Hi all,
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1. IAA LECTURE , Wednesday 4 November.
“Simulating thermonuclear supernovae: how to blow up a white dwarf star” by Dr Fionntán Callan, Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB.
7.30p.m., Wed 4 November, Larmor Lecture Theatre, Astrophysics Research Centre, Physics Building, QUB
Synopsis:
Type Ia supernovae are the thermonuclear explosions of stars with masses similar to the Sun called white dwarfs. These cosmic explosions are so bright that at peak they can
outshine the combined light of all stars in their host galaxies for weeks. In addition to their extreme luminosity, they produce over half of the Universe’s iron and were instrumental in the discovery of dark energy. Modern telescope surveys have revealed that,
beyond the “normal” Type Ia used as cosmological probes, a striking diversity of white dwarf explosions exists. However, despite decades of study, the explosion mechanisms which produce Type Ia supernovae remain unknown. In this talk, I will discuss our progress in the study of Type Ia supernovae, particularly our efforts at QUB and elsewhere to connect the physics of white dwarf explosions to observations from modern telescope programmes using theoretical modelling.
Biography:
Fionntán Callan completed his Master’s in Physics at Queen’s University Belfast followed by his PhD in Astrophysics in 2023. Since then, he has worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Astrophysics Research Centre at Queen’s. The focus of his research is understanding Type Ia (thermonuclear) supernovae using radiative transfer simulations - computer models of how light travels through the material ejected in supernova explosions. Through his collaborations with experts in supernova explosion modelling (Heidelberg, Munich, Melbourne) his research connects the physics underlying these explosions to observations from state-of-the-art telescopes (collaborators in Dublin, Oxford, Chicago). Fionntán has presented his research at conferences across Ireland, the UK and Europe.
Admission free, including light refreshments. All welcome.
2. REMINDER!!! - PROPOSED IAA SOCIAL EVENT in the New Year
We want expressions of interest for a proposed seasonal event early in the NewYear -probably on Saturday 10 January. It will consist of a seasonal meal in a local restaurant (possibly the AVA) in Bangor, followed by a special showing of an astro/space film in the nearby A1 Cinema, possibly ‘First Man’ about Neil Armstrong. Followed by a quiz. Cost will depend on the choice of meal, and the numbers going.
To help plan for this, would you PLEASE REPLY BY RETURN IF YOU WOULD BE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING THIS EVENT, AND HOW MANY MIGHT BE IN YOUR GROUP.
(Thanks to those who have already respoinded)
3. MAYO DARK SKY FESTIVAL, 31 October – 1 November.
Congrats to Fiona, Derek and the NAC team for another superb event. I don’t know how they do it, but they just keep getting better each year.
4. Galway Star Party, Sat 30 January, Ardilaun Hotel
Accommodation rates for AstroFest '27 on Sat 30th January have been arranged with the hotel. It's happening on a bank holiday weekend again so the hotel will get busy but they've kindly given us the same rates as last time. https://www.theardilaunhotel.ie
Note from the Ardilaun Hotel > Anyone attending can simply tell our reservations team they are a part of Astro Fest or can use the event code #250091
•Single Room at €120.00 B&B per night.
•Double/Twin at €150.00 B&B per night.
5. NEXT ECLIPSE – COMMENTS & GUIDANCE
Another option for folks thinking of Spain – New Scientist is offering a guided trip to a site near Cadiz.. But NS trips are expensive!
6. ISS. The ISS continues its series of morning passes until 14 November. Details for your location are available on www.heavens-above.com
7. VENUS is too low in the W twilight to be seen.
8. SATURN still well placed. The Ringed Planet is visible for most of the night, nicely up after sunset. It’s now North of the Equator, giving us better viewing for longer each night.
It will be mag 0.5 and diameter 19”. The angle of the rings is now steadily increasing, about 7.5 degrees, with the South side presented to Earth.
Of the main moons, Titan is by far the easiest to see, reaching mag 8.3 at opposition and just visible in good binocs when at greatest elongation from Saturn. Rhea is visible in any decent amateur telescope, reaching mag 9.7, and next, moving in closer to the planet, are Dione (mag 10.4), Tethys (mag 10.2) and Enceladus, mag 11.7. The next one in is Mimas, challenging at mag 12.9, especially as it never gets far from the bright rings. Much further out from Saturn, beyond Titan, is the mysterious Iapetus, where one side is more than twice as bright as the other, with the mag varying from 10.2 – 11.9.
9. MARS & JUPITER – becoming more visible in the early morning sky
Mars in in Leo, still small and faint, with mag 0.8, and a diameter of only 6.7”. Jupiter also lies in Leo, much brighter at mag -1.9, and bigger, with a diameter of 36”
10. UNDER ONE SKY GLOBAL ONLINE CONFERENCE, 6-7 November
Under One Sky 2026 brings together a global community united by a shared mission to protect the night. From DarkSky Advocates and lighting designers to ecologists, astronomers, policymakers, artists, and more, our community is as diverse as the night itself. Join us as we hear from leading experts, explore innovative ideas, and discover inspiring stories as we follow the night around the world.
Whether you’re passionate about the night sky, protecting wildlife, or improving communities through responsible lighting, we invite you to join us for a one-of-a-kind learning journey as we work together to protect the night. under one sky
T Corona Borealis – Again!
When will the Blaze Star erupt? Will neutrinos give us a warning?
11. EASY TEASER
What’s special about asteroid 15?
Clue: Do I have to spell it out for you?
Another clue – it’s the only one of the first 200 asteroids (at least) which has this characteristic.
Another clue: Sounds like it’s not a matter of consonance, I hear. (- or of dissonance either.)
FINAL CLUE. What’s in a name?
Rule: You are only eligible to enter the Easy Teaser if you have not been a member of an astronomy club or society for more than 10 years, or if you have not already correctly answered one of the difficult ones. This is to give the beginners and young readers a chance!)
12. DIFFICULT TEASER - ALSO ANSWERED RIGHT AWAY!
What’s next in this series: Pallas, Juno, Astraea, Iris, Parthenope? Peter Denman was on the ball right away, with the answer: Egeria. I should have guessed it would be a bit obvious – those are the names of the first asteroids by number in the prime number sequence 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13,
Well done again Peter.
Then Philip Baxter also submitted the correct answer.- well done again, Philip. And also Michael O’Connell, and John Flannery!
13. NEW DIFFICULT TEASER.
Since the last two have been answered very quickly, I’m upping the ante: you won’t get this one so quickly!
Q: What is the significance of this distance: 122,219,409 km?
BTW, I’m NOT accusing anyone of using Chat GPT, or any other form of AI, but to be safe, and for my own satisfaction, I’m trying to make the questions as AI-proof as possible!
Remember, send answers to me only 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.
AMATEUR ASTRONOMERS DISCOVERY
PaStDr 8: A Giant Planetary Nebula Named After Amateur Astronomers PaStDr 8 takes its name from the three amateur astronomers who discovered it: Dana Patchick, Xavier Strottner, and Marcel Drechsler. The known portion of this nebula stretches across roughly one degree of https://t.co/nAZ9xUfHDF" / X https://share.google/SlhwKwDt9so591kcz
ASTROPHYSICS:
Dust-shrouded Milky Way star cluster may be nearly as old as the universe https://share.google/hXd8aGQ7GpZt0Veme
Cosmic microwave background offers evidence of gas flowing in galaxy clusters https://share.google/pPdz79QjEdgqBTjvg
Hubble and Chandra discover elusive intermediate mass black hole | Watch
When will the Blaze Star erupt? Will neutrinos give us a warning?
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope just revealed a mystery in our cosmic neighborhood!
Researchers using Hubble studied 37 nearby dwarf galaxies — small galaxies containing a few thousand to hundreds of millions of stars — and found that much of the oxygen they expected to see is missing. https://share.google/pm6VT032N85xJlnjE
IceCube detects ghost particles with 10 billion times the energy of solar neutrinos | ScienceDaily https://share.google/J5fxlibxkNAWISiIQ
The JWST May Have Found Where Heavy Black Hole Seeds Formed - Universe Today https://share.google/u3BotsxBUfbJDdHp3
Webb telescope's jaw-dropping view of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field | Watch
A mysterious world 7.5 light-years away has clouds that behave like those on Earth
Rubin observatory reveals two hidden companions of the Milky Way https://share.google/UBTkxW0mM3yTcyfMr
Modest gamma-ray flash followed by dazzling afterglow points to powerful stellar jet viewed off-axis https://share.google/MYyA3eBvAh7KGHFHY
A tiny shift exposes a cold brown dwarf masquerading as an early galaxy https://share.google/82w4edutRCUjHD60x
Giant black holes bigger than galaxies? Dark matter’s cosmic hide-and-seek just got a major clue—and the biggest black holes aren’t the answer. Imagine black holes so enormous they outweigh entire galaxies—objects with masses of 100 billion suns or more, casually called https://t.co/kjThbB2uOO" / X https://share.google/uPUHVbjK1coH0b4F5
CITIZEN SCIENCE:
Astronomers want your help finding 'missing' black holes in the Milky Way | Space https://share.google/YlGIjYqaGQnQCv7Ba
COSMOLOGY
A new physics research says the universe is built on three dimensions of time — not a single linear arrow. https://t.co/qzCGylm9Oi" / X https://share.google/rx2UincrLOmo1Vd2v
Mysterious force that cleared the cosmic fog at the dawn of the universe may not be what we thought | Live Science
In 1999, Lisa Randall and Raman Sundrum took on one of physics’ strangest mysteries: why is gravity so much weaker than the other fundamental forces? Their answer was extraordinary. They proposed that our universe might be a three-dimensional brane in a warped, five-dimensional https://t.co/CcsOA9zJ7w" / X https://share.google/2JQxJBr1XtEzQNqOq - But is there some fundamental reason why gravity should not be a weak force?
EARTH & MOON
Did comets seed life on Earth? A new study says — probably not
China publicly discloses plan for a lunar landing within three years - Ars Technica https://share.google/gKOgeBu0qdJ4XfkBk
The 2028 Imperative: NASA's 2028 crunch for Artemis, SR-1 and robotic lunar landings - SpaceNews https://share.google/RX7JL8DVwwLZvcKhD
EXOLIFE
All 5 genetic “letters” of DNA and RNA discovered in a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid
https://share.google/uCRlJjhVpkvFFoztR
EXOPLANETS
James Webb Space Telescope uncovers new clues about the origins of 'interstellar invader' comet 3I/ATLAS | Space and
Heavy hydrogen in 3I/ATLAS's methane points to a frigid birthplace https://share.google/2rA7J10tZMgRdD9br
Quebec researchers have discovered an exoplanet entirely covered in water. Located 100 light-years away, TOI-1452 b would be about 70% larger than Earth and possess much deeper oceans. https://t.co/JCr18d7teN" / X https://share.google/uRpf0UdvENSz50C8a
A mysterious world 7.5 light-years away has clouds that behave like those on Earth
Astronomers may have discovered the first moon beyond our Solar System | ScienceDaily https://share.google/8d3VeGIWQMYpmztU7
IMAGES:
The Blue Horsehead Nebula (IC 4592) is a vast, ethereal reflection nebula in Scorpius, drifting just 400–420 light-years from Earth. Stretching roughly 2.5° by 1° across the sky—large enough to easily fill the field of a wide-angle lens—it forms the unmistakable profile of a https://t.co/C0d95fThnU" / X https://share.google/hvjMAW8HT83tjUqLW
A unique chart from ESA tracking humanity’s attempts to reach Mars 🔄 The exploration of Mars began back in the 1960s. Since then, more than 40 missions have attempted to reach the planet’s surface (with varying degrees of success). https://t.co/q38a3K9AVZ" / X https://share.google/SzahIkASdVhEegVLX
Sombrero Galaxy https://share.google/uSIRiHMh5k8hpWJoA
Hubble Telescope sees cosmic 'cat's tail' that could wrap around the sun and Earth 500 times | Space https://share.google/lBQTIhw27Ge7YPFpx
In the Constellation Pegasus, Galaxies Are Colliding While a Vast Ghostly Veil Hangs Overhead Point a telescope toward Pegasus and three extraordinary structures line up along nearly the same line of sight. Closest is the elegant spiral galaxy NGC 7331, about 40–45 million https://t.co/EMbLcdDtB7" / X https://share.google/YKgAgaZ3MQMcPFiGr
The Sailboat Cluster: A Young Stellar Fleet Drifting Through Cassiopeia About 2,000 light-years away in Cassiopeia sits NGC 225, better known as the Sailboat Cluster. Its stars form a distinctive shape that really does look like a small sailing boat — a bright “hull” with a few https://t.co/MkpAnvjLpk" / X https://share.google/ROr1tGcW7Huh5bpGY
This is Webb’s look at Westerlund 1, a super star cluster. Because our galaxy is past its peak of star formation, and because stars live relatively short lives, only a few of these clusters exist to give us clues to that past era. https://t.co/bAuCjvsyyz https://share.google/VAGRsRwUL6PXUuPqF
Welcome to a galactic house of mirrors! In this @NASAWebb image, the golden galaxies are part of a galaxy cluster, but the orange galaxies are not. Those galaxies are actually much farther away and their light has been bent and magnified by gravitational lensing. These https://t.co/mVYEDhMnM6" / https://share.google/T72od67gREbKngBCY
Light & Space Pollution
Kiwi photographer captures images of hundreds of satellites in the night sky | Stuff https://share.google/BAL2s5qoCXxjEXMAP
Elon Musk Defends Space AI Satellites & Asserts They Will Emit 1,300W/m² In Heat For Rapid Cooling https://share.google/Ra8pED554pSWC2fbo
SOLAR SYSTEM
Did comets seed life on Earth? A new study says — probably not
The Solar System Was Choosing Fire Over Ice Right From The Beginning, Study Shows : ScienceAlert https://share.google/0YgHh0iladcgj7EL4
Ceres' Water Ice Can Mask Massive Surface Salt Deposits - Universe Today https://share.google/vciGVpUfEvHL7Zpli
A unique chart from ESA tracking humanity’s attempts to reach Mars 🔄 The exploration of Mars began back in the 1960s. Since then, more than 40 missions have attempted to reach the planet’s surface (with varying degrees of success). https://t.co/q38a3K9AVZ" / X https://share.google/SzahIkASdVhEegVLX
A planet 3 times Earth's size may have hit Uranus and knocked it sideways | Watch
All 5 genetic “letters” of DNA and RNA discovered in a 4.5-billion-year-old asteroid
https://share.google/uCRlJjhVpkvFFoztR
NASA's Hubble and Webb discover ancient worlds that remember their past | ScienceDaily https://share.google/uAvT8IGF2z3SaqSIr
First light: Hera resolves two asteroids instead of one https://share.google/U0zyOstfGVBfjt0Hw
SPACE
China publicly discloses plan for a lunar landing within three years - Ars Technica https://share.google/gKOgeBu0qdJ4XfkBk
The 2028 Imperative: NASA's 2028 crunch for Artemis, SR-1 and robotic lunar landings - SpaceNews https://share.google/RX7JL8DVwwLZvcKhD
Elon Musk Defends Space AI Satellites & Asserts They Will Emit 1,300W/m² In Heat For Rapid Cooling https://share.google/Ra8pED554pSWC2fbo
NASA's Swift space telescope is about to crash to Earth. Where will it fall? | Space
NASA Invites People To Send Their Names To Saturn's Moon With Dragonfly Mission https://share.google/IGvt9rnJuXz5bmdRQ
NASA reaches out to commercial space industry for help saving legendary Hubble Space Telescope | Mashable
20 astronauts could spend nearly 3 years inside SpaceX's Starship on a mission to Mars | Watch
NASA’s Voyager 1 Conserves Power, Resolves Brief Communications Pause - NASA Science https://share.google/85sM1ZgMHOU3FgvF5
Russia Explores Extending ISS Operations to 2032 In U.S. Talks | Aviation Week https://share.google/h6ViWJLAHtbgpEaR5
Computer and gyro problems likely caused loss of MAVEN - SpaceNews https://share.google/JrUfqE3IVCHr0eyzd
SUN
Stunning solar eclipse photos reveal giant hole and mysterious smoke rings in the sun's atmosphere
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES:
NASA's TRACERS mission to unlock secrets of magnetic explosions in space | Watch
The ultimate group project: studying worlds beyond our own. As we get closer to the first images from @NASARoman, a long list of science objectives await. One way Roman will team up with Hubble is by the different ways the missions will study exoplanets. ⬇️ https://t.co/zaG1fI6Dxd" / X https://share.google/W7HrBgQAbVxAiaIe8
NASA's Swift space telescope is about to crash to Earth. Where will it fall? | Space
FINAL WORD:
“The treasures hidden in the heavens are so rich that the human mind shall never be lacking in fresh nourishment." - Johannes Kepler
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
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