Hi all,
1. Galway Astronomy Festival 2022, Jan 29. See https://www.galwayastronomyclub.ie/event/galway-astronomy-virtual-festival-2022/
ASTROFEST 2022 – The Galway Astronomy Club
https://www.galwayastronomyclub.ie/
Galway Astrofest 2022 'A Celebration of Astronomy!'
9:30 – 10:00 – Welcome to the Galway Astronomy Festival 2022
10:00 – 11:00 – Megan Argo-- 'Astronomy in the next 200 years'
11:00 – 12:00 – Ben Man – 'Mapping Mercury and the discoveries along the way'
12:00 – 13:00 – Ktec Telescopes – 'Guide to choosing that telescope'
13:00 – 14:00 - Lunch
14:00 – 15:00 – Laura Hayes - Observations of our Closest Star'
15:00 – 16:00 – Heather Cegla – 'Harnessing the power of stars to unveil planets and our place in the cosmos'
16:00 – 16:30 – Tea/Coffee break and Astrophotography display
16:30 – 17:30 – Paul Evans – 'The Apollo Moon Landing'
17:30 - 18:00 – Final discussions and farewell
Registration is required.
2. IAS Lecture, 31 January
Monday 31st January at 7:30pm by Zoom. The talk will be given by Professor Peter Gallagher from DIAS and the title is " "Solar Activity and Space Weather Impacts on Earth" See details below.
To join the Zoom meeting just click on the following link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81890356465?pwd=bFR6amM1MkxTZjBERmZNakxaQ3hEQT09
Meeting ID: 818 9035 6465
Passcode: 087465
3. Space and astronomy Webinar, 7.30 p.m., Tues 1 February. With Nick Howes and Yours truly. Hosted by SpaceStore.co More details and link in next bulletin
4. IAA Lecture, Wed 2 February, 7.30 p.m. "Black Holes Across Cosmic Time". By Dr John Regan, NUIM
Abstract: The last decade has led to an unprecedented in advance in our understanding of black hole population demographics. We are, like never before, in a golden age of black hole observations. The breakthroughs in observations of black holes have been matched to a large extent by similar breakthroughs in our theoretical understanding of black hole demographics. In this talk I will discuss the initial predictions of black holes stemming from General Relativity moving on to discuss recent detections of black holes through gravitational waves and with the Event Horizon Telescope. I'll finish by discussing some outstanding questions in the field.
Biog:
PhD Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge
Postdoctoral Research: University of Helsinki, Institute of Computational Cosmology at Durham University
Postdoctoral Fellowships: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship (2016-2018) at DCU,
Royal Society Fellowship (2020 - present) Maynooth University
ZOOM LINK
Topic: IAA Zoom Meeting
Time: Feb 2, 2022 07:15 PM London
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84822534019?pwd=UHFscTFDQlBETFc1VVo5UmxJRXdoQT09
Meeting ID: 848 2253 4019
Passcode: 213472
The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start
This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel
5. Free February sky guide.
https://www.irishastronomy.org/kunena?view=topic&catid=42...
6. Women and Girls in Astronomy 11 February – 8 March
The Women and Girls in Astronomy project supports events that recognise the role of women in advancing science and encourages girls to consider careers in astronomy. The International Astronomical Union (IAU) strongly encourages activities throughout the year, with a particular focus between two International Days adopted by the United Nations: the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on 11 February and International Women's Day on 8 March.
7, UK Students Space Conference, 5&6 March, 2022
NSSC 2022 (ukseds.org) Registration required!
The UKSEDS National Student Space Conference, now in its 34th year, is the premier event for students interested in space, usually uniting them with academics and professionals from across the country to network, share knowledge, and discuss the challenges facing the sector.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NSSC 2021 had to move online, however we managed to preserve the essence of the conference that students know and love. Consequently NSSC 2022 will be a hybrid event, with online attendees being able to watch the talks and ask questions, all through our Nebula platform.
It is open to all, and features talks by leading space science and industry figures, a careers fair, and opportunities to take part in discussions and networking events.
The event is organised by UKSEDS, the UK's national student space society, and is this year hosted by the KCL Space at King's College London.
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or subscribe to our email newsletter for updates on this and other events.
8. Our Place in Space Project: In conjunction with QUB's ARC and the NI Science Festival
The Our Place In Space project is coming to N. Ireland for three long spells this year: in Derry from 22nd April to 22nd May, on Divis mountain 11th June to 10th July & at the Folk & Transport Museum from 17th Sept to 1 October.
Details are on the website – www.ourplaceinspace.earth with a nice video of Stephen Smartt and Oliver Jeffers.
The IAA has been asked to provide accompanying stargazing events, and details of these will be announced shortly. Watch this space!
9. Global Planetarium Survey:
The Global Planetarium Survey is now available for distribution in your respective countries/regions to all those active in the field of planetariums and planetarium education. Please spread the word among your networks. The survey link is: https://kuleuven., and is open until the 31st of March, 2022.
10. JWST is at its final destination, the L2 stable point!
Some amazing and fascinating information in this article 10 unbelievable but true facts about NASA's James Webb Space Telescope | by Ethan Siegel | Starts With A Bang! | Dec, 2021 | Medium
What will the James Webb Space Telescope look at first? | Space
(See also under Weblinks: Telescopes etc, below)
11. ISS:
The ISS continues its series of evening passes until 6 February. Full details for your location on www.heavens-above.com, and on various Smartphone Apps
12. ESO Summer Research Programme 2022, ESO-HQ, Garching b. München, Germany / or virtually* 4th July - 12th August 2022. 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
13. EASY Teaser
What record does the 5m Hale telescope on Mt Palomar still hold? Clue: it's heavy!
14. NEW DIFFICULT TEASER
What does the number 695 represent?
NB: One early reply said that it was the distance in LY to a particular object. Well, firstly, that would have been too easy – just search lists of objects until you find one with that figure, in km, AU, LY, or parsecs etc ! I don't make these ones as easy as that! No, you'll have to do a bit of thinking about this one, as usual. When you see the answer your initial subjective reaction will be - Wow, that's amazing! Then you'll think – Well, yes, of course!
No correct answers yet, so here's a clue. The exact figure is 694.83, so it's something we know fairly precisely! Still no correct answers, so here's another clue: It's to do with the solar system.
I've got you again! – OK, I'm relenting – Another clue. It's to do with angular measurement.
Please send all Teaser 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:
Astronomers propose building a neutrino telescope — out of the Pacific Ocean (msn.com)
NASA didn't discover this! A black hole is giving birth to stars, Nasa finds (msn.com). The research was done using the HST, which is a joint ESA/NASA instrument.
A record breaking supernova just X-rayed the entire Universe - Big Think An excellent article about a fascinating event. One thing's certain – hard luck on any life on any planets within 100 LY of that event!
Laniakea, our supercluster, is being destroyed by dark energy - Big Think
Interview about Black Holes https://www.facebook.com/742534123/posts/10159823571754124/?sfnsn=scwspmoA Star Passed too Close and Tore Out a Chunk of a Protoplanetary Disk - Universe Today Antimatter and matter have equal mass - https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/489336062609666/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Highly eccentric black hole merger discovered -- ScienceDaily
Astronomers spot mysterious object unlike anything they have seen before (msn.com)
Mystery particle discovered https://www.livescience.com/x-particle-spotted-inside-lhc
Extraordinary black hole found in neighboring galaxy -- ScienceDaily
Astronomers detect powerful cosmic object unlike anything they've seen before | Live Science (BTW, GLEAM stands for GaLactic and Extragalactic All-sky MWA survey, and MWA stands for Murchison Widefield Array. And -
Bizarre radio signal repeating every 18 minutes discovered in Milky Way (newatlas.com)
Dazzling Milky Way panorama reveals nearly 1,000 mysterious galactic threads (msn.com)
COSMOLOGY
The Universe is already in its sixth and final era - Big Think
What Is Spacetime Really Made Of? - Scientific American
Laniakea, our supercluster, is being destroyed by dark energy - Big Think
What is string theory? (msn.com) My mind is already boggled when we get down to the Quantum level: going down below that is mental masochism – but I can't resist it!
The Higgs boson could have kept our universe from collapsing | Live Science Curiouser and curiouser, said Alice (Not the 'A Large Ion Collider Experiment' ALICE, on the LHC, but then, maybe ? -who knows?)
Powerful, nearby black holes could help to explain universe's origins | Space
The universe is NOT symmetrical https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/universe-symmetric/ A boost for String Theory https://www.facebook.com/672161609/posts/10158298716461610/?sfnsn=mo
The Higgs boson could have kept our universe from collapsing (msn.com)
EARTH & MOON
Indicators of life in Martian meteorite may be due to ancient water (newatlas.com)
Scientists warn against artificially dimming the Sun to fight global warming (msn.com)
Scientists discover 'surprising' cause of Europe's little ice age in late medieval era (msn.com)
SpaceX satellites now appearing in 1 in 5 of telescope's twilight images (newatlas.com)
Rivers speeding up Arctic ice melt at alarming rate -- ScienceDaily
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/lunar-gateway-a-way-station-on-the-road-to-mars-1.4776582 How was the moon formed? (msn.com)
Tug of sun, moon could be driving plate motions on 'imbalanced' Earth -- ScienceDaily
Out-of-control SpaceX rocket on collision course with the moon (msn.com)
NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos (msn.com)
EXOLIFE
Mars rover detects carbon signature that hints at past life source | Science | AAAS
What really makes a planet habitable? Our assumptions may be wrong (msn.com)
Possible sign of Mars life? Curiosity rover finds 'tantalizing' Red Planet organics | Space
We May Be One Step Closer to Finding Life on Mars, New Study Suggests (msn.com)
EXOPLANETS
What really makes a planet habitable? Our assumptions may be wrong (msn.com)
The 10 most Earth-like exoplanets (msn.com)
A Star Passed too Close and Tore Out a Chunk of a Protoplanetary Disk - Universe Today
A Moon Might Have Been Found Orbiting an Exoplanet - Universe Today
https://scitechdaily.com/discovery-alert-water-vapor-detected-on-super-neptune-exoplanet/ NASA planet-hunting mission finds 5,000 possible alien worlds in less than 4 years (msn.com)
FILM
IMAGES
NASA image shows violently explosive star in ultraviolet and X-ray (msn.com)
Eta Carinae's epic supernova explosion comes to life in new visualization | Space
NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission explained in photos (msn.com)
SOLAR SYSTEM
Mars rover detects carbon signature that hints at past life source | Science | AAAS and
Newly discovered carbon may yield clues to ancient Mars -- ScienceDaily
Internal ocean in small Saturn moon uncovered: Discovery could point to a new class of 'stealth' ocean worlds -- ScienceDaily Mimas, with a diameter if only about 400km, is the smallest of the moons that I have ever observed. It was only possible when Saturn's rings were edge-on to the Earth, and so didn't drown out faint Mimas with their bright light. Even so, with a magnitude of 13.0, it was quite a challenge, lying fairly close to bright Saturn!
25 of the weirdest facts about the Solar System (msn.com)
New thoughts on Planet 9 https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/488743019335637/?sfnsn=scwspmoHistoric Mars weather delay pushes Ingenuity helicopter's next flight to Sunday | Space
NASA's InSight Mars lander awakens from 'safe mode' after Red Planet dust storm (msn.com)
Consistent asteroid showers rock previous thinking on Mars craters -- ScienceDaily
We May Be One Step Closer to Finding Life on Mars, New Study Suggests (msn.com)
Mars' suspected underground lake could be just volcanic rock, new study finds | Space but
Hope for present-day Martian groundwater dries up in new study -- ScienceDaily
New control technique uses solar panels to reach desired Mars orbit -- ScienceDaily
Water on Mars may have flowed for a billion years longer than thought | Space
Europe's sun mission flew through the tail of Comet Leonard | Space
Space Pollution:
SpaceX satellites now appearing in 1 in 5 of telescope's twilight images (newatlas.com)
SPACE
Axiom Space: Building the off-Earth economy | Space
Cosmonauts on spacewalk ready new Russian docking port for future space station arrivals | Space
NASA's Artemis 1 moon mission readies for 'wet dress rehearsal' | Space
How long does it take to get to Mars? (msn.com) Interesting article. BUT – Quote "Photon propulsion would (use) a powerful laser to accelerate spacecraft to velocities approaching the speed of light….. The method could propel a 220-lb. (100 kilograms) robotic spacecraft to Mars in only three days" And when it gets there, it either crashes into Mars, or zooms past it, at a 'velocity approaching the speed of light'. What use is that?
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/lunar-gateway-a-way-station-on-the-road-to-mars-1.4776582 Radian Aerospace raises $27.5 million for new orbital space plane (msn.com) The take-off should be fun, if it's sled-assisted!
Axiom's 1st private crew launch to space station delayed to March | Space
World's first space-based film and entertainment studio set to launch in 2024 (msn.com)
NASA space station officials weigh in on remaining in orbit until 2030 (msn.com)
Space Flight Destroys Your Red Blood Cells - Universe Today
20% of Twilight Observations Contain Satellite Passes - Universe Today
A Suctioning Sleeping bag Could Solve eye Problems in Space - Universe Today
Tom Cruise Movie's Producers Aim to Add Film Studio to the Space Station in 2024 - Universe Today
SpaceX Dragon splashes down off Florida coast with nearly 5,000 pounds of science on board (msn.com)
Check-in to the world's first space hotel (msn.com) Note that Tom Spilker, who was at one of the MAC star parties with his wife Linda (a speaker) a few years ago, is a main man in this enterprise. My only concern is that the fairly rapid rotation needed to give 1/6G could induce nausea if the Earth is always or sometimes in the field of view. If it was just a black sky with stars that would be OK, but if you go there, you'll want to see the Earth!
Out-of-control SpaceX rocket on collision course with the moon (msn.com)
New control technique uses solar panels to reach desired Mars orbit -- ScienceDaily
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stage will slam into the moon on March 4 | Space and
Discarded SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the Moon (newatlas.com) Ironically, that's Sir Patrick Moore's birthday; he was the first to report the existence of Mare Orientale, where it will impact!
55 years after Apollo 1 fire, NASA's lessons live on as Orion aims for the moon | Space
Chinese space plane company targets suborbital tourism, point-to-point travel by 2025 | Space
Spacecraft anomaly stalls Astroscale space debris cleanup test | Space It would be ironic if they have just created yet another substantial piece of space debris!
NASA's 'Nuclear Option' May Be Crucial for Getting Humans to Mars - Scientific American
SUN
Abstract of paper to be published soon by Serge Koutchmy Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
ABSTRACT
The forthcoming solar cycle (SC) 25 was believed to be rather low when using the sunspot number (SN) as a measurement of the level of activity. The most popular prediction was made by the panel of NASA in 2019, including works based on extrapolations of dynamo-type models. We however discovered that using different observations to measure the level of polar regions activity several years before the start of SC25 and also after the start of the SC25 in 2020, the height of the SC25 could be high. The polar regions activity we considered seems related to the polar coronal holes (CH) activity and it is found significantly higher before the SC25 that it was before the SC24 and accordingly, we suggest that the SN cycle could indeed be much higher than during the SC24 that was a low SN height cycle.
Scientists warn against artificially dimming the Sun to fight global warming (msn.com)
Image of the Sun taken at night, from Earth! Not kidding! Check this out to see https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/493398698870069/?sfnsn=scwspmo4
Scientists explain mysterious finger-like features in solar flares -- ScienceDaily
Telescopes, Instruments, Techniques
Astronomers propose building a neutrino telescope — out of the Pacific Ocean (msn.com)
James Webb Space Telescope marks deployment of all mirrors | Space
NASA's gamma-ray observatory is in safe mode after a possible wheel failure | Space
https://scitechdaily.com/the-end-of-cosmic-dark-ages-how-nasas-roman-space-telescope-could-expand-on-hubbles-deepest-view/https://scitechdaily.com/webb-space-telescope-uncovering-hidden-parts-of-our-solar-system/ James Webb Space Telescope arrives at new home in space | Space
This one is very good After reaching deep space haven, Webb telescope begins 5 months of fine-tuning | Science | AAAS
17. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION. This link gives options to join the IAA.
https://irishastro.org/join-the-iaa/ If you are a UK taxpayer, please select 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
