1. Fireball, possible meteorite fall. Report from Dr. Mike Simms
On Tuesday 14th December, at 17.44 pm, I was startled by an unusual noise. Not a loud bang but a momentary low rumble that rattled the roof of the house. I thought, rather wishfully, that this might be a sonic boom from a passing meteorite (which typically are travelling at more than 25,000 mph when they first hit our atmosphere!), but I heard no other reports of this in the following day or two.
Then, on Friday, I discovered from the UK Meteor Network that a brilliant fireball, caused by a meteorite, was seen heading west across Britain and Northern Ireland at almost the exact moment on Tuesday that I heard the rumble!
So, what I heard was a meteorite sonic boom, and pieces of the meteorite may have fallen somewhere in Northern Ireland. But I need help to try and locate them, or at least ascertain how widely this event was heard or seen.
Questions -
Did you hear a momentary low rumble early on that evening?
Did you see a fireball streaking very fast across the sky, or the clouds momentarily lit up by a bright flash?
If you heard or saw this, please let me know where you were at the time and, if you saw the fireball, which direction (N,S,E or W) it was travelling.
Do you have any dashcam or doorbell footage that shows this event? Or even a sound recording that captures the rumble?
Sadly, there was rather a lot of cloud that evening so we do not have enough information at present to narrow down a search area in the way that proved so successful for finding the Winchcombe meteorite that fell earlier this year in England.
Hopefully someone will find pieces of this meteorite and report it to me at the museum (michael.simms@nmni.com). It would be the first meteorite recovered from Northern Ireland since the Bovedy fall of 1969. Meteorites typically have a thin burnt outer crust and a pale interior, as in the online pictures of the meteorites from the Chelyabinsk (Russia) fall of 2013, but if you think you have found one then send pictures to me at michael.simms@nmni.com.
2. Season's Greetings.
Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, or Wonderful Winterfest or Cool Yule, or Super Saturnalia, or whatever you prefer! And a happy and healthy New Year.
3. The IAU is requesting amateur astronomers to participate in a survey. This may be of interest to many of our club members:
4. Public Engagement Officer at DIAS Dunsink Observatory
We are delighted to accept applications for the position of Public Engagement Officer in Data and Space Science at DIAS Dunsink Observatory. We are seeking an enthusiastic and creative person to run public-facing events including Ireland's first space-themed escape room, and to develop and deliver new content around the themes of Data Science and Space Science, reflecting the modern, cutting edge work of the DIAS Astronomy and Astrophysics Section.
Interested candidates should submit an application on our online recruitment system by 5pm on January 20th 2022. For more information visit http://dias.ie/public-engagement-officer
5. Paul Evans's Video Sky Guide for December
Another one of Paul's excellent guides of what to see and how to see it: https://youtu.be/cihOElOBlFY
6. Venus is still visible
As the angle of the ecliptic to the horizon in the early evenings slowly increases, Venus slowly climbs above the SW horizon in the twilight. It currently is almost in an equidistant line with Saturn and Jupiter, and although it's much lower down, its exceptional brightness makes it easier to see – although you have to catch it before it sets. It's mag -4.5, and if you can get it in a telescope you'll see that it's a narrow crescent, with a phase of 10%, and an apparent diameter of 54". It will remain low down in the SW, and fade only slowly, from now until Xmas. It then gets very close to the Sun, but will be joined by Mercury, below and to the left of Venus, at the end of December.
7. Catch Saturn and Jupiter while you can.
SATURN: is moving further away from the Earth, and so it's fading and shrinking in apparent size. It's also very low from our latitude, so viewing conditions are not great. It's now mag 0.7, in Capricorn, with an apparent disc diameter of 15".
The angle of the ring system to Earth has been steadily decreasing recently, 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.
Jupiter is also still reasonably visible from UK & Ireland, after its Opposition on August 20. It's in Capricorn, mag -2.2, some 18 degrees E of Saturn, and with an apparent diameter of 36". 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 plane of the planet's equator, so that's where the transits and shadow transits will appear.
8. ISS:
The ISS started a new series of morning passes on 20 December. Full details for your location on www.heavens-above.com, and on various Smartphone Apps
9. Latest Sunrise, Belfast. This will occur on December 29, at 08h 46m 49s.
The offset from the solstice of earliest and latest sunsets and sunrises is caused by the changing values of the Equation of Time, mainly due to the Earth's elliptical orbit. You can Google that for more details!
This calculated time allows for 'standard atmospheric refraction', i.e. with atmospheric pressure of 1013mb, and a temperature of 10º C, which at an altitude of 0º amounts to 34', or more than a solar diameter. The actual amount of refraction depends on the local atmospheric pressure and temperature at the time. If it's high pressure, and very cold, the refraction will be greater, so the Sun will appear elevated slightly more above the horizon, and apparent sunset will be a bit later.
Indeed, if the sky is clear at sunrise on a morning in late December it's probably going to be below 0º C, let alone 10º C, and the pressure is more likely to be high than low.
10. ESO Summer Research Programme 2022, ESO-HQ, Garching b. München, Germany / or virtually* 4th July - 12th August 2022 Applications open: 8th December 2021; Application deadline: 4th February 2022
The ESO Summer Research Programme provides a unique opportunity to students not yet enrolled into a PhD programme, to carry out a 6-week long research project at the ESO Headquarters in Garching (Germany)*. This fully-funded programme will allow the participants to choose between a wide range of research projects covering many areas of astronomy, from planet formation to cosmology. The ESO Summer Research Programme will also provide opportunities beyond research, including lectures, a mini-workshop, and social activities.
| * The ESO Summer Research Programme will be hosted in Garching if all accepted students are able to travel to ESO HQ. If the COVID-19 pandemic does not allow an in-person visit, the programme will be held virtually as it was done in 2020 and 2021. Website: http://eso.org/summerresearch/ ESO - SummerResearch2021 ESO is the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere. It operates the La Silla Paranal Observatory in Chile and has its headquarters in Garching, near Munich, Germany. |
Poster: http://eso.org/sci/meetings/2022/SummerResearch2022/SummerProgramme2022-poster.pdf. Enquiries: summerresearch@eso.org
11. 'Easy' Teaser.
To what am I referring? – "Father confused with eternal city".
12. DIFFICULT TEASER Answered
The question was - What links: A famous painter, peace, a pleasing sound, fate, and an explorer?
Grrrr! I made it too easy. Peter Millar was in quickly with the correct answer, the next morning! They are the names of the modules on the ISS: Leonardo, Tranquillity, Harmony, Destiny, and Columbus. Well done, Peter – good to see you back in action on these!
13. NEW DIFFICULT TEASER. What's next in this sequence, and why: Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Mars ?
14. Non-Astronomical Teaser for the holiday period – so non-astro spouses and partners can have a go: What have counties Cavan, Dublin, Tipperary and Wexford uniquely got in common?
Please send all answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
15. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory is 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.
16. 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
Supermassive black hole in the Milky Way has a 'leak', Nasa says (msn.com)
Challenging Einstein's Greatest Theory in 16-Year Experiment – Theory of General Relativity Tested With Extreme Stars (scitechdaily.com) Albert comes out on top yet again!
Deepest ever images of Milky Way show stars moving around supermassive black hole (msn.com)
Einstein's theory of general relativity passes one of its toughest tests yet | Space
The Milky Way's supermassive black hole burps 'mini-jets,' scientists find | Space
Black hole breakthrough: Einstein's theory rewritten to solve universe's greatest mystery (msn.com)
Deepest images yet of Milky Way's supermassive black hole -- ScienceDaily
Gravitational Waves should permanently distort space-time https://www.facebook.com/1272698526/posts/10221174246927089/?sfnsn=scwspmoThe biggest Black Hole ever discovered has 40 BILLION solar masses! https://www.facebook.com/100000559322367/posts/5246156548746271/?sfnsn=scwspmoInfant stars identified at the center of our galaxy -- ScienceDaily
How plasma swirling around black holes can produce heat and light -- ScienceDaily
"Split" Photon Provides New Way To See Light – Predicts Existence of Previously-Unimaginable Particle (scitechdaily.com) Are black holes and dark matter the same? -- ScienceDaily This would be neat. But why would the smaller ones preferentially distributed in the outer parts of spiral galaxies?
Astronomers capture eruption of supermassive black hole feeding (msn.com) and
Astronomers capture black hole eruption spanning 16 times the full Moon in the sky -- ScienceDaily
Secret embraces of stars revealed by Alma -- ScienceDaily
Twin Stars Prove Einstein at Least 99.99% Right - Universe Today
Galaxy Found With Twin Supermassive Black Holes - Universe Today
Astronomers See a Star Crash Through the Planetary Disk of Another Star - Universe Today
COSMOLOGY:
Challenging Einstein's greatest theory with extreme stars -- ScienceDaily
Black hole breakthrough: Einstein's theory rewritten to solve universe's greatest mystery (msn.com)
Weird quantum objects known as Q quantum could explain why we exist | Live Science
How real is the multiverse? | Live Science
Are black holes and dark matter the same? -- ScienceDaily This would be neat. But why would the smaller ones preferentially distributed in the outer parts of spiral galaxies? And what about Dark Energy?
EARTH & MOON
Scientists stunned by 'oldest animal fossil': 'Gives new understanding' of ancestors' (msn.com)
Why will it take China's Yutu 2 moon rover so long to reach lunar 'mystery hut'? | Space
Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' could meet its doom within 3 years | Live Science
Deep mantle krypton reveals Earth's outer solar system ancestry (phys.org)
10 Earth impact craters you must see (msn.com)
Scientists discover 'surprising' cause of Europe's little ice age in late medieval era (msn.com)
Advanced analysis of Apollo sample illuminates Moon's evolution -- ScienceDaily
NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission slips to spring 2022 after engine issue | Space
Darkness caused by dino-killing asteroid snuffed out life on Earth in 9 months | Live Science
Deep mantle krypton reveals Earth's outer solar system ancestry -- ScienceDaily
Not Just Water, There Could be Frozen Carbon Dioxide on the Moon too - Universe Today
EXOLIFE
Life on Earth Needed Iron. Will it be the Same on Other Worlds? - Universe Today
EXOPLANETS
70 new rogue planets discovered in our galaxy -- ScienceDaily
Even Really Massive Stars Seem to Have Planets - Universe Today
Forget That Planet That Orbits Every 16 Hours. That's so Last Week. Now Astronomers Have Found a Metal Planet That Orbits its Star EVERY 8 HOURS - Universe Today The orbital period is actually 7.7 hours! I wonder is it elongated, due to the 'centrifugal force'? And the star is mag 10.2, so it's easily visible in amateur telescopes, and it might also be possible to record the dips in brightness each transit! However, it is too far S to be visible from here (Dec 45 degS)
IMAGES
Hubble telescope shows the sparkling side of a spiral galaxy (msn.com)
10 Earth impact craters you must see (msn.com)
The best space photos of 2021: Sparkling starfields to majestic nebula (newatlas.com) The Milky Way ring is stunning!
SOLAR SYSTEM
Clay minerals 18 MILES below Mars' surface could be hiding water | Daily Mail Online
Planetary Scientists Solve Mystery behind Mysterious Polygonal Structures on Pluto | Sci-News.com
Perseverance Mars rover makes surprising discoveries (phys.org)
NASA's Perseverance rover finds organic chemicals on Mars | Space
The weirdest moons in the solar system (msn.com)
This is why Mars is so much smaller than Earth - SlashGear
Bits of asteroid Ryugu are among 'most primordial' materials ever examined (msn.com)
Bits of asteroid Ryugu are among 'most primordial' materials ever examined | Live Science
Huge supply of subterranean water discovered in Mars' Grand Canyon (newatlas.com)
One Feature Mars has That we Don't: Polar Megadunes - Universe Today
SPACE
Europe's Mars orbiter relays data from Chinese rover back to Earth | Space
Blue Origin launches Michael Strahan and crew of 5 on record-setting suborbital spaceflight | Space
NASA scientists consider the health risks of space travel | Space
Tim Peake: Space debris poses catastrophic risk to International Space Station (msn.com)
SpaceX could send its Starship rocket into orbit in JANUARY | Daily Mail Online
I wrote the book on warp drive. We didn't make a warp bubble. - Big Think
This is a beast, isn't it??? SpaceX installs Starship booster on orbital launch mount for the third time (teslarati.com)
SpaceX launches Falcon 9 rocket on record 11th flight carrying 52 Starlink satellites | Space
'Satellite killers' spark chilling warning over untraceable space debris in earth's orbit (msn.com)
UK space firm secures £7.6m to fund trial of factory satellites (msn.com) Good luck, but it will be a long long time before Britain, or anywhere else in the world, is 'galactic'! Even the Voyager spacecraft, the most distant objects we've sent into space, are still within our own Sun's gravitational well, and won't escape it for thousands of years. So we're still very much in the 'Solar' phase, and Galactic isn't even on the horizon yet.
SpaceX aces 100th rocket landing after Dragon cargo ship launch to space station | Space Well done, SpaceX, a remarkable achievement. But what does to 'ace' mean now? It used to mean something exceptional, like hitting the very centre of the bullseye, or a perfect score (100%) in a test. Now it means just doing something right. Like this morning I aced tying my shoelaces….
Space sex: the trouble with joining the 62-mile-high club - Big Think NASA claims that it has never happened on the ISS. But unless they have cameras in every part, they can't be sure – after all, the participants won't be admitting it. And NASA can't speak for what may have happened on MIR, or what may happen in the new Chinese Tiangong Space Station.
Scientists demonstrate a novel rocket for deep-space exploration -- ScienceDaily
SpaceX begins testing first flightworthy Super Heavy booster (teslarati.com)
NASA Gives Axiom Space Another Opening to Fly Private Astronauts to Space Station - Universe Today
SUN
Nasa craft 'touches' Sun for first time and dives into atmosphere (msn.com)
And this is good! Physics - To Touch the Sun (aps.org)
And see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkaLfbuB_6E = a NASA video (5 min.), and
A spacecraft has 'touched' the sun for the first time -- ScienceDaily. NB – It's an absolutely remarkable achievement and there's more to come, but the headline is a bit misleading – it has just briefly dived into the corona. It's a bit like me saying 'I've been to New York', when I've just flown into JFK airport, changed planes, and flown out again.
Smaller solar storms in the last decade baffle scientists (thestatesman.com)
When will the sun explode? | Live Science On the 17th January, 5,192,384,719. Give or take a day or two. Of course, that's a stupid question, as the Sun will not actually explode at all. It will gradually swell up to become a red giant, then shrink to become a white dwarf. All life on Earth will be extinguished during that first phase, but that's totally irrelevant to the Sun: it will just do what it's going to do.
Telescopes, Instruments, Techniques.
An Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculation Machine Reveals New Secrets - Scientific American
Astronomers just got better at finding 'bright' black holes (phys.org)
Faulty cable responsible for latest James Webb Space Telescope launch delay | Space But the good news is that the JWST will be able to look so far back in time that it will be able to see its original launch date! (I borrowed that one!)
Machine learning decodes tremors of the universe: Neural network analyzes gravitational waves in real-time -- ScienceDaily Brilliant – but scary. DNNs may soon make our own brains totally redundant.
17. 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
