Hi all,
1. IAA Lecture, Wed 19 October, 7.30 p.m, LARMOR LECTURE THEATRE, Physics Building, QUB. "Planetary Nebulae and their role in the Cosmic Distance Ladder", by Prof Marc Sarzi, AOP.
NB: The lectures are now held in the LARMOR Lecture Theatre, also in the Physics Building, which is much bigger, and will allow greater distancing between attendees. Directions. The Larmor is at the other end of the Physics building to the entrance to the Bell LT, which we used previously. It's on the side of the Physics building which is closest to, and parallel to, University Road. There is a ramp to allow wheelchair axis. Please try to be there early, to facilitate a prompt start – access should be available from shortly after 7 p.m.
2. NB: IAA Subscriptions for the year 2022 – 2023 are now due. See section at end for details of how to pay.
3. Mercury is currently well placed in the morning sky. Look low in the Eastern morning twilight. It will lie about 15 degrees below left of the waning crescent Moon on the 23rd, and only 4 degrees below and left of it on the 24th. It will be quite close to the Sun then, so binoculars may be needed to spot it: be careful not to look when the Sun is rising! These details are for about 45 minutes before sunrise
Date Mag Ph % Elong Diam
Oct 18 -1.0 84.7 14.3º 5.6"
Oct 22 -1.0 91.7 11.7º 5.3"
4. ISS. The ISS starts a new series of morning passes on 20 October.
5. Orionid meteors peak on October 22, ZHR 20, with no interference from moonlight. The radiant lies in the NE corner of the constellation, between Betelgeuse and the feet of Gemini.
6. Partial Solar Eclipse, 25 October
This rather small magnitude eclipse won't be spectacular, but it will be interesting nevertheless. Maximum eclipse occurs at about 10h 52m, with the Sun over 16 degrees above the horizon. Greatest eclipse will be seen towards the NE of the island.
Times in BST/IST
Place Start Time of max Max magnit. Alt at max Ends
Belfast 10.05 10.53 25.1% 17.4º 11.42
Dublin 10.06 10.52 22.4% 18.3º 11.40
Cork 10.10 10.50 17.0% 18.5º 11.32
Limerick 10.08 10.50 18.4% 17.8º 11.34
Galway 10.07 10.50 19.2% 17.1º 11.34
L/derry 10.04 10.51 24.5% 16.5º 11.40
Ballycastle 10.04 10.52 26.0% 16.8º 11.42
Maximum eclipse in the UK will be in the N Shetland islands, with a magnitude of 40.9%
DO NOT attempt to view the eclipse without proper eye protection, and ABSOLUTELY do not attempt to view it with any sort of optical device unless properly filtered, or by projection. I'll issue more advice in my email bulletins closer to the time.
7. Saturn – shrinking window for observing.
Saturn is moving towards conjunction with the Sun and is gradually sinking lower in the SSW as the sky gets dark enough to observe. So make the best of the next few weeks.
Saturn still lies well south of the celestial equator, so northern observers need nights of good seeing to get the best view of the planet and its rings. The rings span about 40 arc-seconds, with a tilt of about 13 degrees. The disk is about 18 arc-seconds in diameter.
The satellite Iapetus is much brighter when at Western Elongation. The best chances this quarter are for the few days around October 23, when it will be much further from the planet than Titan ever gets, and about mag 10.4.
8. JUPITER
The giant planet was opposition on 26 September, and is still by far the brightest object in the night sky apart from the Moon. This was a particularly close opposition, in fact the closest opposition in at least 70 years, with Jupiter at a distance of only 591,295,249 km and it shines at mag -2.9. The 4 Galilean moons will be easy to see, even in binoculars.
9.
Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 4-6 November, Newport, Mulranny and Ballycroy.
This year we will have talks by Brother Guy Consolmagno, head of the Vatican Observatory, Dr Sera Markoff of the University of Amsterdam, whose team was responsible for capturing the iconic first image of a black hole back in 2019, and renowned Irish botanist and broadcaster Dr Éanna ní Lamhna. Professor Mark McCaughrean of the ESA will return to the festival with an update on the James Webb Space Telescope.
People can look forward to world class speakers in a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. But it is not just about science and biodiversity - the festival offers curated performances and exhibitions that evoke the natural beauty of west Mayo. Cellist Patrick Dexter will perform on the opening night in Ballycroy on Friday 4th of November, and Ballycroy Visitor Centre will also play host to a stunning exhibition of night time photography.
Check out our website www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie for all the latest updates.
Tickets will go on sale at the end of September when the full programme will be launched
10. Name Exoworlds competition, deadline 11 November
IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO)
nameexoworlds2022@oao.iau.org
11. Taurids
The Taurid meteor shower is composed of two streams: The Southern Taurids which peak between Nov. 4 and Nov. 5; and the Northern Taurids which peak between Nov. 12 and Nov. 13. These showers produce infrequent, slow and long-lasting meteors associated with comet Encke, a small comet with a nucleus approximately 4.8 km diameter. 2022 might be a particularly good year for Taurid fireballs as the American Meteor Society suggests a notable increase in fireball activity every seven years. As 2015 produced incredible Taurid fireballs, 2022 might be next. Keep your eyes peeled!
12. New Easy Teaser
Apart from being the coldest planet, and its 90 degree orbital tilt, what is unusual or different about Uranus?
A clue – it's nominal.
13. New Difficult Teaser:
What does the number 43.875 represent?
No answers yet, so here's a clue: it's a ratio.
Still nothing, so another clue: the ratio involves human-made quantities.
Please send all Teaser answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
14. 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:
Dark matter "meteors" could be streaking through Earth's atmosphere (newatlas.com) GRB221009A gamma-ray burst is a once in a century event | Space
https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/667335094809761/?sfnsn=mo Supernova 'alert system' could warn of dying stars about to explode | Space
Dust shells explained https://www.facebook.com/1306886536/posts/10229977819492040/?sfnsn=mo
Binary Stars Live Complicated Lives, Especially Near the End - Universe Today
The Milky Way is Surrounded by a Vast Graveyard of Dead Stars - Universe Today
Mysterious high-speed gas cloud might be the result of a supernova | Space
Iconic James Webb Space Telescope images get X-ray vision | Space
Astronomers Discover 'Cataclysmic' Star Pair, Confirming Decades-Old Prediction (msn.com)
'Galactic underworld' of black holes discovered in Milky Way | Live Science
EARTH & MOON
The challenges and perks of being a polar astrophotographer | Space DART Impact Shortened Asteroid's Orbit Time by 32 Minutes (universetoday.com) Dark matter "meteors" could be streaking through Earth's atmosphere (newatlas.com)Caltech's space solar project prepares for its first orbital prototype (newatlas.com)Scientists Have Been Underestimating the Asteroid That Created the Biggest Known Crater on Earth - Universe Today andLargest asteroid ever to hit Earth was twice as big as the rock that killed off the dinosaurs | Live Science. Craters are not 'birthed'. They are formed. Dino-killing asteroid set off mile-high tsunami and month-long mega-quake (newatlas.com) Giant impact could have formed the moon more rapidly, new simulations indicate (msn.com) Nasa releases alert after 'strong solar flare' emerges from the Sun (msn.com)
EXOLIFE
'Pale blue dots' like Earth may be rare among habitable worlds | Space
Missing element for life may be present in ocean of Enceladus | Space
Scientists say that one of Saturn's moons is actually habitable (msn.com)
EXOPLANETS
Exoplanet with iron rain puzzles with even heavier atmospheric element (newatlas.com)
Very habitable exoplanet found https://www.facebook.com/100082890504895/posts/139240998848916/?sfnsn=scwspmo
'Pale blue dots' like Earth may be rare among habitable worlds | Space
Astronomers may have found new planets that are more habitable than Earth (msn.com)
IMAGES & Videos
Planetary nebulae https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/666956454847625/?sfnsn=mo
All NASA images are now free https://www.facebook.com/100082890504895/posts/140796438693372/?sfnsn=mo
Dazzling Hubble Space Telescope image shows millions of stars | Space
Iconic James Webb Space Telescope images get X-ray vision | Space
NASA's Juno spacecraft snaps its most detailed view of Jupiter's icy moon Europa | Space
NASA swooped over ocean world Europa and captured weird, stunning footage (msn.com)
Image of perfect Einstein Ring https://www.facebook.com/100082890504895/posts/139008785538804/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Nasa's Webb and Hubble telescope team up to create astonishing image of a pair of galaxies (msn.com)
Breathtaking Image of Moon in Exquisite Detail Will Leave You in Awe (msn.com)
LIGHT POLLUTION.
Pilot lighting project being rolled out in west Mayo town | Connaught Telegraph (con-telegraph.ie)
Increase in LED lighting 'risks harming human and animal health' | Environment | The Guardian
SOLAR SYSTEM
Mars moon blocks out mighty Jupiter in rare satellite view | Space
Meteor colours and what causes them https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/666788754864395/?sfnsn=mo Despite all odds, Mars robot refuses to die (msn.com)
NASA's Dragonfly Helicopter Will be Exploring This Region of Titan - Universe Today
Mysterious reflections on Mars might come from something stranger than water (msn.com)
Human for Scale Shows True Size of Enormous Asteroid Hit in DART Mission (msn.com)
Telescope trio captures 10,000-km tail in asteroid impact aftermath (newatlas.com)
Uranus' weird tilt may be the work of a long-lost moon (msn.com) This makes more sense than one big impact.
Rover destined for missions on Mars settles for Milton Keynes (msn.com)
Stunning Pluto Images Show Something Unusual Going On There | Watch (msn.com)
Ingenuity helicopter spots mysterious foreign object on Mars (msn.com)
Ingenuity Mars helicopter spots debris on leg on latest flight | Space
Asteroid Smacked by NASA's DART Spacecraft Now Has a Comet-Like Tail (msn.com)
Mangalyaan is non-recoverable and attained its end-of-life: ISRO on Mars orbiter mission (msn.com)
SPACE
Orbex raises $63M to help fund 1st vertical rocket launch from UK | Space
SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn mission now targeting March 2023 | Space
SpaceX's Dragon capsule Freedom aces 1st astronaut mission | Space
NASA's tiny CAPSTONE moon probe has finally stopped tumbling in space (msn.com)
Russian space officials jettison the bluster after Rogozin's departure | Space
Watch a gigantic 'slingshot' hurl a satellite into the stratosphere (msn.com) 25,000 feet is nowhere near the stratosphere! Most airliners fly about 10,000 feet higher than that! Still, it's a good idea in principle.
SpaceX astronaut missions for NASA: Crew-5 live updates | Space
Rover destined for missions on Mars settles for Milton Keynes (msn.com)
Satellite-flinging SpinLaunch puts NASA payload through the wringer (newatlas.com)
SpaceX rolls rocket to pad ahead of Crew-5 astronaut launch (photos) | Space
SUN
This Spacecraft Just Touched The Sun! Why Didn't It Melt? | Watch (msn.com) (that's a bit like saying that a plane crashed into a tree when the wheels such brushed through the topmost leaves!)
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES.
Entire known universe recreated in Minecraft by 18-year-old | Space
UK joins mission to search for the origins of the Universe – UKRI
Construction Begins on the World's Largest Steerable Radio Telescope - Universe Today Although it's 10m greater in diameter, that translates to 21% larger in collecting area, not 10%.
15. 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
