Thursday 29 March 2018

Lecture, Tiangong re-entry, LP survey, AGM, ISS, Yuri's Night, Heavens Above Exhib, COSMOS, & more

Hi all,
 
1. IAA LECTURE,  Wed 4 April, 7.30 p.m. Lecture on Gravitational Waves, by Dr Daniel Williams, University of Glasgow ..TITLE: "The Universe is full of noises: A new perspective from gravitational waves"
  
   This subject is one of the 'New Frontiers' of astronomical research, and the only way of studying the universe which is not part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum!
   Stop Press: A paper to be presented at EWASS next week shows that Gravitational Waves are produced at the centres of most galaxies! The report is embargoed until 3 April, so that's all I can say now!
   ABSTRACT: In September 2015 the Advanced LIGO detectors in the USA made the first detection of gravitational waves from two black holes colliding at close to the speed of light. This discovery was the first astrophysical result to come from a century of theoretical and experimental efforts to take the predictions of Einstein's General Relativity to build a new field of observational astronomy. In the past few years LIGO and other gravitational wave observatories around the world have continued to make new discoveries, including GW170817, the first detection of a binary neutron star coalescence, in August 2017, which was accompanied by observations from fifty electromagnetic observatories. In this talk I'll cover a little of the history of the development of gravitational wave astronomy (and the part that the University of Glasgow had in it), and give you an insider's view on the recent observations which we've made, and on what we believe the future holds for gravitational astronomy."
     Doors open about 7.10 pm. There is free parking available on the campus in the evenings. Admission Free, including light refreshments. We are located in the Bell Theatre, Department of Mathematics and Physics, QUB
  
Wed 4 April, 7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB. Free admission, including light refreshments.  Free parking on QUB campus after 5.30 p.m.
(Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for facilitating this lecture)
 
2. Tiangong-1 Re-entry. Latest prediction is sometime between 30 March and 2 April, probably 1 April.
 
3. Light Pollution: Podcast, article, and Survey
Poll Survey - please help tackle the problem by filling this in: https://orealen.polldaddy.com/s/lightatnight
 
4. IAA AGM & Lecture, Wed 18 April.
The AGM will comprise the usual reports, presentation of accounts, and election of President, officers, and other Council members. On previous occasions we have added other attractions such as a Bring & Buy sale, an Auction, and a short film. This year we are lucky in that the AGM coincides with a major solar conference being held by the Astrophysics Research Centre at QUB, and Prof Mathioudakis kindly suggested that one of the visiting experts would give us a short talk on a solar topic. For various time and logistical reasons that will be the first event of the evening, starting at 7.30 sharp. That will then be followed by the AGM itself, commencing at about 8.15.
   More details later.
 
5. ISS. A new series of evening passes over Ireland commenced on 25 March. Details as always are available free on www.heavens-above.com, along with lots of other useful information.
 
6. Inspire Space Yuri's Night Event, April 12.
We are organising a Yuri's Night Party for April 12th in Dublin - dressing up is encouraged :) If you know anyone who would be interested please do let them know. Unfortunately we have to charge in for this event - the info and tickets can be found here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/yuris-night-space-masquerade-ball-tickets-43443585935 
 
 
7. HEAVENS ABOVE PHOTO EXHIBITION at BCH. The IAA's highly rated astrophoto exhibition "Heavens Above" is now in the Tower Gallery, ground floor of the Tower Block, Belfast City Hospital, and will run there until 9 April. Thanks again to Bernie Brown for arranging this venue, and setting up. See
 
8.  European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences (EWASS2018).  This will be in Liverpool, from 3 to 8 April 2018. See http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/index.jsp and http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/
 
9. Yuri's Night,  Date: 12 April,  All around the world. More information: https://yurisnight.net/
 
10. COSMOS 2018, Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone, 13-15 April. More details soon on. https://www.facebook.com/Cosmos2018/
 
11. Global Astronomy Month, April 2018
Date: April 2018. Location: All around the world. More information: http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/ 
 
12. Earth Day: 21 April
 
13. Tallaght IT has now rescheduled their "The Citizen and Space" evening for April 25th.
 
14, International Day of Light – Call for astronomy programs
UNESCO will inaugurate the first International Day of Light at their headquarters in Paris, France, on 16 May 2018. The many events taking place worldwide on this day aim to raise awareness of both the many ways that light impacts modern society, and of how advances in light-based science and technology can help us achieve educational and sustainable development goals. In addition to encouraging you to take part in these events, we're calling out to all organisers of astronomy-related events around the world so we can highlight your activities through our channels. If you're planning any International Day of Light activities related to astronomy, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
 
15. National Schools' Observatory  Inquiry-Based Science Projects for Astronomy Students
Launched in 2004, the National Schools' Observatory (NSO) provides free access to the two-metre Liverpool Telescope for school students and teachers throughout the UK and Ireland, and reduced access to anyone worldwide. It currently has over 4,000 users regularly engaging with the website resources and over 125,000 telescope observations requested since inception. As part of these resources, the NSO has developed an extended research activity on open clusters providing students with background material, research-grade data and instructions allowing them to produce their own Colour-Magnitude (or Hertzsprung-Russell) diagrams. Students are then encouraged to upload and discuss their results within a forum.  Find the start page of the activity here https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/discover/projects/clusters/main
 
16. Globe at Night Campaigns
Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure night-sky brightness and submit their observations. It's easy to get involved—all you need is a computer or smartphone. Don't miss any of the ongoing Globe at Night 2018 campaigns at https://www.globeatnight.org/5-steps.php.
 
17. International Day of Light: 16 May 2018. Around the world. More Information: https://www.lightday.org/. A good opportunity to highlight (!) light-pollution! And promote Earth Hour as well.
Register your event by filling out the form: http://bit.ly/2xLvvDK

18. Solarfest, Dunsink Observatory, Dublin, 15-17 June (main event on 16th)
 
19. IAA Midsummer BBQ, 23 June (tbc)
 
20. Asteroid Day: 30 June 2018: Around the world More Information: http://asteroidday.org/
 
21. International Planetarium Society,  1–6 July 2018, Toulouse, France. More Information: http://www.ips-planetarium.org/page/IPS2018Toulouse  
 
Advance Notice:
22. Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) & InterNational Astronomy Teaching Summit Conferences, 23-27 July 2018. The 2nd annual Conference on Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) will be held in Hilo, Hawai'i from July 23-25, 2018. This conference series focuses on building a sustainable community around the educational, technical, and student research uses of robotic telescopes. The conference will be co-located with the interNational Astronomy Teaching Summit (iNATS) from July 25-27, 2018 providing worldwide networking opportunities and hands-on workshops designed to expand educators' teaching strategy toolkit designed for innovative astronomy professors, teachers, and outreach professionals.  Find more information here: http://rtsre.net/ 
 
23. Festival of Curiosity, Dublin: 19 – 22 July.
 
24. SOLAR ECLIPSE CONFERENCE, 2018. We are happy to announce that it's now possible to register for the
Solar Eclipse Conference 2018 which will take place from August 2nd to August 5th in Genk (Belgium)!
Those who decide now can enjoy an early bird discount (€ 190,- instead of € 220,- for the full congress). Day tickets are also available (€ 75,00 per day).
   We've also got 5 partner hotels. Book your stay by clicking on the link on our website and receive the special SEC2018 rate.
   To view the lecture schedule or to purchase tickets, please visit our web site:
www.sec2018.be <http://www.sec2018.be>.
 
25. Inspiring Stars—the IAU Inclusive World Exhibition, 20-31 August 2018
"Inspiring Stars" will be an itinerant international exhibition promoted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to disseminate world efforts on inclusive research and outreach activities in astronomy. This inclusive world exhibition by showcasing assistive research tools and best inclusive outreach practices intends to broaden the horizons of children, parents, teachers and astronomers—everybody can become a scientist (astronomer)—inspiring the love for science in young people's minds. 
The exhibition will premiere during the IAU General Assembly 2018 in Vienna, from 20–31 August and will be shown around the world. Stay tuned as we keep you posted on all the progress of this IAU not-to-be-missed project for 2018!
 
 
26. World Space Week 2018: 4-10 October 2018: http://www.worldspaceweek.org 

27.  International Observe the Moon Night: 20 October 2018: 
http://observethemoonnight.org/  
 
28: Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 2-4 November www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie FACEBOOK:        www.facebook.com/mayodarkskies
29. Centenary of IAU in 2019:  IAU100: Uniting our World to Explore the Universe
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU will organize a year-long celebration to expand awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development, and diplomacy under the central theme "Uniting our World to Explore the Universe". The celebrations will stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science and will reach out to the global astronomical community, national science organizations and societies, policy-makers, students and families, and the general public.
   For any inquiries, please contact Jorge Rivero González, the IAU100 Coordinator at: rivero[at]strw.leidenuniv.nl
30. Starmus V — Star-studded Lineup for 2019  
Created by Garik Israelian, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), the Starmus Festival is a combination of science, art and music that has featured presentations from astronauts, cosmonauts, Nobel Prize winners and other prominent figures from science, culture, the arts and music. Now celebrating its fifth year, and timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, Starmus V will take place in Bern, Switzerland, from 24 to 29 June 2019. The IAU is a partner organisation of Starmus and among the confirmed speakers will be IAU Secretary General, Piero Benvenuti, and IAU President-elect, Ewine van Dishoeck.  IAU announcement: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann18007/ 
 
31. 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
 
New instrument to solve the neutrino antimatter mystery https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180326140232.htm 

EARTH and Moon:
 
EXOPLANETS:
New Very Hot 'Mercury' discovered. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180327132014.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29 Interesting comparison – they say it's as dense as Mercury, yet Mercury is not as dense as Earth: 5.44 vs 5.517.
 
IMAGES:
 
SOLAR SYSTEM
What 'Oumuamua can tell us https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180327102811.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Ftop_news%2Ftop_science+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Top+Science+News%29 (Yes, I know it's not strictly one of our SS objects, but it was temporarily! I wonder is the Thomas Barclay quoted the guy who was at Armagh Observatory for a few years?)
 
SPACE
Follow the re-entry burn-up predictions for Tiangong-1  Chinese Space station here http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/2018/01/12/tiangong-1-reentry-updates/
https://mail.aol.com/webmail-std/en-gb/DisplayMessage?ws_popup=true&ws_suite=true Well done Curiosity, but what's "a ways to go"? - "a" describes the singular, but "ways" is plural. It should be "a way to go"! Or can we expect "A walks in the wood" in the future?!
The Mercury astronauts taught us that humans could survive in space. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180327141707.htm Eh? No, they didn't. - The Russians had already done that, with Gagarin, Titov, etc. Titov orbited the Earth 17 times before the Americans had got even one orbital flight!
 
SUN:
Excellent 2017 TSE video & documentary https://vimeo.com/255651293
Eclipse megamovie: https://eclipsemega.movie/
 
Telescopes, Instruments etc.
 
 
33. 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
www.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

 

Wednesday 7 March 2018

Lecture tonight, Job, New talk, Venus & Merc, ISS, ZL, Lunar Occ, Photos, COSMOS, Events diary


Hi all,
 
1. IAA LECTURE,  Wed 7 March, 7.30 p.m. ". "Mars Sample Return Technology: development and testing in Antarctica" by Dr Patrick Harkness, University of Glasgow.
   We are very lucky to have one of our own IAA members, Dr Patrick Harkness, come from Glasgow to give us this talk. Patrick is testing the techniques and technology to be used in returning samples from Mars for analysis back on Earth. The closest we have on Earth to the conditions on Mars are to be found in Antarctica, and so that's where the testing is being carried out.
   See this BBC film narrated by Patrick Harkness as background http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-25642391
SYNOPSIS UPDATE
Although the testing of the equipment and techniques is being done on Mars, the talk will of course focus on Mars – including what the technical challenges are, such as: Low gravity means low weight-on-bit, dust means you can't use screw threads very easily, working near the triple point makes you prone to freeze-in, sample preservation means you can't just throw power at the problem.
   To get samples from Mars, robotic rovers will have to drill into Martian rocks. Planetary drilling is more difficult than drilling on Earth. Low gravity reduces the possible weight-on-bit, and freezing conditions can seize the bit downhole. Furthermore, to reach any depth, it will be necessary to assemble the drillstring in-situ, which is a challenging task for robotic systems. This talk will discuss a recently-concluded technology development programme which created a testbed for a range of low-force drilling and sample caching systems, before testing those systems at a field analogue site in Antarctica. Interestingly, because polar exploration also requires low-force drilling in freezing conditions, the technology is currently being spun out to the British Antarctic Survey. We are now working to deploy a larger version back to West Antarctica, as part of a scientific sampling programme, as early as January 2019. The lessons learned from this programme, in turn, will inform research with respect to larger-scale planetary drilling in the future.
 This is a unique chance to learn about this fascinating experiment, so we will all be much better informed than most people on this groundbreaking technology.
     Doors open about 7.15pm. There is free parking available on the campus in the evenings. Admission Free, including light refreshments. We are located in the Bell Theatre, Department of Mathematics and Physics, QUB
  
Wed 7 March, 7.30 p.m., Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, QUB. Free admission, including light refreshments.  Free parking on QUB campus after 5.30 p.m.
(Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for facilitating this lecture)
 
2. Job Advertisement: Closing Date 9th March 2018
Astronomical Accuracy and Events Position:  iCandi Apps Ltd.
   (Sorry for the short notice – I've just learned of this from John Flannery)
iCandi Apps Ltd. the company behind the very popular app "Night Sky", is advertising for somebody who is passionate about astronomy and mobile technology to work with us on a freelance basis. Whether this be in your full time career and you want an opportunity to share your passion with millions, or a hobby you are very enthusiasticabout and wish you had a job in astronomy.
   We need the applicant to be responsible for delivering astronomical   event updates when required, and monthly updates about astronomical items of interest for the upcoming month, whilst also being responsible of the astronomical accuracy of the Night Sky app overall. Additionally you will provide smaller articles prior to space events taking place, this could be for items such as meteor showers, or less predictable articles such as rocket launches.  You should share our aim in making the content within Night Sky the "go to" source for iOS users for anything to do with space.
   In return we will offer you an opportunity to be part of a small but dynamic and exciting team.  Working to keep our millions of users worldwide up to date with space, and enabling them to actually discover these items with the power of Night Sky.
   More information about the Night Sky app and this opportunity, (including how to apply), can be found at;
https://www.icandiapps.com/icandiapps/jobs/
 
3. IAA Programme Change, Wed 21 March: - Advance notice
We're absolutely delighted that Prof Alan Fitzsimmons of the ARC at QUB  has agreed to give us a special up-to-the-minute lecture on one of the most amazing of recernt astronomical discoveries: A visitor from another stellar system somewhere in our galaxy! You may have seen or heard Alan on both local and national media talking about this mysteriouis object, on which he and his team were leading researchers.
TITLE: "First Contact: Uncovering An Interstellar Visitor".
Synopsis: On 19 October 2017 an Interstellar Object was spotted passing through our Solar system, the first of its kind to be discovered. With little warning, astronomers had only a few days to study it before it became too faint for detailed investigation, even when using the world's largest telescopes. Studies revealed a body that matched some of our expectations, but that differed significantly in other aspects. This talk will cover how it was discovered, and what we have learned so far
.
 
4. Venus and Mercury come out into evening twilight:
Venus, the brilliant Evening Star, is becoming visible as an 'evening star' from Ireland now. The ancient Greeks called it Hesperos when it was in the evening sky, and Phosphorus or Eosphorus, meaning 'dawn-bringer' when it was in the morning sky. And it will soon be followed, and overtaken by, swift Mercury, the innermost planet.
   Venus is visible low in the SW evening twilight at mag -3.9, with an elongation from the Sun of 13º, and phase 98%. It moves out gradually further from the Sun, and thus higher in the evening twilight, and brightens as well, over the coming weeks
    Many people have never seen Mercury, as it always appears close to the Sun in the sky, and thus only ever visible in twilight, from our latitudes at least.
But now's your chance. Mercury has an excellent evening elongation in March. It followed Venus out from the bright SW evening twilight until it caught up with it on March 3. Venus is be mag -3.9, while Mercury is around 1st mag:   Over the next week it will climb higher above Venus, reaching a maximum of 4º above and slightly right of it on 14 March, although by then it will have faded to mag -0.3. However, as it will be much higher up than at the end of February, it will be much easier to see.
 
5. ISS. The ISS continues its series of morning passes over Ireland, which will continue until 18 March. Details as usual on the excellent free site www.heavens-above.com, along with lots of other information. A new series of evening passes will then commence on 25 March; a much shorter break than usual – can you work out why?
 
6. Zodiacal Light: To avoid moonlight, the best chance to see this faint cone of light along the ecliptic in the Western evening sky will be from March 10 to Mar 18. You'll need to have a very clear dark sky to see it. Look just as the last vestiges of twilight are disappearing.
 
7. LUNAR OCCULTATION, March 22:
On March 22 the waxing crescent (32%) Moon occults Aldebaran at 23.34 in a dark sky, although it will be fairly low down in the West, altitude a bit less than 10 degrees. From other locations it will occur a bit later: in Dublin at 23.38, Galway at 23.39, and Cork at 23.42. You'll see the Earthlit part of the Moon slowly creeping up to the star, and then – it's gone!
    The event is really instantaneous: the star will literally disappear in a tiny fraction of a second, so it really is a case of 'blink and you'll miss it'. It's a nice proof that almost all stars really are just point sources of light, as seen from distances of many light years.
   Look up to about 10 minutes earlier than those times to be safe.
 
8. HEAVENS ABOVE PHOTO EXHIBITION opened at BCH, 27 Feb. The IAA's highly rated astrophoto exhibition "Heavens Above" moved to a new venue on 27 February. It's in the Tower Gallery, ground floor of the Tower Block, Belfast City Hospital, and will run there until 9 April. Thanks again to Bernie Brown for arranging this venue, and setting up.
 
9.  International Day of Light – Call for astronomy programs
UNESCO will inaugurate the first International Day of Light at their headquarters in Paris, France, on 16 May 2018. The many events taking place worldwide on this day aim to raise awareness of both the many ways that light impacts modern society, and of how advances in light-based science and technology can help us achieve educational and sustainable development goals. In addition to encouraging you to take part in these events, we're calling out to all organisers of astronomy-related events around the world so we can highlight your activities through our channels. If you're planning any International Day of Light activities related to astronomy, please let us know via outreach@iau.org.
 
10. National Schools' Observatory  Inquiry-Based Science Projects for Astronomy Students
Launched in 2004, the National Schools' Observatory (NSO) provides free access to the two-metre Liverpool Telescope for school students and teachers throughout the UK and Ireland, and reduced access to anyone worldwide. It currently has over 4,000 users regularly engaging with the website resources and over 125,000 telescope observations requested since inception. As part of these resources, the NSO has developed an extended research activity on open clusters providing students with background material, research-grade data and instructions allowing them to produce their own Colour-Magnitude (or Hertzsprung-Russell) diagrams. Students are then encouraged to upload and discuss their results within a forum.  Find the start page of the activity here https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/discover/projects/clusters/main
 
11. Globe at Night Campaigns
Globe at Night is an international citizen-science campaign to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution by inviting citizen-scientists to measure night-sky brightness and submit their observations. It's easy to get involved—all you need is a computer or smartphone. Don't miss any of the ongoing Globe at Night 2018 campaigns at https://www.globeatnight.org/5-steps.php.
 
12. Global Astronomy Month, April 2018
Date: April 2018. Location: All around the world. More information: http://www.astronomerswithoutborders.org/ 
 
13. Yuri's Night,
Yuri's Night, Date: 12 April,  All around the world. More information: https://yurisnight.net/
 
14. COSMOS 2018, Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone, 13-15 April. More details soon on. https://www.facebook.com/Cosmos2018/

15.  European Week of Astronomy and Space Sciences (EWASS2018).  This will be in Liverpool, from 3 to 8 April 2018. See http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/index.jsp and http://eas.unige.ch/EWASS2018/
 
16. International Day of Light: 16 May 2018. Around the world. More Information: https://www.lightday.org/. A good opportunity to highlight (!) light-pollution! And promote Earth Hour as well.
Register your event by filling out the form: http://bit.ly/2xLvvDK

17. Asteroid Day: 30 June 2018: Around the world More Information: http://asteroidday.org/
 
18. International Planetarium Society,  1–6 July 2018, Toulouse, France. More Information: http://www.ips-planetarium.org/page/IPS2018Toulouse  
 
19.  Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal Issue 23 is now out! 
The 23rd issue of the Communicating Astronomy with the Public journal is now available. In this issue, you will discover upcoming plans for IAU's 100th year anniversary celebrations, interesting first results of studies on astronomy's influence on children's behaviour, and original ways of using gastronomy to conduct astronomy outreach. CAPjournal is a free, peer-reviewed journal for astronomy communicators published by the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ).
 
Advance Notice:
20. Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) & InterNational Astronomy Teaching Summit Conferences, 23-27 July 2018. The 2nd annual Conference on Robotic Telescopes, Student Research and Education (RTSRE) will be held in Hilo, Hawai'i from July 23-25, 2018. This conference series focuses on building a sustainable community around the educational, technical, and student research uses of robotic telescopes. The conference will be co-located with the interNational Astronomy Teaching Summit (iNATS) from July 25-27, 2018 providing worldwide networking opportunities and hands-on workshops designed to expand educators' teaching strategy toolkit designed for innovative astronomy professors, teachers, and outreach professionals.  Find more information here: http://rtsre.net/ 
21. Inspiring Stars—the IAU Inclusive World Exhibition, 20-31 August 2018
"Inspiring Stars" will be an itinerant international exhibition promoted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to disseminate world efforts on inclusive research and outreach activities in astronomy. This inclusive world exhibition by showcasing assistive research tools and best inclusive outreach practices intends to broaden the horizons of children, parents, teachers and astronomers—everybody can become a scientist (astronomer)—inspiring the love for science in young people's minds. 
The exhibition will premiere during the IAU General Assembly 2018 in Vienna, from 20–31 August and will be shown around the world. Stay tuned as we keep you posted on all the progress of this IAU not-to-be-missed project for 2018!
 
 
22. World Space Week 2018: 4-10 October 2018: http://www.worldspaceweek.org 

23.  International Observe the Moon Night: 20 October 2018: http://observethemoonnight.org/  
 
24: Mayo Dark Sky Festival, 2-4 November www.mayodarkskyfestival.ie FACEBOOK:        www.facebook.com/mayodarkskies
 
25. Centenary of IAU in 2019:  IAU100: Uniting our World to Explore the Universe
In 2019, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will celebrate its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the IAU will organize a year-long celebration to expand awareness of a century of astronomical discoveries as well as to support and improve the use of astronomy as a tool for education, development, and diplomacy under the central theme "Uniting our World to Explore the Universe". The celebrations will stimulate worldwide interest in astronomy and science and will reach out to the global astronomical community, national science organizations and societies, policy-makers, students and families, and the general public.
   For any inquiries, please contact Jorge Rivero González, the IAU100 Coordinator at: rivero[at]strw.leidenuniv.nl
26. Starmus V — Star-studded Lineup for 2019  
Created by Garik Israelian, a researcher at the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC), the Starmus Festival is a combination of science, art and music that has featured presentations from astronauts, cosmonauts, Nobel Prize winners and other prominent figures from science, culture, the arts and music. Now celebrating its fifth year, and timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Moon landings, Starmus V will take place in Bern, Switzerland, from 24 to 29 June 2019. The IAU is a partner organisation of Starmus and among the confirmed speakers will be IAU Secretary General, Piero Benvenuti, and IAU President-elect, Ewine van Dishoeck.  IAU announcement: https://www.iau.org/news/announcements/detail/ann18007/ 
 
27. 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
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5450231/Black-holes-turn-mini-Neptunes-rocky-super-Earths.html Great. Now let's just move the planet a few light years away from the BH!
Models of microlensed SNae will solve cosmic riddle https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180301094807.htm
 
The thermodynamics of the birth of the universe: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180306141602.htm

EARTH and Moon:
Increase in Cosmic Rays poses space hazard http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017SW001803/abstract
 
EXOPLANETS:
HST studies exoplanet atmosphere in greater detail than ever before https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180301144131.htm
 
SETI:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5442055/Intelligent-aliens-HACK-computers-report-warns.html Scientists "could" find intelligent life in the next few decades. "Could" is a wonderful word. It's also so vague that it's useless.  They 'could' find intelligent life in the next few seconds. But it's not likely. Alternatively, it 'could' be within the next few centuries. Or millennia. Or never.
 
SOLAR SYSTEM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5462711/Nasa-cover-life-Mars.html Poor old NASA (as it should be) – it's responsible for more cover-ups than all the paint in B&Q, according to some! Actually, if there was definite proof of past multicellular life on Mars, they would be shouting it from the rooftops!
   Comet 67/P C-G's binary structure may be recent; https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180305142543.htm
 
SPACE
Increase in Cosmic Rays poses space hazard  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017SW001803/abstract
   https://newatlas.com/air-breathing-electric-thruster/53671/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=c4175ce3b0-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-c4175ce3b0-92786061 This would also allow Earth satellites to operate in lower orbits than before, making use of the very thin upper atmosphere instead of fighting against it!
 
SUN:
QUB's Astrophysics Research Centre scientists make major breakthrough in understanding the Sun: https://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedaily.com%2Freleases%2F2018%2F03%2F180306093302.htm
 
28. TWITTER Follow the IAA on Twitter: @IaaAstro.
 
29. 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
www.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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