(NB, all times are summer time when in force, for convenience)
1. IAA Zoom event, with Armagh Observatory & Planetarium, Wed 26 May, 7.00 p.m .
Online Telescope Clinic. A chance for you to learn all about telescopes, solve any usage problems you may have, and how to use them best, and what to see with them.
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
More details in next bulletin
2. Mercury and Venus now visible in evening sky
Mercury is now readily visible, heading for its Greatest Eastern Elongation of 22º 01' on 17 May. Look low in the WNW evening twilight. On the 13th it will lie 2º 47' to the lower left of the crescent Moon.
The crescent moon will then move on to lie just West of MARS on May 15,
On the 28th Mercury will be very faint, but it will be joined by much brighter Venus'; at 22.45 that evening Mercury will lie just 29' to the left of Venus. That will be a chance for you to see it as a large diameter but very thin and faint crescent, with a diameter of over 10 arcseconds.
3. ISS. The ISS, currently with 9 astronauts on board, started a new series of morning passes on 30 April. These will gradually transition to evening passes, which will then continue until 29 May, so we're getting over 4 weeks of continuous passes!
4. Paul Evans has produced his latest excellent sky guide for May
5. SPACE and ASTRONOMY WEBINAR – postponed – more details later
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.
After a year of presentations, we're taking a break for April, and we'll be back on 'Star Wars Day' – May the Fourth be with you!
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 date of the next one will be announced asap: 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.
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6. Voting about to close for best astronomy photo competition
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has launched the online public vote to choose Ireland's best astrophotography images as part of the 'Reach for the Stars' competition.
'Reach for the Stars' aims to find the best astro-photographs taken in Ireland over the past year. While a high-profile judging panel will select the overall winning entries, an online vote is running over the coming weeks, so members of the public can also have their say.
During a private visit to DIAS's Dunsink Observatory, the Tánaiste reviewed a number of astro-photographs and officially launched the public vote. Members of the public can now view all images shortlisted for the competition and cast their vote for their favourite via an online gallery on the DIAS website. Over 170 images have been shortlisted this year – the inaugural year of the competition. The winning images selected by the judging panel and the public vote will be announced towards the end of May, and an outdoor exhibition will be staged by DIAS to showcase the best images.
Voting closes on 09th May 2021 at 23:59 (Irish Summer Time).
You may only vote once.
All votes cast will need to be verified via an email confirmation. Votes that are not verified will not be counted.
For some very sensitive SPAM filters, the verification email may be detoured to your SPAM folder, so please check there just in case it doesn't appear when you think it should.
Thank you for participating!
To cast your vote, visit here: https://www.dias.ie/astrophotography-competition-public.../
Since quite a few friends have entered photos for this competition, I have to stay neutral, but do have a look and cast your vote asap. Good luck to all! You can also try
https://www.dias.ie/.../dias-reach-for-the.../ or
🗳️https://t.co/Kr6KDrl5fP or
#getvoting #DIASdiscovers #Astrophotography #VoteNow https://t.co/NKMrS5Rlv3
(https://twitter.com/DIAS_Dublin/status/1389881401412042756?s=03)
LATEST:
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies - DIAS
Voting is well underway in our Astrophotography competition but there is still time to cast your vote.
Simply click the link below and browse some of the wonderful shortlisted entries showcasing the amazing night skies of Ireland.
https://www.dias.ie/astrophotography-competition-public.../
Voting closes this Sunday 09 May at 23:59 Irish Time.
#DIASdiscovers #astrophotography #competition #votenow
7. New Book on Space by Brian Harvey
You may be interested in a new book by renowned Irish space expert Brian Harvey, just published by Praxis/Springer, European-Russian space cooperation, from de Gaulle to ExoMars. Brian is a well-known lecturer, as well an author, on space, and has given several fascinating talks recently on the Chinese Space programme, on which topic he also has a recent excellent book published.
More details on Brian and all his books at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Harvey_%28author%29
8. International Day of Light, 16 May
Join the IAU OAO for the International Day of Light
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is a partner for the annual International Day of Light on 16 May 2021 and the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (IAU OAO) and the IAU National Outreach Coordinators (NOCs) will participate in various events in and around this day. The day honours the role of light in our lives and the IAU OAO will use the day to raise awareness on dark and quiet skies. In 2021, we also welcome people to participate in activities that promote scientific thinking in our lives.
Learn more here: https://www.iau.org/public/darkskiesawareness/
9. Public Lecture, by Prof Katherine Blundell, 19 May, at 13.00, Cosmic Vision: Space-Quakes (gresham.ac.uk)
10. GoSpaceWatch Online Lecture Meeting
Meetings are open to all and cost £3.00 pp
Wednesday 26th May at 7:30 pm; Robin Hague (Skyrora)
"From Scotland to Space" Tickets on sale shortly
11. Registration Reminder for the CAP Conference, 24 – 27 May
Registration for the Communicating Astronomy with the Public Conference (CAP Conference) closes on 15 May 2021. The CAP Conference brings together individuals working or interested in the communication, informal teaching and outreach of astronomy to exchange ideas and discuss best practices. The virtual conference is free to registrants and will be held 24-27 May 2021.
Register here: https://www.communicatingastronomy.org/cap2021/
12. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory will partially open on 3 June. More details soon.
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.
13. TEASERS
Easy Teaser – Answers:
Q. Of the 12 official zodiacal constellations, what record is held by Scorpius? The answer was that Scorpius has the shortest length of the ecliptic passing through it, and therefore the Sun spends less time in Scorpius than in any other Zodiacal Constellation.
Two 'experts' answered it (Brian Beesley and Peter Millar), but the first correct answer from an eligible candidate was from Ross Currie, at his first attempt! Well done Ross!
OOPS – Sorry – I also got a correct answer from Colin Parkes – apologies to Collin!
HARD TEASER – Answered at last!
The question was - What connects – the Queen's Fiancetto, The Ark, Oscar, Lancaster, a singular lens, and an old British coin?
First correct answer came from CONN BUCKLEY, and a day later, regular winner PETER MILLAR also got it right. The answer is 'Sir Patrick Moore'. Well done to both.
Patrick was an excellent chess player (he taught me, on cloudy nights in his study in Armagh), and his standard opening move was the Queen's Fiancetto; The Ark was the nickname he gave to his ancient upright Ford Prefect (in which I drove him from Armagh to Birr to meet Lord Rosse, and set in train the restoration of the Leviathan); Oscar was his nickname for his then favourite telescope, a 12.5" Newtonian; Lancaster was the type of bomber in which he flew as a Navigator for the RAF; a 'singular lens' was the monocle which he often wore; and an 'old British coin' was the clue for "Farthings", the name of the house he bought in Selsey when he left Armagh, and where he lived for the rest of his life (and where I visited many times, and observed with his latest telescope, a lovely wooden-tubed long-focus equatorial 15" Newtonian).
New Easy Teaser
What's the connection between – A type of singing, a Keeper of the Mint, a German musician, and a Buddhist monk?
"Rules for Easy Teasers: 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!"
Please send all answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
14. June 8-11: Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty, hosted by U of Edinburgh. 4 days of webinars on Human Exploration of Mars.
15. European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting
Location: Virtual
Date: 28 June–2 July 2021
Website: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS_meeting/
16. Asteroid Day, 30 June. More details later.
17. 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
Hubble captures giant star on the edge of destruction -- ScienceDaily
Primordial Black Holes could explain Dark Matter https://www.facebook.com/1642929092406128/posts/4224972160868462/?sfnsn=mo
Dark matter could be destroying itself inside the bellies of exoplanets | Live Science This doesn't seem any dafter than some other theories about DM
Black hole-neutron star collisions may help settle dispute over Universe's expansion -- ScienceDaily
Watch a black hole tear a star to bits in epic new animation | Live Science
Astronomers chart invisible ocean of dark matter swirling outside the Milky Way | Live Science
COSMOLOGY.
Is there a pattern to the universe? | Space
EARTH & MOON
Asteroid that hit Botswana in 2018 likely came from Vesta, scientists say -- ScienceDaily – interesting follow-on from Alan Fitzsimmons's brilliant lecture.
Asteroid impact: NASA simulation shows we are sitting ducks - Big Think
New lunar map to help guide future exploration missions -- ScienceDaily
2°C more heat may mean catastrophic sea level rise | Climate News Network
EXOPLANETS
Astronomers detect hydroxyl molecule signature in an exoplanet atmosphere -- ScienceDaily – Great to see this finding, from Chris Watson and Ernst de Mooij (QUB), and Neale Gibson (TCD) among others!
Hubble watches how a giant planet grows -- ScienceDaily
EXOLIFE
A Recent Megaflare Shows that Proxima Centauri is not a Nice Place to Live - Universe Today
The fungus on Mars and the man who thinks he found life on other planets (msn.com) I'm reserving judgement!
SOLAR SYSTEM
Asteroid that hit Botswana in 2018 likely came from Vesta, scientists say -- ScienceDaily – interesting follow-on from Alan Fitzsimmons's brilliant lecture.
Scientists model Saturn's interior, explain planet's unique magnetic field -- ScienceDaily
Icy clouds could have kept early Mars warm enough for rivers and lakes -- ScienceDaily
SPACE
Mars helicopter Ingenuity spots Perseverance rover from the air (photo) | Space
Huge Delta IV Heavy rocket launches US spy satellite to orbit | Live Science
Ingenuity helicopter lands new job as scout after "resounding success" (newatlas.com)
SpaceX's Crew Dragon splashes down, setting record for US spaceflight (newatlas.com)
Ingenuity Completes a Huge 50-Meter Flight on Mars - Universe Today
NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Astronauts on the Moon! - Universe Today
What if Starship Didn't Do a Landing Burn at All? - Universe Today
Blue Origin will start selling seats on its New Shepard spacecraft next week | Space
International Space Station to go on tour with VR exhibit 'The Infinite' | Space
SpaceX Starship landing is first step in 'tech revolution' towards 'building city on Mars' (msn.com) and
SpaceX successfully lands its massive Starship for the first time (newatlas.com)
NASA Astronaut Says Floating In Space Is Like Being a Superhero: 'It Is That Cool' (newsweek.com)
NASA's Mars helicopter Ingenuity will head to new airfield today on 5th flight | Space
Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Both Want the Moon - The Atlantic
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES
Physicists net neutron star gold from measurement of lead -- ScienceDaily
Roman Space Telescope Will Also Find Rogue Black Holes - Universe Today
New application of AI just removed one of the biggest roadblocks in astrophysics -- ScienceDaily
18. 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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