Hi all,
N.B. Subs for the coming session of the IAA are now overdue. See last Item below for details of how to pay.
Please note: send all correspondence to me only at terrymosel@aol.com
1. IAA PUBLIC LECTURE, Wed 1 November, Apollo to Artemis – The Next Giant Leap, by Paul Evans
SYNOPSIS
In 1961 President Kennedy set NASA the goal of landing a Man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth by the end of the decade. This goal was achieved by Apollo 11 in July 1969 and further Moon missions followed until the program ended in 1972. The US presence in space changed focus to the Space Shuttle which ran from 1981 until it was ended in 2011.
In the 1990s the idea of returning to the Moon began to gain traction and in the 2000s the Constellation Program took shape with the design of the Orion capsule and the Ares rockets, however this program was cancelled after only one test launch.
The program returned as Artemis in the mid-2010s and the first Mission - unmanned- took place in 2022 and was successful. Further mission will follow, this time crewed.
This talk will look back at the Apollo history and the intermediate steps and will then focus on the upcoming next steps in the Artemis program giving a guide to what to expect in coming years.
Biography:
Paul was a schoolboy in the 1960s and had some interest in Space. In 1968, with the Apollo 8 crewed Moon mission, this interest really lifted off, boosted by a Christmas present of Patrick Moore's "Oberservers' guide to Astronomy" which began his lifelong interest in all things space.
Paul has lived in NI since 2003 and is currently in his sixth non-consecutive year as IAA President and has also been Chair of IFAS where he is currently Vice-Chair.
He lives on the Antrim Coast with wife Jude and cat Ollie and during the day he keeps the TV and Radio on air.
Venue: Larmor Lecture Theatre, Physics building, Queen's University Belfast, 7.30 p.m.
Admission free, including light refreshments. All welcome.
2. Guide to November night sky. The next excellent monthly guide to what's in the sky by Paul Evans and Sinead Mannion is at
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-3-whats-in-the-november-night-sky/id1705184817?i=1000633013136 and
https://open.spotify.com/episode/5JXfD729n3IQHNFHaEj8fM?si=sLNKmac2RhKR_Vm04m8t5Q
3. Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 3-5 Nov, Newport, Co Mayo
Mayo Dark Sky Festival has yet another really excellent Programme – see Mayo Dark Skies | Mayo Dark Sky Festival | County Mayo
This is always an excellent event, with a great atmosphere, a variety of talks and other events – something for everyone! And the Dark Sky Park provides fabulous views of the Milky Way. You will also easily see the Andromeda Galaxy (at 2.537 million LY), and if you have good eyesight you can see the even more distant M33 in Triangulum – definitely the most distant object you can see with the naked eye, at 2.723 million LY!
If anyone is looking for accommodation, Anchor House B&B is good, has free parking, overlooks the river estuary, and is in easy walking distance of the venue.
4. ISS
The ISS continues its series of morning passes until 5 November. Details for your location on various sites, including www.heavens-above.com
5. VENUS at its best in morning sky
Is visible as a morning star throughout this quarter, although it's initially a bit South of the ecliptic. It is now just past greatest W Elongation on October 23. It's now magnitude -4.3, and has an apparent diameter of 21.6". The phase is around 56%. Remember that it will be occulted by the Moon on November 9 – see below.
6. TAURID METEORS, Nov 6 & 12
The Taurids have two components, with the S branch peaking on Nov 6, and the N branch on Nov 12. Neither branch has a particular high ZHR: about 5 – 12, but they are slow, and occasionally produce lovely fireballs. There's no problem from Moonlight except for the later hours of the max of the S branch, after the 34% waning Moon rises about 02.00.
7. SATURN – catch it while you can.
Saturn was at Opposition on August 27 in Aquarius, at mag 0.4. The rings are now closing rapidly from our perspective, with an angle of only 9 degrees, which explains why it's no longer so bright when at opposition. The apparent diameter is 17.6" equatorial, and 15.7" polar, which shows that the disc is noticeably oblate. The rings have a diameter of 40", but only 7.3" on the minor axis. Of the satellites, Titan is very easy, and Rhea is usually visible even in a small telescope. Tethys and Dione are closer in, and fainter, and may need an aperture of 150mm to be seen. Even closer in, and fainter still, are Enceladus and Mimas, which will be easier to spot next year when the rings are almost edge-on, and thus much fainter, so their light doesn't drown out the faint inner satellites. Iapetus, one of the outer Moons, is brightest and easiest to see when at W elongation, which occurs on November 28.
8 JUPITER dominates the sky!
Our largest planet is approaching opposition on 3 November, and is by far the brightest starlike object in the evening sky. It's high enough up in the East by about 8.00 for observing, in Aries, and at mag -2.9 it's much brighter than Saturn. Look for the 4 Galilean moons as they do their stately dance around the giant planet. Ganymede, Callisto and Io are bigger than our Moon; Europa is a bit smaller, but it's brighter than Callisto because of its bright ice-covered surface.
9. Morning Occultation of Venus. 9 November.
The waning crescent Moon will occult brilliant Venus on the morning of November 9 at around or after 09h 35m, depending on your location Although this will be in daylight, Venus will be so bright (mag -4.3), and the Moon's phase of 16% gives it a magnitude of -8, so it should be easy to see even in binoculars, and readily apparent in a telescope, especially in a refractor.
The occultation occurs near the S. Limb of the Moon, so the times and duration depend critically on your location, but the WHOLE of IRELAND can see this event, although it's of short duration at Mizen Head!
If you send me your exact latitude and longitude (to terrymosel@aol.com) before 6 November, I'll send you the exact times for your location. It disappears at the bright limb of the Moon, and reappears from behind the dark limb. Venus will have a phase of 58.7%, so it will appear slightly more than half illuminated.
The altitude of the Moon will be about 36 degrees, and azimuth just past South.
At 09.30, the position of Venus will be RA 12h 5m 57s; Dec +0 deg, 41' 13", which should allow time to find it before the event starts.
These are the circumstances for Belfast (and Dublin in brackets).
1st contact: 09h 37m 58s (09h 41m 32s)
2nd contact (all of Venus occulted): 09h 39m 28s (09h 43m 08s)
3rd contact (nominal: dark limb of Venus reappears from dark limb of Moon) 10h 30m 18s (10h 28m 39s)
3rd contact (visible): bright side of Venus reappears from dark limb of Moon) 10h 30m 36s (10h 30m 18s)
4th contact: all of Venus has reappeared: 10h 31m 46s. (10h 31m 38s.)
NB: those times are for a theoretical smooth lunar limb – they could vary by several seconds due to irregularities in the lunar limb.
For comparison, at Schull in Co. Cork, the event lasts only from about 09h 52m to 10h 19m. And conversely, the further North you are, the longer the duration of the event.
The reappearance will be the most interesting and spectacular: I don't think that the dark limb of the Moon will be visible in the bright sky, so we'll just have to guess where it will be: It will be roughly at a PA on the Moon of about 130 -135 degrees i.e. SW, - but as we won't be able to see the limb, it will still be a matter of estimation where it will be.
However, if you have a very accurate drive and good polar alignment, if you centre Venus in the FOV just before it disappears, and leave the drive running and don't move the telescope, it should be still in the centre of the FOV when it is reappearing.
What we'll see (if sky is clear!) is a little bright point of light suddenly appearing and growing as more and more of the bright disc of Venus reappears from behind the dark edge of the Moon.
Start observing at least 15 mts before the predicted start time for your location, to get used to the set-up, find what's the best magnification to use, etc.
10. Leonids The Leonid meteors peak on the night of 17-18 November, but rates are unlikely to exceed 10 per hour. They are some of the fastest meteors we see.
11. Next McCrea Lecture, RIA, Dublin, November 20, 6. 30 p.m.by Prof Greg Hallinan
McCrea Lecture: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astronomy Tickets, Mon 20 Nov 2023 at 18:30 | Eventbrite
I have the honour of sponsoring this lecture, so it would be nice to see a good turn-out. Book soon to be safe!
12. The UK Space Conference 2023 will be hosted in Belfast at the ICC/Waterfront 21-23rd November. See https://brayleino.swoogo.com/ukspaceconference2023
13. 5th Annual Shaw-IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education, 29 Nov – 1 Dec.
The IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE) is pleased to announce that registration, abstract submission, and speaker suggestions are open for the 5th Shaw–IAU Workshop on Astronomy for Education (the deadline for all but registration is 26 August 2023). This fully virtual event will take place on 29 November – 1 December 2023 and is being organised by the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE), with generous funding from the Shaw Prize Foundation.
14. The Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) Conference is the only large-scale international conference for astronomy communication. The next CAP conference will be held in hybrid mode from 24 Р28 June 2024, in-person at Cit̩ de l'espace, Toulouse, France and online.
15. EASY TEASER:
What well-known celestial object currently (as of 16 Sep 2023) has a Right Ascension of 3h 02m 41.19"
NB – Note slight revision, as I have now given the position for 12h UT (midday) on that date.
Clue: You need to look in the right direction.
Another clue: The RA at the start of the current Standard Epoch (J2000.0) was 02h 31m 48.7".
Another clue: It would NOT be true to say that you can barely see it.
You're not doing too well on this one! The 'barely' clue is based on a homonym, or more correctly a homophone.
And it's a star.
(N.B. Peter Millar, who's not eligible to answer the easy ones, has got this one, so it's doable!)
Another clue (I'm too generous!) – I may have to give you pointers to the right direction
16. DIFFICULT TEASER Answered!
Well done to Peter Millar yet again!
Q. Where in the sky would you find an almost perfect arc of a circle of 9 naked-eye stars?
NB: it's nowhere near a complete circle, but it is an almost perfect arc, i.e. you could fit the rim of a circle of the right diameter neatly against it.
Clue: it's composed of stars in two adjoining constellations.
Another clue: there is a well-known Messier object only just inside the arc
Another clue: It's not too far from an item worn by certain people.
ANSWER: In Hercules: Tau, Sigma, Eta, (M13 here) Zeta, Beta, Gamma, Kappa, (In Serpens): Gamma, Beta. (The nearby item worn by certain people is Corona, the crown).
17. NEW Difficult Teaser:
What's next in this sequence, and why: 88.99, 92.75, 93.65, - ?
18. 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:
Distant radio burst reveals secrets https://www.facebook.com/100063922471046/posts/770264918447584/?sfnsn=scwspmo
A star cluster in the Milky Way appears to be as old as the universe (sciencenews.org)
300 Earths' worth of heavy metals forged in powerful cosmic explosion (newatlas.com) Why can't journalists use simple plain accurate language? A GRB is not 'thrown off' - it's emitted. And a 'signal salad'? - What the heck is that? Tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, etc?
Astronomers trying to unravel mystery of three stars that suddenly disappeared from sky (msn.com) It would help if we knew the duration of the exposure. And it was taken using a red filter, whereas the second one which doesn't show them was with a blue filter: so were they simply very red? Were any other telescopes imaging that part of the sky at the same time? What direction was the telescope pointing – N, S, E, W or up? There is also a cluster of 4 starlike objects at the right edge near the top of the red plate, but only one of those retains its brightness in the blue plate, and one other is very much fainter, and the other two are practically invisible. So it's not just those three that are the mystery; maybe they were simply very red! Of course, I'm sure that the field has been imaged again using a red filter, but if they were SS objects, they would have moved by then.
Powerful signal from distant universe https://www.facebook.com/100064682077436/posts/730867962412600/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Strange ultra-heavy elements https://www.facebook.com/100059401486924/posts/710758140914229/?sfnsn=scwspmo
https://www.space.com/galactic-archeology-milky-way-andromeda-violent-past
Ultra-powerful plasma 'blades' could slice entire stars in half, new paper suggests | Live Science
Black Holes https://www.facebook.com/100066796034727/posts/655787643324431/?sfnsn=scwspmo
COSMOLOGY
Could strerile neutrinos explain Dark Matter? https://www.popsci.com/science/dark-matter-particle-experiment/?fbclid=IwAR2eKJFm4cL_8vpzq0Z-V6GLLHDKz7j4ndqYWx2WqkecXqW6bbVG43DgEbE
Scientists propose 'missing' law for the evolution of everything in the universe | Live Science
EARTH & MOON
Collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is 'unavoidable,' study finds | Live Science
Asteroid dust caused 15-year winter that killed dinosaurs: study (msn.com)
ESA field tests new Moon camera for Artemis lunar landings (newatlas.com) I think that the reference to a 'Harrison Schmidt lens' is an autocorrect or copy and paste error! Harrison Schmidt was the geologist on the last Apollo mission, but I don't think he designed camera lenses!
EXOPLANETS
Exoplanets and moons https://www.facebook.com/1251911121/posts/10231091650455286/?sfnsn=scwspmo
IMAGES, VIDEOS etc
Striking images of the Crab Nebula as you've never seen it before | Watch (msn.com)
Mars & its moon Deimos
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=614618840706737&id=100064758788370&sfnsn=scwspmo
SOLAR SYSTEM https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-math-shows-when-solar-systems-become-unstable-20230516/?fbclid=IwAR2Q3OuixFP6nvYNSZWCJeJK-HcxgJHXSwJ1mcAjP5r9QEpUnDValCBU0ac Nearby asteroid may contain elements 'beyond the periodic table', new study suggests | Live Science
NASA's Lucy spacecraft preparing for its first asteroid flyby (phys.org)
NASA's Ingenuity helicopter aces longest Mars flight in 18 months | Space
Supervolcano eruption on Pluto hints at hidden ocean beneath the surface | Space
Scientists finally solve mystery behind Mars's core after recording planet's 'pulse' (msn.com)
SPACE
China able, ready to invite foreign astronauts to its space station (spacedaily.com)UK Space Agency responds to rumors surrounding upcoming Axiom Space mission | Space Meet the crew of Virgin Galactic's 5th commercial spaceflight launching on Nov. 2 | Space Boeing pencils in anytime after April 1st for next Crew Flight Test (spacedaily.com)ULA targets Christmas Eve for debut of new Vulcan Centaur rocket | Space Have Americans never heard of tons? What's all this '60,000 pounds', and '41,570 pounds' about? It's about as sensible as giving the height of the rocket in inches!Private Japanese moon lander crashed after being confused by a crater | Space4UK Space Agency, Axiom Space ink deal for human spaceflight mission | SpaceAstronauts just took one giant leap towards having sex in space (msn.com)Tim Peake to quit retirement to lead UK's first astronaut mission | Tim Peake | The Guardian'It only makes the news when the toilets stop working': has the 25-year-old International Space Station been a waste of space? (msn.com)New Blue Origin space platform to act as a cosmic multi-tool (newatlas.com) SUN
The Sun's Magnetic Poles Are Vanishing - Scientific American
TELESCOPES, EQUIPMENT, etc
Progess on the E-ELT https://www.facebook.com/100059459352979/posts/721023599889612/?sfnsn=mo
A.I. detects its first supernova https://www.facebook.com/100059420804643/posts/703376164986404/?sfnsn=scwspmo
19. 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
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