not Green, or Purple or Pink, or Cerise or Magenta, which is at least alliterative?
Further, the colour blue has associations of sadness or feeling down – 'I'm feeling blue', etc. That's also reflected in the song "Blue Moon". But there's no sadness associated with the 2nd FM in a month.
Even NASA has succumbed to the trend – shame on them! But I suppose they depend on public support for continued funding, so I suppose they have to be folksy and popular and trendy.
But the bottom line is that it's a total misnomer – it's like referring to the 'Dark side' of the Moon, instead of the Far side; or calling a whale a fish. It's bad enough that it's wrong, it's worse when it causes confusion with the real meaning of Blue Moon.
No astronomer worthy of the name, amateur or professional, should be guilty of using this new terminology!
3. Mars still brilliant, after close Opposition on Oct 13
Mars won't get any closer until Sept. 11, 2035, when the planet will be 35.4 million miles (56.9 million km) away. It's strikingly bright, with the ruddy hue obvious to the naked eye even in light polluted sky. The S Polar cap has shrunk markedly, as it's summer in that hemisphere, but it's still visible in most amateur telescopes in reasonable seeing.
4. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory closed to public for 4 weeks!
See https://www.midulstercouncil.org/visitor/things-to-do/star-gazing/davagh-dark-sky-observatory , and https://www.facebook.com/omdarksky/ I'll post any updates here. Or phone 03000 132 132 for changing Covid-19 advice.
5. ISS The ISS commenced a new series of morning passes on 23 October. Full details for your location, and lots of other astronomy information, on the excellent free site www.heavens-above.com
6. Un of NSW Online lecture, Fri 30 October, 01.00 GMT (Note Time!) (The Mars 2020 Rover Mission). Free. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-mars-2020-rover-mission-tickets-124958533337?aff=erelexpmlt&keep_tld=1
7. Free online Public Lecture from RAS, by Prof Michele Dougherty, Fri 30 October, 13.00 – 14.00. The Cassini Spacecraft Mission at Saturn
In September 2017, the NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft mission ended its 20 years in space by burning up in Saturn's atmosphere. The end of mission orbits were designed to better understand the interior of Saturn and its magnetic field. These end of mission results will be described as well as some of the other surprising discoveries made during the orbital tour at Saturn, including water vapour plumes at the small moon Enceladus and implications this has for potential habitability.
Biography
Michele Dougherty is Professor of Space Physics at Imperial College London. She is leading un-crewed exploratory missions to Saturn and Jupiter and was the Principal Investigator for the magnetometer instrument onboard the Cassini mission to Saturn as well as being the Principal Investigator the magnetometer for the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer (JUICE) of the European Space Agency due for launch in June 2022. She is Head of the Physics Department, is a Fellow of the Royal Society, was awarded the Royal Astronomical Society Geophysics Gold medal in 2017, was awarded a CBE in the 2018 New Year's Honours List, and was awarded the Institute of Physics Richard Glazebrook Gold Medal and Prize.
8. DIAS Lecture, Friday 30 October, 18.00. "Rosalind Franklin, De Valera and the Irish role in the secret of life https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/the-irish-role-in-the-discovery-of-the-secret-of-life-tickets-97295173483
9. Mayo Dark Sky Festival, via Zoom. 31 October.
We have adapted our Mayo Dark Sky Festival into a virtual event via Zoom. This will take place as a one day event on 31st October 2020. Attendance is completely free but prior booking is required on our website.
We are delighted to share our programme with you which reaches across four time zones and three continents, continuing the spirit of "Under One Sky" with our international colleagues. As ever, our programme is diverse and we have a full day of events from 9am running every hour and extending across multiple themes relating to Dark Skies; from nature, archaeology, science, folklore, astronomy, lighting design and even virtual visits to two Irish observatories! Find out more here: file:///C:/Users/Terry/Downloads/Programme%20at%20a%20Glance%202020.pdf
We hope you can join us for some, if not all of the day, and we will continue to look forward to a future time when we can meet again in person. If you could take a moment to spread the word on Mayo Dark Sky Festival by sharing, we would be very grateful.
Meantime, good wishes from all your friends in Mayo.
With kind regards
Georgia MacMillan, Friends of Mayo Dark Skies. A community group affiliated with the Dark Sky Ireland network and a chapter of the International Dark Sky Association. For more information on our work see our YouTube Channel here www.mayodarkskypark.ie , www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie Facebook.com/MayoDarkSkies , Twitter.com/MayoDarkSkies , Instagram.com/MayoDarkSkies , Youtube.com/c/MayoDarkSkies
10. Dark Matter Day, 31 October
Dark Matter Day will be held on 31 October. This day is organised to celebrate one of the most mysterious matters in the universe. Our NOC Argentina will also participate in some online events.
Dark Matter Day official website: https://www.darkmatterday.com/
11. QUB: The John Bell Day Lecture "Quantum Reality", by Prof Vlatko Vedral, U of Oxford. 4 Nov, 13.30 – 15.30, Online. This free event is hosted by QUB, see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/john-bell-day-lecture-2020-quantum-reality-tickets-124123174757
12. RAS Lecture Fri 6 November, 19.30: Looking for Life on Mars with the Rosalind Franklin Rover. Free. See https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/looking-for-life-on-mars-with-the-rosalind-franklin-rover-tickets-123524620465?aff=erelexpmlt
13. REGULAR FORTNIGHTLY SPACE and ASTRONOMY WEBINAR, November 10
Presented by me and the amazing Nick Howes, they are approximately 40 minutes long, every second Tuesday, at 7.30 p.m., covering whatever is topical in space and astronomy. The next one will be on Tuesday 10 November: youtube.com/spacestorelive
It's a Zoom webinar, and will be Live streamed to YouTube SpaceStore Live! Channel and Live streamed to Facebook Live. I'll post any last minute news via Twitter.
14. RIA Academy Discourse, Astronomy and Poetry, by Prof Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, 10 November, 19.00 – 20.30. Free, but booking essential. See https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/academy-discourse-astronomy-and-poetry-tickets-122542647357
15. RAS Lecture, Saturday 14 November, 10.00. Voyagers 1 and 2. Search via RAS website.
16. IAA Membership subs due. Annual subscriptions were due on 1 September. It's easy to pay online – see www.irishastro.org
17. TEASER – update – an answer is within someone's grasp
Here's another to occupy your grey matter until things get back to 'normal'; it is of course astronomical:
Q. What's the connection between Bono & The Edge and 2090?
CLARIFICATION: In case of confusion, 2090 is the year 2090.
And as an extra clue, it's September 2090. And an extra extra clue – it applies to Ireland. John O'Neill has got very close, but hasn't crossed the finishing line yet! Can anyone leap-frog him with the answer?
18. JUPITER and SATURN.
The two largest planets in the solar system are currently quite close together, low in the south around midnight. They are currently about 8º apart, They both resumed prograde motion in September, but will remain about 8º apart until mid-October when faster moving Jupiter starts to catch up with Saturn. By the end of October they are only 5º apart, and they will then slowly but inexorably get ever closer until 21 December, when they will be just over 6 arcminutes apart – 1/5 of the diameter of the Moon! More on that later.
19. Paul Evans has produced another excellent 'Lockdown Video guide to the sky:
20. Crew-1 Crew Dragon mission to the ISS, postponed to 14 November, carrying Nasa astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi aboard a Falcon 9 rocket (5.47am EDT) from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
21. 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.
22. 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
The Milky Way has a clumpy halo https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019112108.htm
Analysing the 'fossil' first stars https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201022151739.htm
New evidence that a dwarf galaxy collided broadside with the Milky Way https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201020105542.htm
How disc galaxies evolve so smoothly https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200925113434.htm
Pair of massive baby stars swaddled in salty water vapour https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200925113417.htm
Stars and planets form together https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201023191029.htm
Gravitational Redshift observed outside our SS for the first time https://www.space.com/einstein-gravitational-redshift-observed-double-star-system.html?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9155&utm_content=SDC_Newsletter+&utm_term=3473357&m_i=kTPkptVzJ43_mu3T26FRKcvXxqDPv3ieLOdtA36E_x_nG%2Bqyu3jj3fKGkJXxdsKKPRf7f3D4zrmykXP0KxUZMHE%2Bt0wyCumNJMhj8P%2Bkk3
What happens at the centre of a black hole? https://www.space.com/what-happens-black-hole-center?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9155&utm_content=SDC_Newsletter+&utm_term=3473357&m_i=ApzAORGmteI5xGO5VsVo0JQL_xcDs5qISXACtk1YHIodmVjbvH475XOgQDm_hBbXS36a5dMUMMF43VpZsePYvx4kw2AikPqDgv0EqpzAAN A problem with the Wormhole/White hole theory is that there must be billions of Black Holes in the universe, and therefore, by this theory, billions of White Holes. Unlike Black Holes, they would be visible – in fact so intensely bright that we could see them everywhere. But we haven't seen a single one.
Most distant BH in a BL Lac object https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201027105435.htm
Early galaxies were surprisingly mature https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201027105426.htm
COSMOLOGY
Correction to Gravitational lensing leads to more accurate picture of the universe https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019164944.htm
How big is the universe? https://www.facebook.com/100054442624567/posts/137490991408988/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Total mass of matter in the universe measured https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928125046.htm
EARTH & MOON
Lunar magnetism is relic of an ancient molten core https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201015173133.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29
Kordylewski clouds confirmed. https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/earth-has-hidden-moon
Major volcanic eruptions led to the greatest mass extinction event on Earth https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019125512.htm
In the Beginning – there was sugar! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019125356.htm
Water aplenty on the Moon! https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/water-exists-on-the-moon-scientists-confirm/ar-BB1aph46?ocid=msedgdhp and
Evidence that someone was killed by a meteorite https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/meteor-man-death-first-person-killed-iraq-turkey-ottoman-empire-a9484231.html
EDUCATION
SpaceEU Digital Toolkit
SpaceEU, a European-funded project, has released the digital Engage with Space Toolkit for schools, youth centers, museums, universities, NGOs and informal learning spaces to engage their groups with the wonders of space. The kit includes an exhibit as well as education and outreach activities.
Read here: https://www.space-eu.org/toolkit?fbclid=IwAR0EPoORnBw-hgrrY_TskMCxA8nfg_QxjH09_JOVbdxTXg0rJi9-psnQRU4
EXOPLANETS
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201021140931.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29 They could also work out that we have a sizeable Moon from its monthly perturbation of our orbit, And they could occasionally see Venus, which would transit more often than Earth, although not in the same plane, and maybe detect Jupiter from its gravitational pull on the Sun and the other planets. Transits of Jupiter would be easy to see if the alignment was right, but only every 12 years or so!
One of the most extreme exoplanets in the universe! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928090502.htm
Protecting the Astronomical Sky
Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society Workshop Recordings
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) has released the recordings from the Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society workshop that was held in conjunction with the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The workshop brought together astronomers, industry professionals, and members of the public to discuss the impact of emerging technologies on our dark and quiet skies.
Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaOqa4cng0GFqc1epTy3XTInKqoLjVqlS
SOLAR SYSTEM
OSIRIS-Rex – almost too successful! https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201023214459.htm
The effect of volcanoes on Io's atmosphere detected by ALMA https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201021163938.htm
The origin of our solar system revealed by UV light and meteorites https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201020105553.htm
Close binary TNO discovered https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200928152857.htm
Remnants of Vesta show violent history of early SS https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200925113612.htm
Most distant EKBO discovered https://www.facebook.com/108218329601/posts/10159062601839602/?sfnsn=scwspmo&extid=i0MsACy59aEN30nq
A new way to search for Planet 9 https://www.space.com/planet-nine-search-observing-technique?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9155&utm_content=SDC_Newsletter+&utm_term=3473357&m_i=cNXcpWsoVVh3R76TqRnNrrTpFitfFKHN%2B4vMl58D_iadXCrzlqSgyobgNdZcqxXGHXfbSpJtvc9VQapBn1lRtu7%2BcHeXg51DYMLNnjpccm
Making Martian soil to test plant growth https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201027105405.htm
SPACE
New nuclear rocket engine design looks promising https://newatlas.com/space/nuclear-thermal-propulsion-ntp-nasa-unsc-tech-deep-space-travel/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=8927a85b2b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_10_26_09_18&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-8927a85b2b-92786061 With the hazards of spending long periods in space becoming ever more evident, particularly for example on a mission to Mars and back, we really do need a better and quicker way of getting there. On the outward 8-month journey, for example, there will be no highly trained medical team on their arrival as there is for astronauts returning from just 6 months in the ISS. There will be no-one to carry them to a waiting ambulance because they are too weak to walk, no-one to help them deal with the balance and other vestibular problems from prolonged weightlessness, no-one to treat them for any radiation sickness they may have developed during the trip, no-one to help them with the chores of survival, never mind any science tasks. It's the 'elephant in the spaceship' that no-one wants to talk about.
Reducing the journey to 3 months won't help with the balance and vestibular problems, but it will reduce their exposure to radiation, and the bone decalcification and muscle wastage won't be quite so bad.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/elon-musk-s-spacex-will-make-its-own-laws-on-mars/ar-BB1atRGW?ocid=msedgdhp So will any other settlers who arrive there – say the Chinese – make their own laws too? Or if Musk gets there first, will he expect later arrivals to abide by his rules? Interesting!
Making Martian soil to test plant growth https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201027105405.htm
Telescopes, Instruments, Techniques
https://newatlas.com/physics/dark-matter-detector-tiny-pendulums-nist/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=e2ee022a44-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_10_23_06_46&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-e2ee022a44-92786061 Has anyone worked out how long it would take to create such an apparatus with ONE BILLION pendulums?
New technique to search for Planet 9 (or Planet X) https://www.space.com/planet-nine-search-observing-technique?utm_source=Selligent&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=9155&utm_content=SDC_Newsletter+&utm_term=3473357&m_i=WXNWno4c9PNsGpS9vHdRztVfHjmocgZEO9HOlEWQqezrppmr0BQc%2B0JrvBIl5D40wpk1w8N4RHTXL%2BLu8RdMunebDVZyYRcEX1vXk_zWWzo
23. 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
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