Tuesday 9 March 2010

IAA Lecture, ISS, QUB Lecture, Schools Rocket Challenge, ASGI‏

Hi all,

1. NEXT IAA LECTURE, 10 March: The next of the Irish Astronomical Association's public lectures will be given by Colin Johnston, of Armagh Planetarium. Colin writes the Planetarium's excellent monthly Astronotes
His talk is entitled "Deep Time, and will cover the entire history the Sun, Earth and Solar System, and indeed of the whole universe! And if that's not enough, he will look into the future, explaining how we think it will all end. This is sure to be a fascinating talk. It's on WEDNESDAY 10 March, at 7.30 p.m., in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. ADMISSION IS FREE, as always, and includes light refreshments. Everyone is welcome! Full details of the rest of the programme are on the website: www.irishastro.org

2. ISS: The ISS is now making another series of evening passes over Ireland. details for your location are one www.heavens-above.com

3. QUB PUBLIC LECTURE: "Is There No Place Like Home? - Our place in the solar system".
Professor Carl D. Murray, Astronomy Unit, School of Mathematical Sciences
Queen Mary College, University of London
Room G07 Peter Froggatt Centre. Main Site, Queen’s University Belfast
7.00pm Monday 15th March 2010.
Please come early, Admission on first come basis.
Carl Murray is a key scientist in the imaging team of the Cassini-Huygens project which is a joint NASA/ESA robotic spacecraft mission currently studying the planet Saturn, its moons and rings. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm
See “Image mosaics reveal structure of Saturn's outermost ring” in Nature
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v453/n7196/full/7196xa.html
He is interested in all aspects of solar system dynamics, from the motion of cosmic dust particles to the stability of planetary orbits.
“The structures we observe with Cassini are strikingly similar to those seen in many numerical models of the early stages of planetary formation, even though the scales are dramatically different. Cassini is giving us a unique insight into the origin of planets.”


4. UK ROCKET CHALLENGE: The UK Rocket Challenge awareness morning is being hosted by Victoria College, Cranmore Park, Belfast on 24th March, 10.00 - 12.00.
This is an excellent opportunity to learn about this exciting hands-on STEM activity that encourages team work and skills development for secondary school pupils whilst having fun. Super for NI pupils!
Please note that this event is very much on a first come first served basis due to room limitations at Victoria so please reply to Andy Willis (andy@spaceconnections.net) if you are interested as soon as possible. Deadline for reply: Thursday 11 March
Details from: Robert Hill, Northern Ireland Space Office, Armagh Planetarium Tel: +44(0)7929278501. Fax: +44(0)2837526187 www.armaghplanet.com www.spaceconnections.net

5. ASGI SPRING MEETING, BELFAST: The ASGI Spring Meeting will take place in Queens University, Belfast, on Monday 29th March 2010. There still exists an opportunity to present your research with some timeslots still available in the agenda. Again this is an ideal opportunity for graduate students to present their work and remember that if you do not wish to give a talk yourself, the ASGI meetings offer excellent opportunities to meet your colleagues working in the area of astronomy and astrophysics. More details about arranging a talk can be found at http://star.arm.ac.uk/asgi/qub2010/Welcome.html. We hope to finalise the programme soon so contact Chris Watson at QUB c.a.watson@qub.ac.uk as soon as possible to secure a timeslot.

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley