Wednesday 31 December 2008

Free sky show, IAA NY Party, Quadrantids, IYA 2009

 

Hi all,

Hope you all had a good holiday season. The sky gave us brilliant Venus as a 'semi-Christmas Star' (though not nearly as prominent as it can be at Xmas in some years), but the best is yet to come....

1. NEW YEAR'S EVE FREE SKY SHOW: Brilliant Venus will be joined by a beautiful crescent moon, with Earthshine (commonly known as 'the old moon in the new moon's arms), and if you look carefully lower down and to the right you'll see a nice pairing of the smallest and the largest planets in our Solar System: Mercury and Jupiter. And if you have a telescope or really big binoculars you can look for the most distant planet, Neptune, though it will be very faint, at magnitude 8. (Yes, I'm reluctantly conceding Pluto's demotion from planetary status for the purpose of this comparison!).

   Firstly, the Moon & Venus: they will be unmistakable, visible in the SW twilight as soon as the sky starts to darken: say about 4.30 p.m. Venus will be 2.7 degrees below & left of the Moon. Venus will be fairly nearly as bright as it can get, at magnitude -4.3, and in a telescope you should be able to spot the phase, which will be 57.9, or just more than 'half'. The Moon will be 15.1% illuminated, and as the sky darkens, look for the lovely 'Earthshine', which is sunlight reflected from the Earth onto the Moon (if you were standing on the Moon at that time you would see an almost 'full' Earth), and then back again to our eyes.

   Next, look for Jupiter and Mercury: Jupiter will be 27 degrees to the lower right of the Moon - that's a bit more than the length of the 'Plough' or the 'Big Dipper'. If you don't know the sky well enough to use that as a scale, just follow a line from the Moon down towards the horizon at an angle equivalent to about 4.00 to 4.30 on a clock face: you should spot Jupiter as a brightish 'star' about 10 degrees above the horizon. However it won't be all that easy to see, as the sky will still be quite bright, and you'll need a clear Western horizon. Jupiter will be magnitude -1.9, but it won't look that bright against the bright sky background. Use wide-field binoculars if you have them, but only after the Sun has set!

   Once you've found Jupiter, look 1.25 degrees below & to its left & you should spot Mercury, noticeably fainter than Jupiter at magnitude -0.7. You should be able to see it without optical aid if the sky is clear & haze-free, but once again binoculars will help. If you have a telescope you might just be able to see the phase, which will be about 72%, i.e. noticeably gibbous.

   Finally, for your last target, you'll have to pick the best time between the sky getting dark enough to see it, and Neptune's decreasing altitude into the thickening low altitude atmosphere and haze, to spot that planet. Neptune will be 4 degrees 38' West of Venus, and 25' further South than Venus, if you have equatorial co-ordinates on your mount. If not, just look 3 degrees 22' below right of the centre of the Moon: that's about 20% more than the distance from the centre of the Moon to Venus. About three quarters of the way along that direction you'll pass the top right member of a line of 3 stars which are a good bit brighter than Neptune, at between magnitude 5 and 6. Neptune will lie just more than a lunar diameter beyond that star. All you'll see will be a faint 8th magnitude 'star', unless you have a fairly powerful telescope which might just show the tiny disc of the planet. I would start looking from about 5 p.m., or a bit later if you are in the far South or West of the Island.

   If you succeed, you'll have seen in one evening the nearest and furthest planets from the Sun, and the largest and smallest planets in our Solar System, plus our own Moon.  And if you are really keen, look for Uranus about 2 degrees above left of 4th magnitude Phi Aquarii, and if you wait until about midnight you'll see bright Saturn rising below the hind quarters of Leo the lion. That's all the planets in our SS, apart from Mars, which is too close to the Sun to be visible from Ireland.  Good Luck!

   (Venus will also be close to the crescent Moon in our evening skies at the end of January and February, but not quite as close as this time, and without Mercury & Jupiter in the vicinity.)

2. IAA NEW YEAR PARTY & FILM - Northern Ireland Premiere: I'm glad to be able to confirm that through the hard work and good offices of IAA Council Member Robert Hill we have been able to obtain the new film 'BLAST!' for its first ever showing in N.I., and only the second screening in Ireland (the first was in a film festival!). We are very grateful to Armagh Observatory and the Northern Ireland Space Office (a.k.a Robert Hill!) for sponsoring this special preview showing! It will get IYA 2009 off to a flying start for the IAA! See details below:

   As already noted, the event will be on Saturday 3 January: The format will be slightly different this year: the main venue will still be the Tudor Private Cinema, Drumhirk Road (off the A22 Comber to Killyleagh Road) in Comber Co Down, where we'll have the private screening of BLAST!

  BUT NOTE: This year we will meet first for a buffet meal in 'McBrides in the Square', Comber before going on to the cinema where we'll provide our own liquid refreshments as before: wine, mulled wine, hot punch, tea, coffee and soft drinks.  Total cost, including the buffet, plus our own refreshments at the cinema, plus the film, is an amazing £10 for adults and £5 for children. Beat that for value! Payment in advance, by cheque payable to the Irish Astronomical Association, to Mr John Hall, 3 Vaddegan Avenue, Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, BT36 7SX, NO LATER THAN Wednesday 31 December. If you want to attend the film only, it will cost £5 per person, but places MUST be booked & paid for in advance!

  Remember: Saturday 3 January, at 6.00 p.m., Mc Brides, The Square, Comber, Co Down, and 7.30 at the Tudor Cinema, Drumhirk Road, Comber.

(Press Release) ..........

BLAST!Controversial Adventure Story

to Screen at the Irish Astronomical Association New Year Party

Welcome to Astrophysics, Indiana Jones style! Five-time Emmy winner Paul Devlin brings his newest film BLAST! to the Irish Astronomical Association New Year Party at the Tudor Private Cinema, Comber, Co Down – offering an exciting, enlightening ride around the world and across the Universe.

BLAST! follows the filmmaker’s brother, Mark Devlin, PhD, as he leads a tenacious team of astrophysicists hoping to figure out how all the galaxies formed by launching a revolutionary telescope on a NASA high-altitude balloon. Their adventure takes them from Arctic Sweden to Inuit polar bear country in Canada, where catastrophic failure forces them to try all over again on the desolate ice in Antarctica. No less than the understanding of the evolution and origins of our Universe is at stake on this exciting escapade that seeks to answer humankind's most basic question, How did we get here?

As in director Paul Devlin’s award winning film Power Trip, BLAST! de-emphasizes talking head interviews and dispenses with anonymous narration in favour of capturing the action as it happens. Dynamic storytelling and unique access provide the rare opportunity to reveal the personal and family sacrifices, the obsessions, and even the philosophical questioning of scientists.

.

BLAST! boldly threads through its narrative a dialogue on science and faith between two lead scientists – one an agnostic and the other a Christian. “The film allows its characters to discuss science and religious belief in a most natural way, and with a bit of humour” states Larry Witham, author of By Design: Science and the Search for God. “The typical science documentary omits the topic entirely.”

“My intention is to expose a much larger audience to the fascinating lives of scientists by breaking with some of the conventional approaches to science material,” comments Director Paul Devlin. “This story had all the elements I needed. The extreme events provide the structure for a classically suspenseful narrative, with a built-in twist at the end. The access to my brother’s private life builds emotional resonance, and when I found out that one of the lead scientists was also a devout Christian, I thought, Perfect!

The frank look at these issues, especially the religious discussion, has caused controversy among some scientists, many of whom may feel embattled by religious fundamentalism in the United States. However, it has also allowed BLAST! to ignite debate and to inspire general audiences to reconsider the relationship between science and faith.

Filmed on location in 7 countries on 5 continents, BLAST! will screen nationally and internationally in film festivals and in conjunction with the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Upcoming broadcasts of BLAST! so far include, BBC, Discovery Canada, SVT-Sweden, VPRO-Netherlands, YLE-Finland, and Al-Jazeera. Paul Devlin was awarded the 2007 New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) Individual Artist Award for BLAST! A trailer, photos, press package, list of upcoming screenings and additional information is available at http://www.blastthemovie.com

BLAST! will screen at the Irish Astronomical Association New Year Party, 3rd January at the Tudor Private Cinema, Drumhirk Road, Comber, Co Down, BT 23 5LY, at 7.30 p.m. This special screening is open to IAA members and friends, but places are

Sunday 21 December 2008

Solstice webcast, Free School scopes, FT Challenge, IAA NY Party, Lidl offers

 

Hi all,

1. WINTER SOLSTICE WEBCAST FROM NEWGRANGE, BRU NA BOINNE:

The Irish Node of IYA2009 and the Office of Public Works in Ireland are inviting you to join us in watching a  live webcast of the winter solstice sunrise on December 21st from the megalithic passage tomb of Newgrange, in County Meath, Ireland.

This webcast will be live from 08.30 to 09.30 UTC on December 21st on the IYA2009-Ireland website: http://astronomy2009.ie/. The sunrise is at ~08.55 UTC.  (Hope it's clear!  T.M.)

2.

Dear Colleagues,

I mentioned in a previous message that the Year of Astronomy begins in January 2009. I want to advise you of an offer from the Society of Popular Astronomy to launch the year by giving away astronomical telescopes to schools completely free of charge. The telescope comes with a CD of instructions for use. The idea is to encourage schools to develop an interest in astronomy and to engage young people in discovering the wonders of exploring the night sky. To receive a telescope, each school has to download and complete an application form from the SPA web site www.popastro.com/moonwatch/schools3.php and send it with a submission of not more than 500 words about how the telescope will be used to promote astronomy in the school and community. This has been arranged through the good offices of Robert Hill of NI Space Office at the Armagh Planetarium. Robert has also put together some suggestions for the submission to help the drafting of the form. I have included these below. As you will see from the web site, telescopes are given on a first come first served basis, however we have been assured that any post primary school or special school with a post primary department that applies from NI has a very good chance of receiving a telescope, provided application is made within the next week to ten days. We intend to mark the event with a launch in the New Year so I would be grateful if you would process your application rapidly and send it to the address in the web site and copy it to me by post or email as the Advisers in the Boards will coordinate the distribution along with Robert and the Planetarium staff. I am also investigating the possibility of some training sessions for the use of the telescope. You will note that one of the conditions for acceptance is to link with a local astronomer. Armagh Planetarium has agreed to act as the local resource with support from astronomers at the Observatory in this instance. Give the contact as www.armaghplanet.com and your submission to alyson@armaghplanet.com. If you have any queries please contact me. I strongly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity to acquire a fully functional astronomical telescope.

Best regards

Sean Maguire

Adviser Science & Technology

Project Possibilities for 500 Word Outline

Curriculum: link to Key Stage 3. Underneath the stars and Is there life out there..? thematic units

· Start or enhance astronomy club activities

· Sign up to the free Astrogazers Ireland astronomy schools network in Northern Ireland run by Armagh Planetarium and encourage joint school activities (plus get lots of other free astronomy and space related material throughout the year!)

· Use the telescope to encourage and mentor local primary school (feeder) schools

· Propose a project for the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition

· Propose a project for the Seagate Young Innovators exhibition

· School display on astronomy

· Register with a free UK based robotic schools observatory. Either Faulkes Telescope project (www.faulkes-telescope.com) or National Schools Observatory (http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/)

Register with all Ireland astronomy schools competition 2009

3. Faulkes Telescopes Universe Challenge
One of the highlights of IYA2009-Ireland will be a schools competition, open to all schools in the island of Ireland, using the Faulkes Telescopes – either to obtain new data, or using data from the Faulkes archive. There will be a very exciting prize for the school students their teacher, and also their mentor. Details are given below.
We must come clean at once – we cannot run this important competition without the help and commitment of the professional astronomical community in Ireland, postgrads, postdocs and staff members, to act as mentors to the school groups. Hence this appeal.
Dúshlán na Cruinne le Faulkes
1. The Challenge is for groups of 2-3 school students, aided by their school teacher, at transition year or the equivalent in the North of Ireland, from the whole of the island of Ireland, as part of the celebration of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 in Ireland.
2. The purpose of the Challenge is to promote the study of science (specifically astronomical science) at third level by exposing groups of school students to the lasting satisfaction and fascination of conducting an original research project – including, of course, the times when things do not go well, but which necessitate sticking with the project and ultimately add to its satisfaction.
3. A crucial part of the appeal of the Dúshlán to school students will be the involvement of a mentor - postgrads, postdocs and staff members from Universities and Research Institutes in Ireland – hopefully providing them with an attractive role model. The level of involvement of the mentors will depend upon the number of school groups and the number of mentors – this will be decided at the end of January. Mentors may be asked to work with one or several groups. The level of involvement of mentors must be uniform for all groups and all mentors. The mentor associated with the group which best rises to the Challenge (i.e. the winning group!) will be invited to accept the prize also.
4. The research projects, including data collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation are to be conducted over a period up to approximately six months from February 2009.
5. Data are to be collected using either new observations by the Faulkes Telescopes (http://faulkes-telescope.com/) or from the Faulkes Telescopes data archive. The Faulkes Telescopes are situated in Hawaii and Australia and so can be operated during the normal working day in Ireland. Access to the Faulkes Telescopes for the purposes of the Dúshlán, subject to scheduling by the Faulkes Observatory is guaranteed to all entrant groups.
6. Dúshlán na Cruinne le Faulkes will be offici

Tuesday 16 December 2008

Two sad deaths, Ursids, Solstice, IAA New Year Party

 

Hi all,

Two deaths: I'm very sorry to have to tell you of the deaths of two notable Irish astronomers: Dr Maire Bruck, and Rev Grattan Bannister.

Dr Maire T Bruck, nee Conway, a native of Co Meath, died last week, but having been away from my PC a lot since then, I have not been able to pass on the news until now. She did her Doctorate at Edinburgh University, and then went to Dunsink in May 1950. The director then was Dr Hermann A Bruck, and there was an instant attraction and they married within two years. After a long career there, the Brucks moved to Scotland, and Maire continued her work there after her husband retired and later died. She has written widely, with a particular interest in British & Irish women in astronomy. One of her best known books is on the well-known astronomer from Skibbereen, Co Cork: "Agnes Mary Clerke and the Rise of Astrophysics", published by Cambridge University Press in 2002.

   She retained an interest in astronomy right up to her recent illness, and has given several lectures at various venues in Ireland since the turn of the decade. She was emailing me not long ago about some matter regarding astronomy at Newgrange that she wanted some information about.

  She was a charming, intelligent and entertaining lady, and it was always a pleasure to meet her. She is a great loss to Irish astronomy.

It's also with great regret that I have to pass on the news of the death on Monday 15 December of the Rev Grattan Bannister, of Ballydehob, Co Cork, after a short illness. Grattan was one of those unique people whom it's almost impossible to describe. A true gentleman of the old school, a refined, polite and kindly man, and a real character. I don't know his age, but he would have been around 80 as far as I know, and had been actively observing until his recent illness. His particular interest was variable stars, especially eruptive variables such as SS Cygni.

   At my original suggestion, he hosted 'Pluto Parties' every summer in West Cork, where on suitable weekends some of his friends, particularly from the Cork Astronomy Club, would gather in either Ballydehob where he lived, or at the house of two close friends, Bill & Jane Otway in Schull, and we would attempt to see Pluto visually through a selection of telescopes. I attended on every year except one, attracted as much by the craic and the company as by the chance to see Pluto again. We were often beaten by last-minute changes in the weather, but on at least one occasion we did see it in the good old-fashioned way: photons from Pluto directly into your eyes! That was when it was still a planet, BTW, so there are a few of us who have seen all NINE planets in the Solar System with our own eyes!

   Grattan was a great correspondent, and the arrival of a letter from him, in perfect 'copperplate' handwriting, was always a welcome treat. He was a great linguist, and would often quote something from Greek or Hebrew at you, just to make a particular point. And all the meals at the West Cork astronomy events were preceded by Grattan's 'Grace' in Irish. He was not widely known outside the Cork & West Cork circle simply because he lived so far away, and as he did not drive but travelled locally on a tiny motorcycle he was not able to journey very far himself. He always dressed totally in black, and with his tiny, thin and fragile frame, it was amazing how he would go out in the small hours of a winter night just to get some particular observation.

  Anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him will know what I mean when I say that we have lost a true gentleman, and a fine amateur astronomer. I will miss him greatly.

METEORS: Although the Geminids were largely spoiled by cloud on the night of maximum, and a Full Moon in the sky anyway, I did see a few on Sunday evening before the Moon got too high.

   The next shower is the Ursids, with a radiant not far from Kocab, or Beta Ursa Minoris. It's not one of the major showers, with a usual ZHR of about 10, but there have been significant outbursts, in 1945, 1982, and 1986, so it's always worth watching. The maximum is predicted for Dec 22, and you can see some minor activity from about Dec 18 to 24.

WINTER SOLSTICE. The Sun reaches its maximum Southerly declination on Dec 21d 12h 04m, so if you see it transit at local noon that day it will be just about as far South in the sky as it crosses the meridian as it can ever be. After that the days start getting longer again (in the N Hemisphere). (BTW, I haven't forgotten the 'Equinox Question' I posed back in September, and I WILL get round to publishing the answer one of these days!)

IAA NEW YEAR PARTY: Advance note of the astro-social event of the year: the Irish Astronomical Association's annual New Year Party, which usually coincides fairly closely with Perihelion, rather than some non-astronomical event such as Christmas! The format will be slightly different this year: the main venue will still be the Tudor Private Cinema in Comber Co Down, where we'll have a private screening of a film with an astronomical or space theme (final decision on the choice to be taken at a Council meeting tonight!), but this time we will meet first for a buffet meal in Comber before going to the cinema where we'll provide our own liquid refreshments as before: wine, mulled wine, hot punch, tea, coffee and soft drinks. More details very soon, but note your diaries now: Saturday 3 January, at about 7.30 p.m.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Wednesday 10 December 2008

Lecture, Schools competition, APOD, Geminids, Leonids 2009

 

Hi all,

1. IAA PUBLIC LECTURE: Irish Astronomical Association meeting, Wed 10 December. "Periodic Radio Pluses From Our Cool Neighbours - A New Stellar Lighthouse?" By Prof Gerry Doyle (Armagh Observatory).  7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. Admission free, including light refreshments. All are welcome.

2. Free Astronomical Telescopes for Post Primary Schools!

The International Year of Astronomy begins in January 2009. I want to advise you of an offer from the Society of Popular Astronomy to launch the year by giving away astronomical telescopes to schools completely free of charge. The telescope comes with a CD of instructions for use.

    The idea is to encourage schools to develop an interest in astronomy and to engage young people in discovering the wonders of exploring the night sky. To receive a telescope, each school has to download and complete an application form from the SPA web site www.popastro.com/moonwatch/schools3.php and send it with a submission of not more than 500 words about how the telescope will be used to promote astronomy in the school and community.

   This has been arranged through the good offices of Robert Hill of NI Space Office at the Armagh Planetarium. Robert has also put together some suggestions for the submission to help the drafting of the form. I have included these below. As you will see from the web site, telescopes are given on a first come first served basis, however we have been assured that any post primary school or special school with a post primary department that applies from NI has a very good chance of receiving a telescope, provided application is made within the next week to ten days.

    We intend to mark the event with a launch in the New Year so I would be grateful if you would process your application rapidly and send it to the address in the web site and copy it to me by post or email as the Advisers in the Boards will co-ordinate the distribution along with Robert and the Planetarium staff. I am also investigating the possibility of some training sessions for the use of the telescope.

    You will note that one of the conditions for acceptance is to link with a local astronomer. Armagh Planetarium has agreed to act as the local resource with support from astronomers at the Observatory in this instance. Give the contact as www.armaghplanet.com and your submission to alyson@armaghplanet.com. If you have any queries please contact me. I strongly recommend that you take advantage of this opportunity to acquire a fully functional astronomical telescope.

Best regards

Sean Maguire

Adviser Science & Technology

Project Possibilities for 500 Word Outline

Curriculum: link to Key Stage 3. Underneath the stars and Is there life out there..? thematic units

· Start or enhance astronomy club activities

· Sign up to the free Astrogazers Ireland astronomy schools network in Northern Ireland run by Armagh Planetarium and encourage joint school activities (plus get lots of other free astronomy and space related material throughout the year!)

· Use the telescope to encourage and mentor local primary school (feeder) schools

· Propose a project for the BT Young Scientist and Technology exhibition

· Propose a project for the Seagate Young Innovators exhibition

· School display on astronomy

· Register with a free UK based robotic schools observatory. Either Faulkes Telescope project (www.faulkes-telescope.com) or National Schools Observatory (http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/)

Register with all Ireland astronomy schools competition 2009.

3. APOD: Belated congratulations to Deirdre Kelleghan whose imaginative sketch of the recent occultation of Venus featured on APOD a few days ago: see http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html and look back through the 'Archive'.  Well done Deirdre!

4. GEMINID METEORS: The best annual meteor shower is the Geminids, which are just starting to produce some activity, and are expected to peak this year on December 13th at 18h. Some activity will persist until about Dec 15/16. Unfortunately this year's display will be spoiled by a Full Moon at maximum, but you should still see some of the brighter meteors. The ZHR (Zenithal Hourly Rate: the standard measure of meteor activity) is predicted to be around 100, but you will probably only see about 1/4 of that rate because of the Moonlight. Grab any few hours when the Moon is out of the sky on the days on either side of maximum to get the best view, or if the Moon is up, position yourself so that it is hidden behind a tree or building if possible. The radiant is just North of Castor in Gemini.

5. LEONID MINI-STORM IN 2009? Astronomers from Caltech and NASA are predicting a near-storm of Leonids in 2009 based on a surprising outburst of meteors several weeks ago. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/04dec_leonids2009.htm?list724598

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

Monday 1 December 2008

Conjunction, Occultation of Venus, Lectures

 

Hi all,

1. CLOSE CONJUNCTION OF VENUS, JUPITER & MOON: On the evening of 30 November, Venus will lie just 2° below Jupiter with the Moon 11° to the lower right.

Next evening (1 Dec) the Moon occults Jupiter, with Venus just above right – see below.

On the following evening (2 Dec), Jupiter will lie 2.5°  to the upper right of Venus, with the Moon 11°  to the upper left. All these will be spectacular & beautiful sights, and lovely photo opportunities, especially with the Earthshine on the crescent Moon. Venus and Jupiter are the two brightest 'starlike' objects in the night sky, so this will be a real treat.

And you could also see a passage of the ISS - see www.heavens-above.com for details.

2. MOON OCCULTS VENUS: December 1. The following times are for disappearance and reappearance, to the nearest minute:

Cork: 15.35 – 17.05

Galway: 15.32 – 17.03

Dublin: 15.37 – 17.07

Belfast: 15.37 – 17.07

The times for Belfast & Dublin just happen to be the same, to the nearest minute.

Disappearance will occur at the ENE limb of the Moon. If you can’t actually see the dark (actually Earthlit) portion of the Moon due to sky brightness, just mentally ‘complete the circle’ of the Moon’s outline, to see where the disappearance will occur. Reappearance will be at the West limb of the Moon.

Although disappearance occurs with the Sun above the horizon, both the 13.7% illuminated Moon, and brilliant Venus at magnitude -4.1 should be readily visible if the sky is clear. You should also be able to locate Jupiter 2 degrees to the North in binoculars or a wide field telescope.

The phase of Venus will be about 69%, because it is coming round from Superior Conjunction, on the far side of the Sun. Venus’s diameter will be about 16.5” (arcsecs), so any telescope will show it as a bit more than ‘half full’. Jupiter will be noticeably fainter at magnitude -2.0, but easily visible after Venus has reappeared, when the sky will be darker.

LECTURES:

3. John O'Neill will give a lecture to the IAS in Dunsink Observatory, Castleknock, Dublin, on Monday 1st, at 8 p.m. Entitled "Wonderful Eclipses: The Greatest Saros", it will look at some of the best total solar eclipses to be seen.

4. Tuesday December 2nd: John Lally, TAS, will present the next talk entitled "It's Life Jim, but not as we know it". It takes place in the Presbyterian Church, High Street, Tullamore at 8:00pm.

All are welcome to attend, and admission is €2.00.

Clear Skies,

Terry Moseley