(NB, all times are summer time when in force, for convenience)
1, IAA lecture via Zoom & YouTube, 17 March, 7.30 p.m.: " Messier: The Man and His Legacy by John Flannery, IAS
Abstract: Two hundred and fifty years ago this year the French astronomer Charles Messier (1730-1817) submitted the first draft of a catalogue that would guarantee him lasting fame. Now recognised as a list of the sky's showpiece objects, it contains highlights such as the Great Nebula in Orion (designated M42); the Andromeda Galaxy (M31); and the beautiful Pleiades star cluster (M45). Tonight's talk by Irish Astronomical Society member John Flannery will tell a little about the life of Charles Messier, how his catalogue came into being, and its importance in astronomy.
Biography John needs no introduction to anyone in the field of Irish Amateur astronomy; he can truly be described as one of the stalwarts. We're delighted to have him give another talk to us.
He is editor of the IAS quarterly journal; he writes a monthly night sky column for the Irish Times, and is active in various forms of astronomy outreach. His main interests as an amateur astronomer are the sky lore of world cultures; binocular observing; and astronomical history.
Time: Mar 17, 2021 07:15 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83793251894?pwd=NWJwREVucEhnTjBYM3c4RXNZOGVjUT09
Meeting ID: 837 9325 1894 Passcode: 960033
The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start
This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/irishastronomy/videos
2. Today, March 13, is the 240th anniversary of the discovery of the planet Uranus, by Sir William Herschel.
3. Lecture on Perseverance on Mars by Seanie Morris MAC, Tues March 16. https://www.facebook.com/100001810852957/posts/5095342203869424/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Register by email to midlandsastronomy@gmail.com
4. REGULAR FORTNIGHTLY SPACE and ASTRONOMY WEBINAR – Next is March 23
NB: Note platform change. Since most people have been watching on YouTube, we are ceasing the presentation via Zoom, and it will now be streamed live on both YouTube and Facebook. This will also give us lots of added features in the presentation.
Presented by me and the amazing Nick Howes, they are approximately 45 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 23 February: youtube.com/spacestorelive
NB – So, from now on it will be Live streamed to YouTube SpaceStore Live! Channel and Live streamed to Facebook Live. I'll post any last minute news via Twitter.
5. Dara O'Briain joins AOP to talk about the world-famous NGC, which was compiled at Armagh Observatory on 24 March, tickets on sale on 15 March https://www.facebook.com/groups/irishastro/permalink/10159885718470955/?sfnsn=scwspmo
6. STAR TRACKER ONLINE, hosted by AOP, 31 Mar.
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium hosts "Armagh StarTracker Online", a star show where we take you on a tour of the night sky using a virtual planetarium followed by live viewing the stars using telescopes in the Canary Islands. We will be using Slooh's online robotic telescopes to view the celestial objects. There will be a chance throughout the sessions to ask questions to the Director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, Professor Michael Burton.
Each session will focus on different objects and stars that are visible in the night sky.
Tickets are free (donations are welcome) and the zoom details will be emailed in advance.
*Please note you only need to book one ticket for one household.*
Date: 31st March, Time: 8pm
Admission: Free (donations welcome)
7. Happy Pi Day, March 14, This is celebrated on 3/14, and if you want to be really precise, drink your Prosecco at 15h 9m and 26s – 3.1415926
8. The ISS starts a new series of evening passes on 18 March, continuing until 3 April.
Details of each pass for your own location, and lots more astronomy and space information, on www.heavens-above.com
9. New website for Pete Williamson.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/reachouttouchspace/permalink/428836435076150/?sfnsn=scwspmo. Some of you may follow Pete after his excellent recent talk to the IAA
10. Reach for the Stars astrophotography competition, run by the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and the Irish Times jointly with the support of the IAS - John Flannery will be one of the judges. Details available at this site: For info: the images can be taken anywhere on the whole island of Ireland, up until 31 March 2021.
https://www.dias.ie/ga/2020/12/16/reach-for-the-stars-diass-astrophotography-competition/ or see
We're sponsoring a new DIAS astrophotography competition! - Alice PR & Events
Or else, just go to dias.ie, the host website, and you should see it flagged in the announcements.
11. Space for Art Foundation Requesting Space Art from Children, deadline 1 May
The Space for Art Foundation invites children from anywhere in the world to contribute artwork to their next project: a space suit called BEYOND. Submissions can be emailed to the foundation or posted to the foundation's Facebook page. Entries should be submitted by 1 May 2021.
Learn more here: https://www.spaceforartfoundation.org/projects
12. Free Online Courses
"Moons of our Solar System" Online Course
Free online course on moons in the solar system from The Open University
Link: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/moons
Link: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/ocw/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=6910
AstroSTEM
Lesson plans and activities about astronomy and other STEM fields
Link: http://www.astrostem.org/
See the full list of online events and resources here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RgKVmO-JkuiWMV55syx3EwUS2-hnYcJ72Ks3HLKex2A/edit?usp=sharing
13. Easy Teaser: Of the 12 official zodiacal constellations, what record is held by Scorpius?
I forgot to repeat the rules for that, but they are:
"Rules: you're barred from entering if you (A) have already submitted a correct answer to any of the previous teasers, and/or (B) if you've been a member of any astronomy clubs or societies for 15 years or more. Obviously I have to trust your honesty on that latter point, but remember, if you're correct your name will be published here, and other members of your club will see it!"
There has only been one correct answer so far, but that was from someone who is not eligible under the rules above.
Please send all answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
14. Close fast pass by mountain-sized asteroid on March 21.
Asteroid 231937 will whizz past us on Mar 21, at only 5.3 Lunar Distances, and at the high speed of 34.4km/sec. It has an estimated diameter of 1024m. No danger of a collision, but that's fairly close for such a big asteroid and especially one going so fast! Remember, the energy of the impact increases directly with the mass of the body, but increases with the square of the velocity. That impact would destroy everything in an area the size of Ireland
UPDATE: Of the 60 NEOs listed currently on Space.com (at the time of writing), this one has BY FAR the highest relative velocity! The mean velocity of those 60 is 10.26 km/sec. And the next highest velocity after this one is 26km/sec, and that's for a much smaller body and at a much greater distance.
And it's more than twice the diameter of the next biggest one in the list! In fact, so it's more than 8 times larger in volume, and it's almost 17 times larger in diameter than the average on that list.
Now the media is onto the story Asteroid news: Largest asteroid to fly by this year travelling 100 times faster than sound (msn.com) and Asteroid news: NASA tracking 2021's biggest asteroid- three times bigger than Eiffel Tower (msn.com)
15. ESA seeks new astronauts: apply March 31 to May 28
European Space Agency on the hunt for new astronauts (msn.com)
16. June 8-11: Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty, hosted by U of Edinburgh. 4 days of webinars on Human Exploration of Mars.
17. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory closed until further notice
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.
18. 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
'Gravity portals' could morph dark matter into ordinary matter, astrophysicists propose (msn.com)
Astronomers discover most distant source of radio emission known to date (msn.com) and Scientists find most distant quasar shooting powerful radio jets (msn.com)
Black holes could be dark stars with 'Planck hearts' | Space
A treasure trove of Black Holes poses problems for theories https://www.facebook.com/29259828486/posts/10159621060513487/?sfnsn=scwspmo
And you thought that Betelgeuse was big??? Hubble solves mystery of monster star's dimming (phys.org) You can see this amazing star yourself with a small telescope. It's about mag 8, but varies between mag 6.5 to 9.6. It lies about 1 deg 15' SE of Tau CMa, at RA 7h 23m 20s, and Dec -25 deg 47' 10". That's quite far South so you'll need a good clear horizon to the South. It's very red, but the colour will only show up in larger telescopes, unless it's near maximum.
High-energy particle spotted speeding through Earth in major breakthrough (msn.com) and IceCube detection of high-energy particle proves 60-year-old physics theory -- ScienceDaily
Scientists capture first astounding 'slow supernova' which could be unique in our galaxy (msn.com)
HST sees a star turn into a Black Hole https://www.facebook.com/108218329601/posts/10159519768619602/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Over a century's observations of a star reveal its secrets Scientists sketch aged star system using over a century of observations -- ScienceDaily And imagine being an astronomer called Laura Vega!
Astronomers have detected a moving supermassive black hole -- ScienceDaily
A new form of star death. https://www.facebook.com/1015803760/posts/10221988871963643/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Not so fast, supernova: Highest-energy cosmic rays detected in star clusters -- ScienceDaily
Gigantic jet spied from black hole in early universe -- ScienceDaily
COSMOLOGY
Weird. But no weirder than the problem it addresses! 'Gravity portals' could morph dark matter into ordinary matter, astrophysicists propose (msn.com)
Physicists explore the possibility of tunnels in spacetime -- ScienceDaily
EARTH & MOON
Last night's record-breaking fireball may have dropped a METEORITE over the UK | Daily Mail Online
Rare Meteorites found from Gloucestershire fall https://www.facebook.com/647806409/posts/10159624844451410/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Artemis: How ever changing US space policy may push back the next moon landing | Space
Rock that fell from the sky over the UK could change our understanding of the solar system (msn.com) and https://www.facebook.com/629623553/posts/10159232591008554/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Russia and China joining forces to build first Moon base (msn.com)
The moon has a tail, and Earth wears it like a scarf once a month | Live Science That's interesting. It should be enhanced during major meteor showers – I wonder has that been detected?
Algerian meteorite is older than the Solar System Scientists Discover Chunk of Protoplanet Older Than Earth In Sahara Desert (vice.com)
The world's oldest crater from a meteorite isn't an impact crater after all -- ScienceDaily
Engineers propose solar-powered lunar ark as 'modern global insurance policy' -- ScienceDaily
EXOPLANETS
Newfound exoplanet could be 'Rosetta Stone' for studies of alien atmospheres (msn.com)
https://www.facebook.com/47849178041/posts/10158113568588042/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Can super-rotating oceans cool off extreme exoplanets? | Space
A free-floating planet with extreme magnetism https://www.facebook.com/108218329601/posts/10159499292529602/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Other planets in our Milky Way may have continents just like Earth (msn.com)
How the habitability of exoplanets is influenced by their rocks -- ScienceDaily
Distant planet may be on its second atmosphere -- ScienceDaily
IMAGES
https://www.facebook.com/451369008407073/posts/1690516711158957/?sfnsn=scwspmo
SOLAR SYSTEM
Scientists shocked at water and organic material found on asteroid for the first time (msn.com)
China's Mars Probe Tianwen-1 Captures High-Resolution Photos of Red Planet (msn.com)
Asteroid holds water and organic matter essential for life, first ever sample shows (msn.com)
NASA names Perseverance rover's Mars touchdown site 'Octavia E. Butler Landing' (msn.com)
Mars rover travels 6.5 metres in 'flawless' first drive (msn.com) and NASA's Perseverance drives on Mars' terrain for first time -- ScienceDaily
Comet Catalina suggests comets delivered carbon to rocky planets -- ScienceDaily
Scientists uncover secrets of mysterious 1,100-mile-long Mars cloud (msn.com)
Lucy mission: NASA's visit to the Trojan asteroids (msn.com)
The Sounds of Mars https://www.facebook.com/100052644831465/posts/254365642994928/?sfnsn=scwspmo
I first reported this about a month ago Large asteroid to pass by Earth next week [Video] (aol.co.uk)
Names for features on Mars https://www.facebook.com/131459315949/posts/10158960745955950/?sfnsn=scwspmo
SPACE
World's first space HOTEL to begin construction in low Earth orbit in 2025 | Daily Mail Online
ESA's ExoMars orbiter spots NASA's Perseverance rover on Mars | Daily Mail Online
Perseverance rover deploys wind sensor on Mars (video) | Space
SpaceX SN10 explosion: Watch as latest Starship prototype erupts into ball of flames (msn.com)
Space flight launched from UK soil "within next few years" says Government (msn.com)
Mars rover travels 6.5 metres in 'flawless' first drive (msn.com)
Artemis: How ever changing US space policy may push back the next moon landing (msn.com) Emmm, this page STILL states that the Altair vehicle will land Americans on the Moon by 2020 289914main_fs_altair_lunar_lander.pdf (nasa.gov). I sense that something isn't quite right…
Orbital Assembly plans to build Voyager rotating space station in 2026 (newatlas.com)
This is nearly 2 years old, but worth watching again. Space -X Falcon Heavy lands all three solid boosters at the same time Superb Video https://youtu.be/sf4qRY3h_eo
Russia partners with China for lunar space station (msn.com)
Space Race: UK is 'well placed' with Falklands to counter China with space surveillance (msn.com) I'm not clear about this – what's the advantage of the Falklands? They may be in the S. Hemisphere, but satellites orbit the Earth, so one launched from there would be at the equivalent N Latitude about 45 – 50 minutes later, and similarly, one launched from the Shetlands (say) would be over the equivalent S. Latitude about 45-50 minutes later.
Russia and China joining forces to build first Moon base (msn.com)
France conducts first ever military exercise in space (msn.com)
Allan McDonald, Who Refused To Approve Shuttle Challenger Launch, Dead At 83 : NPR
Spacewalking astronauts manage possible ammonia leak (msn.com)
First person on Mars 'is probably now at school' (msn.com)
Elon Musk Mars plan branded 'delusional' by astrophysicist - 'like living on Everest' (msn.com) At last, someone is talking sense. Lord Rees's analogy doesn't go far enough – living on Mars would be like living on top of Mount Everest if it was on top of another Mt Everest, and situated at the South Pole. Except that Mars wouldn't be as windy, but it would have less radiation protection.
SUN
Astrophysicist's 2004 theory confirmed: Why the Sun's composition varies -- ScienceDaily
Incredible close-up view of solar flares being emitted (msn.com)
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES
Cleanup of Arecibo Observatory's collapsed radio telescope seen from space | Space
Giant Magellan Telescope project casts sixth mirror | Space and
Arecibo Observatory has more science to do despite iconic radio telescope's collapse | Space
Giant gravitational wave detectors could hear murmurs from across universe | Science | AAAS (sciencemag.org) What's even more interesting is that even the 4km long arms in LIGO are not long enough – the light beams bounce out and back along the tunnels several times before combining at the central detector.
Experts recreate a mechanical Cosmos for the world's first computer -- ScienceDaily
19. 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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