Irish Astronomical Association News: August 2021

Wednesday, 18 August 2021

IAA AGM, Sky video, Dark skies events, Saturn and Jupiter, OM/Davagh, Euro and global events, Teasers, weblinks

Hi all,

(NB, all times are summer time when in force, for convenience)

1. IAA AGM, Wed 18 August, 7.30 p.m. This will be followed by a presentation on the current night sky by Paul Evans.

Time: Aug 18, 2021 07:15 PM London – room opens

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86492001336?pwd=cDFlK1k3bWg4SWVSbHVFK1dZTUVYdz09

Meeting ID: 864 9200 1336
Passcode: 402441

2. Paul Evans's August Sky Video

https://youtu.be/rXhj-7FekB8

3. Dark Skies Events, 17- 19 August

We're hosting new online events for Heritage Week, and we'd love to see you there.

All three official dark sky places on the island of Ireland are collaborating to present a FREE series of online events on 17th, 18th & 19th August (5pm). Join us for An Island of Dark Skies

These events are part of Science Foundation Ireland/ESERO Ireland's "Dark Skies & Biodiversity" education programme

We hope you're able to join us!

The above live events are a follow up to the ESERO / Science Foundation Ireland programme for Primary School Teachers - "Dark Skies & Biodiversity Course" - a 5 module online course on Earth & Space, Stargazing & Constellations, Light Pollution, Biodiversity & nocturnal wildlife, Dark Skies in Culture & Heritage.

Available now via https://esero.ie/upcoming-workshop/online-summer-course-steaming-through-dark-skies-and-biodiversity-with-esero/

ALSO

An Island of Dark Skies - Heritage Week Events

For the first time, all 3 three official dark sky places on the island of Ireland are collaborating with the following series of free online events. Bookings via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/an-island-of-dark-skies-tickets-162081308557

Wednesday 18th August at 5pm - join Mayo International Dark Sky Park and invited guest Dr Frank Prendergast who will discuss ArchaeoAstronomy on Achill and our night sky as our ancestors would have viewed it. Dr Prendergast is now Emeritus at the Dublin Institute of Technology, where he researches Irish prehistoric monuments and their landscapes from a cultural astronomy perspective. Frank was a co-presenter of the fantastic Winter Solstice event last December streamed live from Brú na Boinne, together with Clare Tuffy of the OPW.

Thursday 19th August at 5pm - join Tom O'Donoghue from Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve for a workshop in astrophotography and a beginners guide to taking photographs of the night sky. Tom has won various international awards and has even built his own observatory in the South of France. This talk will cover the beginners guide to taking Night Sky Photos: Where and when in the sky to find objects and how to use a DSLR to get the most successful images.

Please note OM Dark Sky Park in Northern Ireland will also be presenting a special online talk on setting up and using a telescope for beginners and how to observe the Night Sky at a future date, original event sadly postponed to staff family bereavement. Our thoughts and support with them. (if you have booked the original event of 17th August, you will be contacted as soon as a new date is scheduled).

4. Saturn still well placed

SATURN: is still near its closest and brightest for the year, but it's very low from our latitude, so viewing conditions are not great. It's now mag 0.2, in Capricorn, with an apparent diameter of 18.2".

The angle of the ring system to Earth has been steadily decreasing recently, reaching 18 degrees at Opposition, so the rings no longer extend beyond the poles. Aesthetically, I think this angle, and down to an angle of about 10 degrees, is the most beautiful.

On 20 August the Full Moon will lie just below it.

Of the satellites, Titan is visible in any telescope, and Rhea is not too difficult. With the low altitude, it may be harder to see fainter Dione and Tethys, especially as they are closer to the planet. Big telescopes and good seeing are required for Enceladus and Mimas. Iapetus is easiest to see when it's at Western elongation; that next occurs around 18 – 22 September.

On the evening of 9 August, all the visible satellites will be on the East side of Saturn, making it look a bit lop-sided! From the centre of the disc, at 22.00 BST/IST moving Eastwards, they are Rhea, Mimas, Enceladus, Tethys, Dione, Titan, Hyperion and Iapetus, but probably only Rhea, Tethys, Dione and Titan will be visible except in powerful telescopes.

I've seen them all, using the 10-inch refractor at Armagh Observatory, and my own 37cm Newtonian, but when Saturn was a lot higher up, and in much less light-polluted skies!

5. Jupiter almost at opposition

Jupiter is now readily visible from Ireland, as it moves towards Opposition on August 20. It's in Aquarius, mag -2.8, some 20 degrees E of Saturn, and with an apparent diameter of 48". It's a bit higher up than Saturn, and that will gradually increase over the next few years.

The four big Galilean moons are visible in even a modest telescope. This year, the Sun and Earth are almost exactly in the plane of Jupiter's equator, so the moons pass backwards and forwards almost exactly in the same plane. This means that sometimes they are so close together that they will appear as one, unless you use high magnification. This will happen with Europa and Ganymede on the night of 14-15 August

And very rarely one moon will actually pass in front of, or occult, another Moon, and sometimes one Moon will pass into the shadow of another Moon, and be eclipsed by it. I'll post details of any of these events which may be visible from Ireland in these email bulletins.

On 19 August it retrogrades into Capricorn, where it remains for the rest of the quarter. On the evening of 22 August the Full Moon will pass just below it.

6. ISS. The ISS will commence a new series of morning passes on 28 August. Details at www.heavens-above.com

7. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory now open, with pre-booking, and some restrictions.

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.

8. Call for Europlanet Outreach Funding Scheme and Prize 2021, 18 August

The Europlanet Society is accepting applications for their 2021 Outreach Funding Scheme and Prize. Applications are accepted through 18 August 2021. Both the funding scheme and the prize are designed to support those in Europe who are doing public outreach for planetary sciences.
Learn more here: https://www.europlanet-society.org/calls-for-europlanet-outreach-funding-scheme-and-prize-2021/

9. Global Hands-On Universe Conference, 23 – 27 August

The 2021 Global Hands on Universe (GHOU) Conference will again be held virtually for teachers, students, educators, and other scientists interested in astronomy education. Registration closes on 10 August 2021. The free conference will be held 23-27 August 2021.
Learn more here: http://handsonuniverse.org/ghou2021/

10. Series of astronomy lectures by Gresham College.

A. Monday 20 September: Mars Missions 2021: Early Discoveries (gresham.ac.uk)

B. A series of 6 from 29 September to June 2022, at 6 p.m.. See: Cosmic Revolutions (gresham.ac.uk)

11. Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society Workshop II, 3-7 October
Location: Virtual / La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
Date: 3-7 October 2021
Website: http://research.iac.es/congreso/quietdarksky2021/pages/home.php

12. A: Clue for Easy Teaser No answers for this one yet, so here's a clue - The last three gave their name to something used in astronomy, and the first one has a similar connection.

Q. 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!"

13. (Moderately) Difficult Teaser Answered.

The O'Neills do it again, this time it's Sara, wife of John who has been successful before. The question was - What's next in this sequence? A, M, A, M, P, M, ? The answer is D. They are the first letters of the stars in The Plough / Big Dipper, starting at the end of the handle: Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Merak & Dubhe. Well done Sara.

14. New Difficult Teaser – a clue

What have 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22 & 23 got in common?

There have been no correct guesses on this one yet, so here's a clue – The highest number which could possibly be on that list (but isn't) is 24.

Please send all answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com

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

How big is a black hole? How messily it 'eats' may be a clue. | Space

'Dancing ghosts': a new, deeper scan of the sky throws up surprises for astronomers | Space

Brown Dwarfs Could Reveal Secrets of Planet and Star Formation - Scientific American

LOFAR reveals amazing details in galaxies https://www.facebook.com/784440849/posts/10159838512345850/?sfnsn=scwspmo

New findings on the evolution of galaxies: Research paper provides new insights into how central supermassive blackholes influence the evolution of their host galaxy -- ScienceDaily

Small stars share similar dynamics to our sun, key to planet habitability -- ScienceDaily

EARTH & MOON

Scientists fine-tune odds of asteroid Bennu hitting Earth through 2300 with NASA probe's help | Space

July was Earth's hottest month on record: NOAA -- ScienceDaily

Protecting Earth from space storms -- ScienceDaily – and of course, a major asteroid or comet impact would have the same effect.

Magnetic patterns hidden in meteorites reveal early Solar System dynamics -- ScienceDaily

Climate change widespread, rapid, and intensifying: IPCC -- ScienceDaily

Earth Is Warmer Than It's Been in 125,000 Years - Scientific American

EXOLIFE

Good News! Red Dwarfs Blast Their Superflares out the Poles, Sparing Their Planets From Destruction - Universe Today

We'll Have to Wait About 3,000 Years for a Reply From Intelligent Civilizations - Universe Today And since the evidence that we use to conclude that there's intelligent life on another planet will be, on average, 1500 years old by the time we see it, that civilization could be extinct even before we send our message!

EXOPLANETS

Exo-Earths may be rare https://www.facebook.com/46126453526/posts/10158408862228527/?sfnsn=scwspmo

IMAGES

Jupiter's huge moon Ganymede stuns in new infrared image from NASA's Juno probe | Space

Powerful X-ray burst from black hole ripples through galactic dust in new NASA image | Space

NASA's Mars helicopter spots its Perseverance rover pal from above in an epic view (video) | Space

'Dancing ghosts': a new, deeper scan of the sky throws up surprises for astronomers | Space

Watch auroras paint the sky above Earth in stunning astronaut photos and video | Space

SOLAR SYSTEM

Perseverance Mars rover fumbled 1st sampling attempt because of 'unique' powdery rock, NASA finds | Space

Scientists fine-tune odds of asteroid Bennu hitting Earth through 2300 with NASA probe's help | Space

Mars helicopter Ingenuity soars through challenging 12th flight on Red Planet | Space

China's Mars Rover completes mission https://www.facebook.com/551070831/posts/10160147797490832/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Nearby star-forming region yields clues to the formation of our solar system: The Ophiuchus star-forming complex offers an analog for the formation of the solar system, including the sources of elements found in primitive meteorites -- ScienceDaily

Scientists locate likely origin for the dinosaur-killing asteroid | Space

Saturn's rippling rings point to massive, soupy core hidden inside | Space

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/81141/nasa-will-sniff-out-life-on-moon-that-is-believed-to-have-water/index.html

NASA spacecraft provides insight into asteroid Bennu's future orbit -- ScienceDaily

Magnetic patterns hidden in meteorites reveal early Solar System dynamics -- ScienceDaily

Dragonfly mission to Titan announces big science goals -- ScienceDaily

SPACE

Boeing's Starliner launch, a critical test flight for NASA, delayed indefinitely as capsule heads back to factory | Space

Boeing Starliner Launch Scrubbed. No Idea When it Might fly - Universe Today

US astronaut moon landing 'not feasible,' by 2024 due to spacesuit delay, NASA's inspector general finds | Space

SpaceX remains the sole winner of NASA astronaut moon lander contract, GAO affirms | Space

Dragonfly mission to Titan announces big science goals -- ScienceDaily

TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES

https://www.popsci.com/light-photographed-wave-and-particle-first-time/

Want a LEGO James Webb Space Telescope? It Even Folds Up - Universe Today

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 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

Saturday, 7 August 2021

Perseids, Sky video, Dark skies events, Saturn and Jupiter, Fireball, ISS, IAA AGM, Davagh DSP, more

Hi all,

(NB, all times are summer time when in force, for convenience)

1. Meteor Shower - PERSEIDS avoid Moonlight

The annual Perseid Meteor shower is one of the two best each year, and this year conditions are favourable, with no bright moonlight to spoil the show.

Most of the annual meteor showers are caused by streams of tiny particles emitted from comets as they orbit around the Sun, and the Perseids originate from Comet Swift-Tuttle, named after the two astronomers who discovered it. The Earth passes through this shower of tiny particles each August, with the maximum on the nights of 11-12^th, and especially of the 12-13th, when up to 80 meteors per hour can be observed under ideal conditions in the early hours of the 13th. However, some Perseids can be seen from the beginning of the month up to about the 20th, although the rates are much lower the further away from the date of maximum.

They can appear anywhere in the sky, at random, but if you trace the direction of their tracks backwards, they will all appear to come from a small area in Perseus, near the famous Double Cluster in the Milky Way.

Perseus will be rising in the North East when the sky gets dark, and the number of meteors seen will increase from then as Perseus gets higher up in the East and then almost overhead, until dawn twilight gets too bright.

The young crescent Moon will set as twilight ends, so moonlight will not interfere this year.

You don't need a telescope, or even binoculars, to see them, just your own eyes. But you must allow time for your eyes to adapt to the darkness before you'll start to see any: if going out from a bright room, this takes 10 minutes for a reasonable view, but around 20 minutes to get the best view. For comfort, use a reclining chair or lounger, and wrap up well as it will get quite cool after a while.

And you should try to observe from the darkest location possible, away from light pollution, i.e. the effects of bright city lights, or even nearby street lights or security lights. If you can see the Milky Way, you've got a reasonably good location. The new OM/Davagh Dark Sky Park in the Sperrins is being developed for observing events such as this.

Although they appear to come from Perseus, they can appear anywhere in the sky, and the best place to look is about 50 degrees above the horizon (a bit more than halfway up to the overhead point, and about the same distance to left or right of the radiant, in whichever direction you can get the clearest and darkest view. Obviously if it's cloudy, you won't see any, but if you look on the few nights on either side of the 12th/13th, you should still see quite a good display if it's clear then.

Perseid meteors are quite fast, with a good proportion of bright ones, although as with all showers, there are many more faint ones than bright ones. That's why you'll see more from a very dark site, and when your eyes have fully dark-adapted.

METEOR PHOTOGRAPHY:

If you have a digital SLR which can give longish time exposures, and you can manually focus it on infinity, and adjust it to a high ISO (film speed equivalent), you can image the meteors with a bit of luck. Use the widest-angle lens you have. It will help to have a tripod.

Point the camera about 50° up in the sky, about 40° from the radiant, for best results. Consult your camera handbook, or experiment with exposures until the sky fogging becomes too severe. Start with exposures of about 10 minutes, and see if the background is still dark; if not, reduce the exposure times a bit. But usually the bright meteors pass just outside the field of view of the camera!

2. Paul Evans's August Sky Video

https://youtu.be/rXhj-7FekB8

3. Dark Skies Events, 16, and 17- 19 August

We're hosting new online events for Heritage Week, and we'd love to see you there.

All three official dark sky places on the island of Ireland are collaborating to present a FREE series of online events on 17th, 18th & 19th August (5pm). Join us for An Island of Dark Skies

These events are part of Science Foundation Ireland/ESERO Ireland's "Dark Skies & Biodiversity" education programme

We hope you're able to join us!

Available now via https://esero.ie/upcoming-workshop/online-summer-course-steaming-through-dark-skies-and-biodiversity-with-esero/

ALSO

Dark Sky Accreditation, 16 August

Are you seeking dark sky status for your local area? Join John Barentine PhD, Director of Conservation, International Dark Sky Association (IDA). John will talk about the process to obtain dark sky designation and the supports available from the IDA. Followed by Anthony Tekatch of Unihedron - Anthony will discuss the typical measurement tool used by most designations for dark sky accreditation - the Sky Quality Meter (SQM).

Monday 16th August at 7pm. Details to follow, hosted by Mayo Dark Skies.

4. Saturn at Opposition, 2 August

SATURN: is now at its closest and brightest for the year, but it's very low from our latitude, so viewing conditions are not great. It's now mag 0.2, in Capricorn, with an apparent diameter of 18.2".

On 20 August the Full Moon will lie just below it.

I've seen them all, using the 10-inch refractor at Armagh Observatory, and my own 37cm Newtonian, but when Saturn was a lot higher up, and in much less light-polluted skies!

5. Jupiter also well placed

On 19 August it retrogrades into Capricorn, where it remains for the rest of the quarter. On the evening of 22 August the Full Moon will pass just below it.

6. Bright Fireball, 31 July.

Did anyone see or record a bright fireball on Saturday 31 July at 21.54 BST? It was recorded on dashcam in Newtownards, low down in the North, heading away from the driver. So it would have been seen higher and brighter up from Bangor / Holywood, and from the East of Co Antrim. If anyone saw, or even better, recorded, this fireball we may be able to get an accurate orbit. It was bright even though it was still twilight, and was very far from the observer, so please check any camera footage you may have. Let me know asap.

7. ISS. The ISS will commence a new series of morning passes on 28 August. Details at www.heavens-above.com

8. IAA AGM, Wed 18 August, 7.30 p.m.

This will be held by Zoom – more details later.

9. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory now open, with pre-booking, and some restrictions.

10. Call for Europlanet Outreach Funding Scheme and Prize 2021, 18 August

The Europlanet Society is accepting applications for their 2021 Outreach Funding Scheme and Prize. Applications are accepted through 18 August 2021. Both the funding scheme and the prize are designed to support those in Europe who are doing public outreach for planetary sciences.
Learn more here: https://www.europlanet-society.org/calls-for-europlanet-outreach-funding-scheme-and-prize-2021/

11. Global Hands-On Universe Conference, 23 – 27 August

12. Series of astronomy lectures by Gresham College.

A. Monday 20 September: Mars Missions 2021: Early Discoveries (gresham.ac.uk)

B. A series of 6 from 29 September to June 2022, at 6 p.m.. See: Cosmic Revolutions (gresham.ac.uk)

13. Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society Workshop II, 3-7 October
Location: Virtual / La Palma, Canary Islands, Spain
Date: 3-7 October 2021
Website: http://research.iac.es/congreso/quietdarksky2021/pages/home.php

14. A: Clue for Easy Teaser No answers for this one yet, so here's a clue - The last three gave their name to something used in astronomy, and the first one has a similar connection.

Q. What's the connection between – A type of singing, a Keeper of the Mint, a German musician, and a Buddhist monk?

15. (Moderately) Difficult Teaser Answered.

16. New Difficult Teaser

What have 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22 & 23 got in common?

Please send all answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com

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

WIMPS vs. Axions: What is dark matter? - Universe Today

Where can we find a fifth force of nature? - Universe Today

Neutron Stars Have Mountains, They're Just a Fraction of a Millimeter High - Universe Today

Laser pincers generate antimatter by recreating neutron star conditions (newatlas.com)

Stars Made of Antimatter Might Be Lurking in the Universe - Scientific American

X-ray echoes detected from behind a black hole for first time (newatlas.com)

X-Ray telescope captures complete map of Black Holes https://www.facebook.com/17610706465/posts/10158077434326466/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Event Horizon Telescope snaps close-up of supermassive black hole jets (newatlas.com)

Light from behind a black hole spotted for 1st time, proving Einstein right | Live Science

The most complete map of Black Holes ever published. https://www.facebook.com/49650744941/posts/10161232873394942/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Thank exploding stars for our galaxy's gold – UKRI

Astronomers probe layer-cake structure of brown dwarf's atmosphere -- ScienceDaily

NASA has glimpsed our galaxy's fate in three-way galactic brawl | Live Science No mention of what will happen to M33, our other neighbouring 'full-sized' galaxy. It is a bit further away than M31 – about 2.7 million LY, compared with 2.5 million LY for M31, and they are only 15 degrees apart in the sky, so at a rough approximation, it lies beyond M31. We don't know its radial velocity well enough to be sure, but it

will almost certainly eventually merge with either M31, or the MW, or 'Milkomeda' which is the name given to the future merged Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. A 3-way merger would be fun – only about 4 or 5 billion years: I can't wait!

NASA's TESS tunes into an all-sky 'symphony' of red giant stars -- ScienceDaily

Supernova shockwave https://www.facebook.com/100063510852713/posts/231429638984063/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Nearby star resembles ours in its youth -- ScienceDaily

Why is this weird, metallic star hurtling out of the Milky Way? Astronomers analyzed light data from a piece of supernova shrapnel to gain clues about where it came from -- ScienceDaily

Astronomers discover how to feed a black hole -- ScienceDaily

Scientists observe gas re-accretion in dying galaxies for the first time -- ScienceDaily

Scientists capture most-detailed radio image of Andromeda galaxy to date: Disk of galaxy identified as region where new stars are born -- ScienceDaily

Magnetic fields implicated in the mysterious midlife crisis of stars -- ScienceDaily

https://www.facebook.com/108218329601/posts/10159853950494602/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Magnetic 'balding' of black holes saves general relativity prediction -- ScienceDaily

On the hunt for 'hierarchical' black holes -- ScienceDaily

Supernova's 'fizzled' gamma-ray burst -- ScienceDaily

Three dwarf spheroidal galaxies found to rotate -- ScienceDaily

EARTH & MOON

Act on Climate Emergency Now to Prevent Millions of Deaths, Study Shows - Scientific American

https://earth.org/data_visualization/a-brief-history-of-co2/

Dinosaur-killing rock traced to population of "dark primitive asteroids" (newatlas.com)

Ignoring climate change will yield 'untold suffering,' panel of 14,000 scientists warns | Live Science

Thank exploding stars for our galaxy's gold – UKRI

Ailing Earth can't cope as human demands soar | Climat e News Network As I've been saying for years, the Earth is seriously overpopulated with humans.

Atlantic's major current is weakening, signalling significant weather changes – study (msn.com)

New Climate Report Will Detail Grim Future of Hotter, Extreme Weather and Rising Seas - Scientific American Of course, all the CC Deniers know better than these 200 experts, because they've read something on Facebook!

Early molten moon's deep secrets -- ScienceDaily

Icy waters of 'Snowball Earth' may have spurred early organisms to grow bigger -- ScienceDaily

EDUCATION & OUTREACH

World's largest astronomy museum inspired by classic three-body problem (newatlas.com)

EXOLIFE

Micrometeorites Churn up the Surface of Europa. If you Want to Find Life, You'll Need to dig Down a Meter or So - Universe Today

Harvard-led team to search cosmos for extraterrestrial space tech and UFOs | Live Science

EXOPLANETS

Astronomers snap image of moon-forming disk surrounding an alien world (newatlas.com) and

https://www.facebook.com/35695491869/posts/10159354364566870/?sfnsn=scwspmo

HR 8799 super-Jupiters' days measured for the first time, gives a new spin on unraveling planet formation mystery -- ScienceDaily

Ocean world: Rocky exoplanet has just half the mass of Venus -- ScienceDaily

IMAGES

NASA's amazing image of the Milky Way https://www.facebook.com/17610706465/posts/10158077434326466/?sfnsn=scwspmo

https://screenrant.com/hubble-reboot-first-images-galaxies-mystery-nasa/

PEOPLE

Steven Weinberg, Nobel Prize-winning physicist, has died | Live Science

SOLAR SYSTEM

New Images of Mars From China's Rover - Universe Today

Fantastic Visualization Shows What Would Happen if you Dropped a Ball Across the Solar System - Universe Today

Volcanic Activity on Venus Could Explain Phosphine - Universe Today

Micrometeorites Churn up the Surface of Europa. If you Want to Find Life, You'll Need to dig Down a Meter or So - Universe Today

Mars InSight reveals first crust-to-core snapshot of Red Planet (newatlas.com) and https://www.facebook.com/672161609/posts/10158010612821610/?sfnsn=scwspmo

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa (newatlas.com)

7-year old girl discovers 7 asteroids https://www.facebook.com/100000607066031/posts/4524166817613509/

Water vapor detected on huge Jupiter moon Ganymede for 1st time | Live Science

Dinosaur-killing rock traced to population of "dark primitive asteroids" (newatlas.com)

Mars helicopter's latest flights  https://www.facebook.com/685156884880562/posts/4335129439883270/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Buried 'lakes' on Mars may just be frozen clay | Live Science

Watch Ingenuity explore intriguing Raised Ridges in new video | Space There's an intriguing view of what looks like a 'track' in that video!

Venus will receive two visitors from Earth next week (newatlas.com)

LUCY mission to the Trojan asteroids https://www.facebook.com/1272698526/posts/10220496713389174/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Highest-resolution measurements of asteroid surface temperatures ever obtained from Earth -- ScienceDaily

Lunar samples solve mystery of the moon's supposed magnetic shield: Research may help inform a new wave of lunar experiments based on data that will be gathered by the Artemis mission -- ScienceDaily

Space scientists reveal secret behind Jupiter's 'energy crisis' -- ScienceDaily

https://www.independent.co.uk/space/jaxa-red-asteroid-belt-organic-matter-pompeja-justitia-b1892791.html

  Planetary scientist puts Mars lake theory on ice with new study that offers alternate explanation: Interdisciplinary investigation of the planet's south pole points to clays being the likely culprit -- ScienceDaily

  Earthly rocks point way to water hidden on Mars -- ScienceDaily

Hubble finds evidence of water vapor at Jupiter's moon Ganymede -- ScienceDaily

SPACE

Blue Origin Successfully Launches the Oldest and Youngest Person to Ever go to Space (oh, and Jeff Bezos too) - Universe Today and

Blue Origin's New Shepard flies passengers to space and back (newatlas.com)

We Need to Fix Space Junk Before It's Too Late - Universe Today

What's Next for Blue Origin After Today's Successful Flight? - Universe Today

"Walking" robotic arm on its way to ISS (newatlas.com)

Revised FAA rules put Branson and Bezos' astronaut wings in doubt (newatlas.com)

Apollo 15: NASA's first moon buggy mission celebrates 50th anniversary (newatlas.com) I've been lucky enough to meet both Jim Irwin and Al Worden, now both sadly deceased.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch Clipper mission to Jupiter's moon Europa (newatlas.com)

Boeing Starliner OFT-2 launch to space station delayed following Russian module mishap | Space

China's Space Station Is Preparing to Host 1,000 Science Experiments - Scientific American

Mars helicopter's latest flights  https://www.facebook.com/685156884880562/posts/4335129439883270/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Russia's Nauka module briefly tilts space station with unplanned thruster fire | Space They were trying to hijack it! I'll bet one of them is called Blofeld! ;-)

Boeing Starliner OFT-2 launch to space station delayed following Russian module mishap | Space

Forget About Interstellar Flights. Tiny Light Sails Could be Used to Explore the Solar System Today - Universe Today These ideas ignore two fundamental problems with light sails. 1. They accelerate only. It's all very well getting to Jupiter or Saturn extremely quickly, but the 'craft' will just whiz by at extremely high speed – many hundreds of thousands of MPH. What good is that? 2. To keep them very light, they can't carry any meaningful instrumentation, and even worse, they won't have the power or antennae big enough to beam any data back to Earth. You might as well fire a bullet past a distant tree and expect to learn something about the tree.

Can the U.S. and China Cooperate in Space? - Scientific American

Future Space Travel Might Require Mushrooms - Scientific American

Chinese startup iSpace fails to reach orbit again with third launch of its Hyperbola-1 rocket | Space

SpaceX lifts huge Super Heavy rocket onto launch stand (photos) | Space

SpaceX installs 29 engines on giant Super Heavy Mars rocket (photos) | Space

Netflix will co-produce a documentary about SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission | Space

Astronaut captures sparkling 'shooting star' video as Russian space station module falls to Earth | Space

SpaceX stacks Starship atop massive booster for 1st time to make the world's tallest rocket | Space and https://www.facebook.com/100010991197963/posts/1421089724934054/?sfnsn=scwspmo

Microwave-powered rocket propulsion gets a boost: Researchers explore the possibility of launching rockets using a high-power beam of microwave radiation -- ScienceDaily

https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-booster-production-breakneck-pace/

  Jeff Bezos asks NASA for moon lander contract, offers to cover billions in costs | Space

SUN

Scientists Have a new way to Predict the Most Damaging Solar Storms - Universe Today

Solving solar puzzle could help save Earth from planet-wide blackouts -- ScienceDaily

TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES

Good News! NASA Announces that they have Fixed Hubble! - Universe Today Excellent news, and well done NASA / STScI.

Harvard-led team to search cosmos for extraterrestrial space tech and UFOs | Live Science

Balloon-borne telescope promises Hubble-like images on a budget (newatlas.com)

UK-led robotic sky-scanner takes its place on telescope – UKRI

UK scientists join NASA's first steps back to the Moon – UKRI

Construction starts on world's largest radio telescope network – UKRI

How they fixed the HST https://www.facebook.com/47619793252/posts/10158605094708253/?sfnsn=scwspmo

https://www.universetoday.com/151959/a-gravitational-wave-observatory-on-the-moon-could-hear-70-of-the-observable-universe/ But what about the constant bombardment of the Moon by meteorites of all sizes? Anything smaller than a beach ball usually gets destroyed in our atmosphere, but the Moon  has no protection, so it gets hit regularly at high speed by objects the size of an apple pip upwards. Even objects that small will cause vibrations which will affect sensitivity. And there are lots of them – the number increases exponentially with decrease in size, and since it's the speed that contributes most of the energy, even small ones pack quite a punch.

UAPs/UFOs

Project launched to look for extraterrestrial visitors to our Solar System | Science | AAAS (sciencemag.org) A good input from Prof Alan Fitzsimmons of QUB!

And Harvard-led team to search cosmos for extraterrestrial space tech and UFOs | Live Science

Watch: Harvard Astronomer Mansplains SETI To The Legend Who Inspired Carl Sagan's Contact (forbes.com)

Experts Weigh In on Pentagon UFO Report - Scientific American

Maybe the Aliens Really Are Here - Scientific American

18. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION. This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://documents.irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc
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Clear skies,

Terry Moseley