Hi all,
Hope everyone has been enjoying the clear spells some of these evenings and having a peek at Mars which I noticed late last night shining brightly high up in the southern sky. Some fine pictures have been snapped of the planet by members of the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies (IFAS) and posted to their site at www.irishastronomy.org
Astrofest in Galway (12th to 13th of February)
Galway Astronomy Club’s Astrofest kicks off tomorrow night (Friday, 12th) at 7:30pm in the Westwood House Hotel with two speakers penciled in for the evening while a full day of lectures will be held on the Saturday. The quality of lectures is always excellent and the event is an opportunity to meet fellow amateur astronomers from around the country. Some trade stands will also be in attendance. More details can be found at http://galwayastronomyclub.ie/ and http://galwayastronomyclub.blogspot.com/
Other sky events
Venus and Jupiter almost embrace on Valentine’s Day when the pair lie less than half a degree apart very low above the west-southwest skyline just 30 minutes after sunset. A 15-hour old slender crescent Moon might be spotted nearby but you may have to slowly scan the horizon with binoculars (wait until 30 minutes after sunset to start looking lest you accidentally sweep up the Sun while scanning the sky.)
The Moon passes through the outer edges of the Pleiades star cluster in Taurus on the evening of February 21st — more details in our Sky-Guide 2010 booklet which can be downloaded from www.irishastronomy.org
The Sun is currently sporting an elongated spot group and it is very impressive. More details and photos at www.spaceweather.com
The brighest asteroid Vesta reaches opposition on February 18th in Leo when it will be an easily binocular object shining at magnitude 6.1. Vesta was the fourth minor planet discovered and lies in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. The DAWN spacecraft is currently en-route to encounter Vesta in July 2011 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_(spacecraft) ) where it will spend a year studying the rocky body. DAWN then heads for Ceres, the largest asteroid, arriving there in February 2015. Sky and Telescope magazine have observing notes (including a chart) about Vesta’s opposition this month at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/80433142.html
The ISS is currently making a series of MORNING passes over Ireland and predictions can be generated from www.heavens-above.com — STS 130 Endeavour is currently docked to the station. More details on the mission at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STS-130
Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) made it off the ground and into orbit earlier today. The mission is designed to study the Sun and it’s effects on the near-Earth environment. More details about it’s mission are at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Dynamics_Observatory
Sunday, February 14th also marks the day Voyager 1 completed it’s famous “Portrait of the Solar System”. This led to Carl Sagan’s book Pale Blue Dot, a paean to cherish the Earth and be more kind to one another. The opening part of Sagan’s essay is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pale_blue_dot and the actual sequence of photos at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_Portrait_(Voyager)
NEXT SDAS lecture, 4 March
The next SDAS lecture in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh will be given by Terry Moseley of the IAA and is held in conjunction with the IAS. The talk on the night will be how our ancestors viewed the heavens. More details will be sent out closer to the date.
NEXT IAS lecture, 15 February
The next Irish Astronomical Society lecture is on Monday, February 15th in Dunsink Observatory. No details are available yet of the speaker but more information will be posted to http://www.irishastrosoc.org/
Did you see the fireball last week?
I was stopped at the corner of Milltown Road/Clonskeagh Road in south Dublin near 6pm when the fireball shot towards the northern skyline just in front of me! There was a moment’s hesitation before I realized what it was! The greenish colour with orange sparks of material shed by the main mass of the object was very obvious. I’d estimate the centre was about as bright as Venus though I’ve seen some reports of the fireball being brighter than the Full Moon. There seems to be some debate as to whether any pieces fell to Earth. Astronomy Ireland have collated numerous reports and recently suggested that the meteorite may have landed in Donegal. It was hard to judge from my location how significant an object it was as I was in the car at the time and its possible the fireball was much brighter further north of Dublin. Still, it was a nice surprise!
If you did see the fireball then Terry Moseley ( terrymosel@aol.com ) is asking for your report to be sent to him. The following will help you jot down any details you might recall.
BRIGHT FIREBALL OVER IRELAND – LATEST:
I’ve received scores and scores of reports on the very bright fireball which was seen over a large part of Ireland on Wednesday 3rd, at about 6 p.m. Thanks to all who sent them, or forwarded them.
Reports have been received from all over the country, from Cork and Kerry to Sligo, Fermanagh, Tyrone, L/Derry and Donegal, and from Dublin to Clare.
Latest indications are that any possible meteorite fall would have been in the Northwest – possibly Donegal, West Co Derry, West Tyrone, or maybe in the sea
Since there is a possibility of a meteorite fall, the more detail we have, the better chance we have of finding it. If you saw it, or know anyone who did, please send in as much detail as possible, preferably including your best estimates of as many of the following as possible:
Exact Time
Your Location
Direction you were facing
Direction the fireball moved (e.g. Left to Right, if you know what direction you were facing) or NE to SW, or S to N, etc)
Height of the fireball above your horizon at start, highest point, and end of its visibility. You can estimate that in degrees if you have the experience, where 0 degrees is the horizon and 90 degrees is overhead. Otherwise, say something like ‘halfway (or quarter way, or whatever) from the horizon to the zenith (overhead point)
How bright was it, compared to a full moon?
For how long was it visible, in seconds?
How far across the sky did you see it travel – e.g. halfway? quarter way? Less? More?
Did you hear any sounds, like bangs, or pops, or crackling?
Did you see it break up, or any pieces fall off it?
Did you see it fade away to nothing, or did you see it disappear behind a building, or tree, or hill etc?
All the best,
John
