Hi all,
(NB, all times are summer time when in force, for convenience)
1. IAA Zoom Lecture, Wed 28 April, 7.30 p.m .
Prof Alan Fitzsimmons "Meteorites - Revealing the history and evolution of our Solar system."
Abstract:
The recent fall of the Winchcombe meteorite reminded everyone that meteors and meteorites are exciting to see. Studies of meteorites have revealed the history of our Solar system, while telescopic studies have helped understand their sources. Combined, they have shown us evolutionary processes currently happening to asteroids. In this talk I will describe the main types of meteorite, and how they allow us to date the origin of our Solar system. I will show how telescopic studies have revealed their origins, and how scientists have uncovered processes affecting them today. I will conclude with a brief discussion of the current golden age of asteroid exploration - the source of most meteorites - and mysteries still to be solved.
Alan Fitzsimmons is a Professor in the Astrophysics Research Centre in QUB, and a renowned expert on all the small solar system bodies: comets, asteroids, dwarf planets, moons, EKBOs etc. He has given us so many excellent lectures that I've lost count, and this one promises to be just the same.
2. ISS. The ISS, currently with 9 astronauts on board, will start a new series of morning passes on 30 April. These will gradually transition to evening passes, which will then continue until 29 May, so we'll get over 4 weeks on continuous passes!
3. Essay Competition deadline looming!
The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) and the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) are holding an international essay contest for young adults. People 18-35 years old are invited to submit an essay under the theme "Space as a tool to foster climate adaptation and mitigation". Essays must be submitted by 26 April 2021.
Learn more here: https://unoosa.org/oosa/ourwork/space4youth/competition/2021/
4. SPACE and ASTRONOMY WEBINAR – Next is May 4
NB: Note platform change. Since most people have been watching on YouTube, we are ceasing the presentation via Zoom, and it will now be streamed live on both YouTube and Facebook. This will also give us lots of added features in the presentation.
After a year of presentations, we're taking a break for April, and we'll be back on 'Star Wars Day' – May the Fourth be with you!
Presented by me and the amazing Nick Howes, they are approximately 45 minutes long, every second Tuesday, at 7.30 p.m., covering whatever is topical in space and astronomy. The next one will be on Tuesday 4 May: youtube.com/spacestorelive
NB – So, from now on it will be Live streamed to YouTube SpaceStore Live! Channel and Live streamed to Facebook Live. I'll post any last minute news via Twitter.
Or else, just go to dias.ie, the host website, and you should see it flagged in the announcements.
5. Connemara Ast Club Quiz, 4 May. To celebrate Star Wars Day, 4th May @ 8 pm we're going to have a quiz! There will be prizes and best of all it'll be great craic. All you need to do is download Kahoot! App to your phone - https://kahoot.com/home/mobile-app/.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85953528722?pwd=dHpOQ0d6YU5HRjNWaFpnU2NwdlVuUT09
Meeting ID: 859 5352 8722
Passcode: 860777
6 Space for Art Foundation Requesting Space Art from Children, deadline 1 May
The Space for Art Foundation invites children from anywhere in the world to contribute artwork to their next project: a space suit called BEYOND. Submissions can be emailed to the foundation or posted to the foundation's Facebook page. Entries should be submitted by 1 May 2021.
Learn more here: https://www.spaceforartfoundation.org/projects
7. Easy Teaser – Answered at last!:
Q. Of the 12 official zodiacal constellations, what record is held by Scorpius? The answer is that Scorpius has the shortest length of the ecliptic passing through it, and therefore the Sun spends less time in Scorpius than in any other Zodiacal Constellation.
Two 'experts' answered it (Brian Beesley and Peter Millar), but the only correct answer from an eligible candidate was from Ross Currie, at his first attempt! Well done Ross!
New HARD TEASER:
What connects – the Queen's Fiancetto, The Ark, Oscar, and an old British coin?
Please send all answers to me at my aol address terrymosel@aol.com
8. ESA seeks new astronauts: apply March 31 to May 28
European Space Agency on the hunt for new astronauts (msn.com)
9. June 8-11: Institutions of Extraterrestrial Liberty, hosted by U of Edinburgh. 4 days of webinars on Human Exploration of Mars.
10. European Astronomical Society Annual Meeting
Location: Virtual
Date: 28 June–2 July 2021
Website: https://eas.unige.ch/EAS_meeting/
11. Davagh Dark Sky Park and Observatory closed until further notice. I hope to have some news on this soon.
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.
12. Europlanet Society press release
A pocket guide to Mars
A pocket atlas of Mars has been published that uses geographic techniques developed for terrestrial maps to reveal a wealth of information about the surface of the Red Planet, as well as its climate and cloud cover. The atlas is being presented this week at the 52nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.
The 84-page atlas is currently available in English, Hungarian and Czech, and will be available in a digital format later this year. The atlas, which has been developed for use in astronomy clubs and schools, was funded by the Europlanet Society through its Central European Hub.
The main part of the atlas consists of a series of double spreads showing each of the 30 cartographic quadrangles into which the surface of Mars has been divided by the US Geological Survey. The landforms created by lava, wind, water, and ice are shown separately on a topographic base map, highlighting features such as dune fields, mountain peaks, volcanic calderas, caves, ancient dried-up lakes and deltas, and fault lines.
For the first time in a published Mars atlas, climate maps are included, which show 13 climatic zones with boundaries defined by combining seasonal temperature and frost data. A series of climate diagrams show the variation in temperature through the martian year for each of the zones. In addition, a weather map shows the temperature at ground level across the western hemisphere of Mars at the two annual solstices.
The atlas also includes an albedo map, derived from data from Mars Express and Mars Global Surveyor, which shows the amount of sunlight reflected from the surface, the frequently cloudy regions and the maximum area covered by the seasonal caps of frozen carbon dioxide and water ice at the martian poles.
The map editor, Henrik Hargitai of the Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest and former chair of the Commission on Planetary Cartography of the International Cartographic Association, said: "The maps in the atlas are manually edited, using accurate data from missions and models. Thematic maps that reveal patterns in physical geography have been used for decades for in terrestrial atlases, but this is the first time that they are available in an atlas for Mars. The publication of this edition is a culmination of mapping efforts over the last two decades. The atlas also includes a one-page calendar for Mars year 36, covering the period from February 2021 to December 2022, which explains the milestones in the seasonal changes on Mars."
Future plans for the atlas include the addition of themed maps that show regions of interest in detail, and atlas-based activities for educators. As well as being a tool for outreach and education, this type of multi-themed map could be valuable for the scientific community in interpreting the geologic evolution of Mars, estimating whether an area might ever have hosted life, or identifying in-situ resources to support future human exploration missions.
Images
Double spread of thematic map of Tharsis region of Mars (Mars Chart 09) from the Pocket Atlas of Mars 36. The scale of the map is 1cm=107 km. Credit: NASA/JPL/GSFC/ESA/DLR/FU/H. Hargitai.https://www.europlanet-society.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/31-40-3.jpg
The atlas is available at: https://www.etsy.com/listing/955444239/mars-36-pocket-atlas
13. 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
Is the Standard Model of Physics Now Broken? - Scientific American
Hubble spots double quasars in merging galaxies -- ScienceDaily
https://www.facebook.com/145327659223282/posts/1200735090349195/?sfnsn=scwspmo
NASA's NICER finds X-ray boosts in the Crab Pulsar's radio bursts -- ScienceDaily
Discovery of rare 'quadruply imaged quasars' can help solve cosmological puzzles -- ScienceDaily
Astronomers detect a bright-blue bridge of stars, and it's about to blow | Live Science
Search for sterile neutrinos: It's all about a bend in the curve -- ScienceDaily
NASA news: Space agency releases image of a PINK black hole (msn.com)
A new mystery about FRBs Fast radio bursts: Mysterious signals coming from distant parts of the universe are 'deeper' than we realised, scientists say (msn.com)
Light seen twisting around two black holes in mesmerising new Nasa video (msn.com) and The light-bending dance of binary black holes -- ScienceDaily
Supernova deaths of white dwarf stars may explode like a nuclear bomb | Space
5 twinkling galaxies help us uncover the mystery of the Milky Way's missing matter | Space
Telescopes unite in unprecedented observations of famous black hole -- ScienceDaily
One of Earth's nearest stars may be a dark matter factory (msn.com)
Black hole: Tiny black hole called 'The Unicorn' found 'near' Earth (msn.com)
Scientists see 'extreme' flare coming from our closest solar system (msn.com)
ALMA discovers rotating infant galaxy with help of natural cosmic telescope -- ScienceDaily
Astronomers release new all-sky map of Milky Way's outer reaches -- ScienceDaily
Primordial Black Holes https://www.facebook.com/1642929092406128/posts/4224972160868462/?sfnsn=scwspmo
Enormous flare from sun's nearest neighbor breaks records -- ScienceDaily
Outback radio telescope discovers dense, spinning, dead star -- ScienceDaily
COSMOLOGY
"Magnetic" dark matter may be accelerating the universe's expansion (newatlas.com) This doesn't seem to make sense either. Magnetic force decreases with distance, yet the 'accelerating expansion' is occurring between galaxy clusters, which are megaparsecs apart, with very little dark matter in between them. Yet in galaxies, and compact or rich galaxy clusters, where dark matter is most evident, there is no expansion at all.
TBH, I remain to be convinced that the rate of expansion is accelerating at all: I think that something was different in the early universe, where we see the expansion most clearly. And it could be tied in with the ever more obvious discrepancy in the value of H0 as measured by different methods.
But my qualifications as a cosmologist are zero!
The universe is much, much bigger than you think -
https://www.facebook.com/100045998303732/posts/307642427445698/?sfnsn=scwspmo
EARTH & MOON
New study ties solar variability to the onset of decadal La Nina events -- ScienceDaily
More than 5,000 tons of extraterrestrial dust fall to Earth each year -- ScienceDaily The accumulation rate near the poles would be less than near the equator, for the same reason that the poles get less sunlight, but I presume that they allowed for that in their calculations.
Asteroid crater on Earth provides clues about Martian craters -- ScienceDaily
Greenhouse gas levels surge despite slow economy | Climate News Network
NASA says zodiacal light seen on Earth before dawn may be caused by Mars dust particles | Daily Mail Online NB – the ZL can be seen just as easily after dusk as before dawn: In North Temperate latitudes, the former in spring, and the latter in autumn.
See a meteor explode in a fireball that lit up Florida skies (msn.com)
Baked meteorites yield clues to planetary atmospheres -- ScienceDaily
NASA to hold asteroid simulation event to protect Earth from monster space rocks (msn.com)
EXOPLANETS
First transiting exoplanet's 'chemical fingerprint' reveals its distant birthplace -- ScienceDaily
Scientists see 'extreme' flare coming from our closest solar system (msn.com)
Newfound super-Earth has speedy orbit around red dwarf star (msn.com) and
A new super-Earth detected orbiting a red dwarf star -- ScienceDaily
EXOLIFE
Life on Venus? First we need to know more about molecules in the atmosphere -- ScienceDaily
Microbes may inhabit subsurface modern Mars, says geochemical study (newatlas.com)
IMAGES
NASA shares brilliant new version of Hubble telescope photo of the Veil Nebula | Daily Mail Online
Beautiful image and amazing video, but a commentary would be useful. The Veil Nebula was the first object I saw through the restored 72-inch Leviathan Reflector at Birr – amazing view!
SOLAR SYSTEM
Exploring comet thermal history: Burnt-out comet covered with talcum powder -- ScienceDaily
Mars Helicopter Ingenuity snaps 1st color photo on Red Planet | Live Science
Curiosity rover explores stratigraphy of Gale crater -- ScienceDaily
Spooky 'spiders on Mars' finally explained after two decades | Live Science
Interstellar interloper 2I/Borisov may be the most pristine comet ever observed | Live Science
Nasa shares amazing image of blue dunes on Mars (msn.com)
New research reveals secret to Jupiter's curious aurora activity -- ScienceDaily
Mars alternated between dry and wetter periods before drying up completely | Daily Mail Online
NASA's Perseverance rover creates OXYGEN on Mars - Huge step for humanity (msn.com)
Mars' changing habitability recorded by ancient dune fields in Gale crater -- ScienceDaily
SPACE
Ingenuity robotic helicopter survives its first Martian night (newatlas.com)
Nasa unlocks Mars helicopter's rotor blades ahead of pioneering Ingenuity flight (msn.com)
Mars helicopter Ingenuity unlocks its rotor blades to prepare for 1st flight on Red Planet | Space
SpaceX identifies cause of Starship SN11 prototype's crash | Live Science
Scientists pinpoint source of "impossible" EmDrive's thrust (newatlas.com) Newton rules ok!
Vostok 1: 60th anniversary of historic first human spaceflight (newatlas.com)
NASA delays Ingenuity's maiden Mars flight AGAIN | Daily Mail Online
Bezos' Blue Origin Launches Rocket With Only Test Dummy (msn.com)
NASA's New Horizons delivers poignant image as it nears space milestone (msn.com) Such stupid journalism - it did not "stop off" at Pluto – it flew past it at thousands of mph!
SpaceX: Crew Dragon has a 'new car smell' reveals Cassidy (msn.com)
Meet Crew-2: The 4 space-bound astronauts launching aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon (msn.com)
SpaceX: Crew Dragon astronaut capsule docks to the ISS (msn.com)
SpaceX will launch Astrobotic lander to the moon with NASA's ice-sniffing VIPER rover | Space
Space Junk Removal Is Not Going Smoothly - Scientific American
Astronauts who die on Mars missions could be buried there or EATEN by crew members, say experts | Daily Mail Online I know that this is the DM, but even so, the ignorance of basic science is appalling! If a body is jettisoned overboard from a rocket on its way to Mars, it won't 'just stay there! It will continue along the same trajectory, and at the same speed, as the spaceship – Newton's First Law of Motion. When the spaceship reaches Mars and decelerates, the body will just keep on going. Its path will be deflected by the gravity of Mars, and it will then end up in an elliptical orbit around the Sun. It is very unlikely that it will enter orbit around Mars, or hit the planet.
Russia reveals ambitious plans to launch its own space station in 2025 | Daily Mail Online
Starship SN15 launch: SpaceX evacuates village ahead of major test (msn.com) BTW, an "overpressure event" is an explosion"
NASA's Perseverance rover creates OXYGEN on Mars - Huge step for humanity (msn.com)
Elon Musk issues warning over Mars mission - 'a bunch of people will probably die' (msn.com)
SpaceX launches 4 astronauts to space station, nails rocket landing | Space
Ingenuity helicopter makes first controlled horizontal flight on Mars (newatlas.com)
Perseverance makes oxygen on Mars https://www.facebook.com/844391385696407/posts/2366528780149319/?sfnsn=scwspmo
China wants to launch its own Hubble-class telescope as part of space station | Space
SUN
New study ties solar variability to the onset of decadal La Nina events -- ScienceDaily
TELESCOPES, INSTRUMENTS, TECHNIQUES
What the JWST will study in its first year of operation https://www.facebook.com/1448246337/posts/10225309067340866/?sfnsn=scwspmo
CERN scientists cool antimatter with lasers for the first time (newatlas.com)
Scientists may find ALIENS by 2026 thanks to a new space telescope | Daily Mail Online
China wants to launch its own Hubble-class telescope as part of space station | Space
14. 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
