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From South Dublin Astronomical Society
News Archive for 2006 2005
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News from November 2006
14th November 2006
The Skynotes for November and December 2006 are now updated! We have also sent out a newsletter by e-mail to the membership. Send a note to us if you would like to be added to our mailing list.
13th November 2006
The links page update is still ongoing but already has a vast amount of sites listed within various categories. Do check it out and drop me a line if you've got a favourite page you'd like to see included.
Many thanks to Cian MacMahon and Al White for two great talks last Thursday night. Our next meeting on December 7th is our usual Christmas party night with food supplied and a couple of short talks.
Observing this weekend is at Cloon Wood, weather permitting. There is a slight prospect of enhanced rates of Leonid meteors on the morning of November 19th. If clear, we will pick a site further south of Dublin to get darker skies. More on the Leonid predictions on Armagh Observatory's Leonid page.
In the next day or so I will have sky notes for November and December uploaded.
Arcturus, the IFAS magazine, can now be downloaded. The November/December 2006 issue features articles on the 1006 supernova, observing the lunar crater named after the 3rd Earl of Rosse, and the search for Dark Matter. Happy reading!
News from October 2006
29th October 2006
I am currently doing a major update of the Links page of this web site. It is a work-in-progress over the next week but if there is a favourite site you have and would like to share with the membership then drop me a line and I'll include it. The links are broken down in to numerous categories also ... it's only about 25% complete so far.
25th October 2006
MEETING DATE CHANGED Our November meeting is changed to Thursday, 9th November at 8pm in Gonzaga College in Ranelagh. The original date fell during mid-term break for the school. Al White, currently Vice-Chairperson of the Irish Light Pollution Awareness Campaign (ILPAC), will give a talk on Light Pollution. All welcome and no cover charge.
Eye on the Sky
Comet C/2006 M4 (SWAN) continues its trek across the heavens and IS IN OUTBURST! It is currently around magnitude 4.5 and is visible in the evening and early morning skies. The comet is in the same binocular field of view as the globular cluster M13 from October 27th to 29th. Don't miss it! Click on the Skynotes tab on the left navigation menu to get more details of what's up in Irish skies this month.
The BAA comet section is at http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/
A finder chart is on http://www.nightskyinfo.com/
Also click on "Comets this month" at http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Some fine photos and an ephemeris are at; http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2006M4/2006M4.html and http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2006M4/pictures.html
Other meetings
A couple of items clipped from Terry Moseley's mailing list;
- A public lecture titled "Our Galaxy in Three Dimensions" will be given by Prof Michael Perryman, (ESA), in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin on Monday, 6th November at 7pm. Using special projection, and 3-d glasses, you will be able to see the 3-D distribution of stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Admission is free but by ticket only: book at www.rds.ie/science/lectures or tel (01) 240 7244.
- "A Tale of Two Planets: Earth, Mars and Life" is the title of a talk to be given by Prof Andy Knoll (Harvard University) at 6pm in the Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, on Thursday, November 9th. Admission is free but by ticket only: book at www.ria.ie. A small number of tickets will also be available by phoning (01) 676 2570.
Observing nights
We've been a bit unlucky with our two planned observing nights so far but maybe the astronomy muses will smile kindly on us for the next scheduled outings (an awesome aurora display would be nice!) We'll post details closer to the time of how to get in touch about these observing nights. The dates for the rest of the year are;
Friday, November 17th 2006 (Leonid meteor shower peaks in the early hours of Friday). Friday, December 15th 2006 (we'll meet the night of the Geminid maximum on Dec 13/14 too).
SDAS library
You can find our library at http://www.southdublinastronomy.org/wiki/Library ... drop me a note if you would like to borrow any book. It regularly has new books added to the list. The main themes of the library are astronomical history, deep-sky and lunar observing, astronomy with the unaided eye, atmospheric phenomena, mythology and sky folklore, binocular astronomy, reference books, and much more.
As always, feel free to get in touch if you've any query about the club or if you would like to circulate any item to the wider membership.
John (Flannery) 086-8181931
News from September 2006
6th September 2006, Talk on Podcasts
This from Cian Mac Mahon, who puts together the SDAS Podcast: Hi again, just to let you lot of podcasties know that I will be doing a talk on "Podcasting: Stars online" (how podcasts can change the way we look at astronomy) at September 18th, Ely House, 8 Ely Place, Dublin 2 at 8pm for the Irish Astronomical Society. If you want to know how I podcast just turn up and ask me there (Admission is free for IAS members. Charge for non-members is €2). ~Cian Mac Mahon
6th September 2006, Observing Nights and meeting reminder
Meeting tomorrow night, September 7th at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh is "Charles Messier and his Catalogue". Come along at 7:45pm if the skies are clear to catch the partial lunar eclipse at Moonrise (more details further down this page). A comprehensive site with a vast amount of information on Charles Messier and the Messier Catalogue is at http://www.seds.org/messier/
The SDAS will host club observing nights on the following dates between September 2006 and December 2006. The fact we are at the whim Irish weather means it is often difficult to find a night where are guaranteed clear skies but to set definite dates means people know well in advance that a group of us will be down at our current site in the car park at Cloon Wood (on the Enniskerry to Glencree Road -- OS Sheet 56).
The arrangement each night is to ring John Flannery on 086-8181931 between 4pm and 6pm on the Friday evening to see if the observing night will go ahead (just in case there's a hurricane sweeping through the Dublin area!) If the observing session has a green light, then we'll meet up at the Monument in Enniskerry village at 8pm and drive up to Cloon from there (if you know the way, then just go direct to Cloon Wood). If Friday night is cloudy then the same arrangements apply for Saturday night. Members often arrange other observing nights between themselves so turn up at a meeting and scope out the possibility of linking up with other observers. Here's hoping for clear skies!
The dates for the rest of the year are;
Friday, September 22nd 2006. Friday, October 20th 2006 (Orionid meteor shower peaks the following night). Friday, November 17th 2006 (Leonid meteor shower peaks in the early hours of Friday). Friday, December 15th 2006 (we'll meet the night of the Geminid maximum on Dec 13/14 too).
1st September 2006, Partial Lunar Eclipse on the night of our first meeting
Next Thursday's meeting (September 7th) coincides with a partial eclipse of the Moon!
Details on Fred Espenak's eclipse web site ( http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/OH/OH2006.html );
Moonrise is at 18:48 UT which means it rises already in eclipse. Remember to add one hour to the above times to allow for Summer Time. With that, I suggest we meet at Gonzaga at 7:45pm to allow people to have a look at the eclipse. The main talk for the evening will start a little later to allow us see the eclipse (though that is dependent on the Irish weather of course!)
CLOSEST MOON OF 2006: The closest Full Moon of 2006 will occur at 03:07 UT on September 8th when it will be 357,177km from Earth. The Moon illusion will therefore be especially pronounced. Some interesting web sites on the Moon's motions this year can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_standstill , http://www-star.st-and.ac.uk/~fv/sky/standstill.html , and http://www.space.com/spacewatch/060317_night_sky.html
News from August 2006
31st August 2006, Next Meeting Details
Our first meeting of the 2006/2007 session will be on Thursday, September 7th at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh. The title of the talk is "Mr. Messier and his Catalogue" by John Flannery. All are welcome to come along and there is no charge for admission. Also that evening we will have one or two short talks on other topics along with the regular sky notes slot.
25th August 2006, Skynotes for September uploaded
Neill McKeown from the IAA has contributed September's Skynotes; be sure to check them to see whats in the sky in September.
7th August 2006, The Perseids
Most meteor showers come from debris ejected from comets. With the Perseids, it was the passing of a comet called Swift-Tuttle, so-called because it was discovered by 2 independent observers at the same time: Lewis Swift of New York, and Horace Parnell Tuttle of Massachusetts, in July 1862.
Swift-Tuttle has a period of 135 years. It last passed close to Earth in 1992, leaving behind a fresh dust tail. Thus, each year, we pass through this dust tail, and previous dust tails left behind by Swift-Tuttle, between July 20 to August 22. But the fireworks take place on August 12/13 each year, as this is when we pass through the densest part of the tail stream. What we see is a rise in shooting stars across the sky, particularly in the northeast. All you need is to wrap up warm and keep your eyes peeled. There will be a bright Moon this year to hinder all but the brighter meteors unfortunately.
Source: http://www.tullamoreastronomy.com
News from July 2006
16 July, 2006 NLC's
Keep an eye on the Northern Horizon in twilight these evenings and see if you can spot faint silvery clouds. These Noctilucent clouds (NLC's) are only visible at our latitude in Summer, and are caused by sunlight shining on clouds very high up in the Earth's atmosphere. This animation, taken over 30 minutes from 11.30pm to midnight on July 14th can give you an idea of what to expect.
News from May 2006
3 May, 2006 Next Talk
Apologies for the late notice again!
Our last meeting before we take a break for the Summer months is tomorrow night, Thursday May 4th at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh.
Talk for the evening is "Hairy Stars and Horrid Tails" . . . all about comets, their lore, and impact (literally!).
We also will have Aidan Corcoran talking about his recent trip to Mallorca to take part in the Open University's Observing Programme. The programme comprised a set of projects to be completed over a series of nights using the research tools of professional astronomers. Come along on the night to hear more about Aidan's fascinating trip.
Al White has been working hard on setting up the SDAS web site as a Wiki. For those new to the term, the site basically allows people create web pages and edit existing ones as long as they are registered on the site. We've discussed the site a bit recently and would like to see it mainly focussed on observing notes (e.g. what does M42, the Orion Nebula, look like in binoculars, a telescope, and a really big scope). Drop me a note if you have any ideas as to what direction it should take or come along to Thursday's meeting when we'll set aside some time for . . .
. . . a sort of AGM! Yes, the dreaded TLA has surfaced at last. As most people know, the SDAS is a loose group of like-minded astronomers who look on the hobby as a fun pursuit as much as enjoying the odd lecture. A few of us behind the scenes have been keeping the show on the road for a number of years but now a couple of things are facing us that will require the club to be put on a firmer footing.
Chief amongst this is the issue of insurance. The Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies (IFAS) has recently got a quote for member clubs (of which SDAS is part) to enroll in a group-wide policy. It is critical that we sign up for this as the current litigatious climate means we cannot afford to be without. The cost will be €100 so it is something we need to discuss.
Added to the cost is the requirement that we have a definite membership. Again, it's all been very loose in this regard with people being counted as members if they are on our mailing list. To this end, and after some discussion over a pint amongst committee members and others, we will have to instigate an annual membership fee. The proposed amount is somewhere between €10 and €20 per annum with students (Gonzaga, third level, or elsewhere) having free membership. The fee will also allow us have some funds available for future expenditure such as bringing over another international speaker such as the visit we had from Br. Guy Consolmagno last October.
We plan to set aside some of this Thursday's meeting to discuss these important issues and urge you to come along and have your say. Alternatively, mail me with any suggestions or proposals.
Finally, check out our web site via the link above to download the podcast of our recent meeting. Cian MacMahon has put a lot of hard work into producing the programme and many thanks to Cian for producing the episode.
3 May, 2006 news snippets from Terry Moseley, Brian Seales, and Deirdre Kelleghan
The ecliptomaniacs have updated their web site with amazing pictures and stories of their trip to Libya to observe the March 29th total solar eclipse. Have a look, I think you will enjoy it. Be warned though, most of the photos are big so they will be slow if you are still on a dial up modem. Enjoy, Brian and Chris http://www.ecliptomaniacs.com/2006/index.html
The ISS continues its series of evening passes over Ireland until about 5 May. Details on www.heavens-above.com
The Irish Astronomical Society in association with Chernobyl Children's Project International invites you to come along to Sandymount in Dublin, Martello Tower Car Park, May 5th and May 6th 2006. 9:00 pm till 10:30pm-ish. We will show you the first quarter moon, the planet Saturn and maybe the planet Jupiter, all weather permitting of course. You can see details on www.irishastrosoc.org
This event is free, but we would urge you to consider donating to this charity in this the Twentieth year of the disaster to help relieve the ongoing suffering of the victims.
If you can not make it to Dublin perhaps you would put something in the charity's bank account, just mark "Sun Moon and Stars Fundraiser" somewhere on the lodgement slip or cheque. Name of Bank: Permanent TSB, 1 Lapp's Quay, Cork, Ireland. Sort Code: 99-07-01. Account No 36410021. Chernobyl Children's Project International . . . http://www.chernobyl-international.com/news/
DEATH OF A COMET: Comet 37P Schwassmann-Wachmann continues to break up -some of the existing fragments are breaking up further! That makes it difficult to predict the exact path of each fragment. But do have a look - it's a fascinating sight to see the 'death' of a comet'! More details on www.spaceweather.com
News from April 2006
13 April, 2006 Basic Messier List complete
It's taken until now to get the basic contents of the messier objects complete, but finally we've done it. Some like M3 have images and explanatory text, others just have the starmap and basic information. What we need now is to fill in useful observational data for the objects. Thats where we need your help, please register and help expand our observational guide to the Messier Objects! and to correct whatver mistakes we have made so far!
--Albert White 21:08, 13 April 2006 (IST)
8 April, 2006 English-Irish Astronomical Dictionary
We have added the English-Irish Astronomical Dictionary to the site. We've used the version from http://www.acmhainn.ie/tearmai/realt.htm which is based on the Foclóir Réalteolaíochta produced by the Department of Education in 1996 ISBN 185791175X. I've only found it for sale online at litriocht.com. The following is their review. A more detailed review is availble in the archives of the Irish Astronomical Journal.
Cnuasach cuimsitheach de théarmaí Réalteolaíochta, idir shean agus nua. Tugtar téarmaí dúchasacha nuair is féidir agus déantar plé sármhaith ar an ngné sin sa réamhrá. Chomh maith leis sin, liostaítear na réaltbhuíonta, na réaltaí is gile agus na sonraí pláinéadacha agus tá léaráidí pinn tríd an Leabhar.
A pioneering work - the first ever compilation of Astronomical Terms in Irish, although we have glosses on some such terms dating back to AD 850. The scholarly introduction by Dr. Bearnárd Ó Dubhthaigh is of particular interest.
--Albertw 01:59, 8 April 2006 (IST)
6 April, 2006 Eclipse Audio
Here is some audio from the eclipse, including interviews with some of the regulars here before and after the event. The quality isn't too bad but some funny bits dont come out well, for example you'll strain to her John Flannery shouting "Theres Venus! Theres Venus!" followed about 4 minutes later with "Forget Venus watch the shadow! watch the shadow!"
http://netsoc.ucd.ie/~albertw/eclipse-podcast.mp3 8mb
Special thanks to Dave Lillis, Seanie Morris, Michael O'Connell, John Flannery, Terry Mosley, and especially to a very excited Paul Tipper, and to everyone else in te background on the beach!
Enjoy!
--Albertw 13:27, 6 April 2006 (IST)
4 April, 2006 Solar Eclipse!
Our next meeting is tomorrow, Thursday April 6th, when various members will present their results from last Wednesday's total solar eclipse. Members saw the eclipse from Nigeria, Libya, and Turkey, while back home the weather stayed clear for people to spot the partial phase that was visible from here. 8pm Gonzaga College.
Lots of fantastic results on www.irishastronomy.org and tomorrow night you are guaranteed to be amazed and awed by the beautiful portraits of the eclipse captured by members. Do come along and share in the celebrations of our successful eclipse trips.
If you've any photos you'd like to show the members then feel free to bring them along on and we'll put them on display.
--Albertw 21:03, 4 April 2006 (IST)
News from March 2006
15 March, 2006 Lunar Eclipse
Dave Lillis from Shannonside Astronomy Club managed to get an image of the penumbral lunar eclipse earlier tonight. There was cloud blowing over the moon from South Dublin, but I still managed to see the darkened limb around midnight.
12 March, 2006 SDAS eclipse meeting podcast
http://www.netsoc.ucd.ie/~albertw/sdas.mp3 18Mb
An hour long edition of the eclipse meeting held last thursday.
--Albertw 22:39, 12 March 2006 (GMT)
March 12, 2006 SDAS get a mention on the Cassini misson website
Thanks to Deirdre in the IAS for pointing this out. http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/news/sig-event-details.cfm?newsID=640
Friday, March 3 (DOY 062): The Irish Astronomical Society and the South Dublin Astronomical Society showcased Saturn and the moon to 120 children and their parents at St Brigid's School, Greystones, Ireland, March 3 & 4. The beautiful planet Saturn showed itself extremely well in the cold Irish air.
--Albertw 22:39, 12 March 2006 (GMT)
March 08, 2006 Eclipse Evening
Everyone is invited to come along on the evening of March 9th at 8pm to Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin for a pre-eclipse celebration.
the evening will feature a series of short talks on all aspects of eclipses with speakers on the night including Dave Grennan from Astronomy Ireland, Brian Seales of the ecliptomaniacs, and eclipse veteran John O'Neill of the IAS.
we will also have various books and eclipse t-shirts on display along with an eclipse quiz and hopefully a video on the 1999 total solar eclipse. Food and soft-drinks available on the night too.
hope to see you there!
John Flannery
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
Niall McKeown provided this image of the night sky view at totality for those travelling to Turkey for the Solar Eclipse later in the month.
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
News from February 2006
February 28, 2006 UPDATE to last South Dublin Astronomy entry
apologies for getting back to people so quickly after my last note. I completely forgot about the Irish Astronomical Society's observing nights down in Greystones this coming weekend. Many thanks Paul for sending me the reminder.
a few members will be attending this event with their telescopes so what I would like to suggest is that we defer the observing night at Cloon I mentioned about in the last mail. A number of large telescopes will be at the IAS night for people to look at the Moon, Saturn and other celestial sights.
full details of the night are given below (click on http://homepage.eircom.net/~irishas/dsa.htm for more information and a poster). Irish Astronomical Society "SATURN (THE RINGED WORLD) WATCH" Fri 3rd & Sat 4th Mar. 2006 Public Star Party. From 8.00pm till 10pm, at St Brigit's National School, Trafalger Road, Greystones, Co.Wicklow. No Charge.
just to clarify too that it would have been more correct of me to say that most astronomy software isn't inherently inaccurate in calculating positional data (though one product reviewed by Sky and Telescope before featured a package that had the Sun sailing through Hercules!), but that the user should be aware that the object databases may have some inaccuracies. I'm thinking deep-sky objects here and the fact that you will occasionally find the information in a software program in conflict with your deep-sky observing handbooks (e.g. brightness of a galaxy and its size parameters).
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
February 28, 2006 South Dublin Astronomy News
good afternoon on this beautiful sunny day! Well, between the odd snow shower in Clonskeagh anyway ;-)
in this mail: Next Meeting . . . What's Up . . . A Special pre-Eclipse Meeting . . . Observing . . . Universe Books
Next Meeting: our next meeting will be on Thursday, 2nd March in Gonzaga College in Ranelagh starting at 8pm. Our speaker on the night will be Dr Ian Sanders, Geology Department, Trinity College Dublin and the title of the talk is Meteorites and the first five million years of the Solar System. The subject is very topical especially with the recent Stardust mission capturing grains of interstellar dust and cometary particles which will let scientists investigate what conditions were like in the early Solar System and give clues to its formation.
also on the night we will have a short talk on the various types of star atlases, how to use them, and why you can never have enough star atlases ;-) If we have time, we'll also look at a few planetarium type software programs and see why even they may not be as accurate as you might think or do the job you want them to.
Download the latest skynotes Arcturus, the FREE online magazine of the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies. The 733kb Adobe Acrobat readable pdf can be found at http://www.irishastronomy.org/user_resources/files/1140873780-arc_mar_apr_06.pdf
There is a penumbral eclipse of the Moon on the evening of March 14th. This is not a total lunar eclipse but occurs when the Moon just dips into the outer edges (penumbra) of the Earth’s shadow cast in space. Generally, the magnitude of a penumbral eclipse has to be greater than 0.7 for an observer to notice a dimming of the lunar disk. The Moon is fully immersed in the penumbra this time round and at mid-eclipse (23h48m) you should see a slight darkening of the southern hemisphere of the Moon as our satellite passes to the north of the Earth’s shadow. There won’t be a similar type eclipse where the Full Moon is completely immersed solely in the penumbral shadow until August 29th 2053. More details at Fred Espenak's eclipse web site . . . sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse
Eclipse Meeting: On Thursday, March 9th, we will have a special pre-total solar eclipse meeting in Gonzaga at 8pm. The evening will be a celebration of eclipses and a fun night to key everyone into the mood as we build up to totality on March 29th. Many members are going to see the eclipse from Nigeria, Libya, and Turkey but do come along on the night whether you are going to see the eclipse or not. All welcome on the night to come along.
we will have a number of people giving short talks on the hows and whys of eclipses, how to photograph them, what it's like to see a total solar eclipse, and much, much more. More details will be sent out in a week's time.
Observing: if clear, we'll aim to hold an observing session this weekend at Cloon Wood. The plan is to meet at the Monument in Enniskerry at 8:30pm (though if people know the way to Cloon Wood they can head there directly) on Friday night, March 3rd. People MUST contact me on the day to confirm that the observing night is going ahead in case weather conditions take a turn for the worse. Send a TEXT MESSAGE (preferably) or telephone me on 086-81 81 931. You can also mail me up to 1pm on Friday afternoon at the above email address.For the deep sky purists, the Moon will interfere somewhat until 11:30pm when it sets.
Universe Books: A number of people asked me to get a copy of the DK Universe book for them. The Book People are retailing this for 16 euro as against 40 euro in the bookshops in town. I was talking to their rep and he is due to bring me 15 copies of the book on Thursday. Because I have to pay for these up front I will need people who asked me for the book to bring along their payment on Thursday night. If you cannot make it then please let me know by Thursday and we can arrange to meet up in the subsequent couple of days. If I do not hear from people on the night I will have to offer their book to someone else. Apologies about this but it leaves the bank balance with a big hole in it otherwise!
as always, feel free to contact me if any queries on the above.
hope to see you on Thursday!
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
News from January 2006
January 31, 2006 South Dublin astronomy news
hi all,
hope everyone had a good weekend.
congratulations to all in Galway Astronomy Club on another very interesting and entertaining Connacht Star Party last Saturday. The talk by Maire Bruck on the life of Margaret Huggins and Ann Maunder, two eminent 19th century astronomers, was particularly interesting. Leo Enright showed us really impressive 3-D views of Mars and the Martian surface . . . almost like being there! [albertw: you can download the images Leo showed and other images from the Mars rovers via http://midnightmarsbrowser.blogspot.com/]
our next meeting with be this Thursday, February 2nd, at 8pm in Gonzaga College in Ranelagh and will be a talk called "Who owns the Moon?" to be given by Shane Culleton, PRO of the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies. Shane is a dedicated lunar observer and has also run the Leading Lights series of interviews with world-renowned amateur astronomers in the IFAS journal Arcturus.
we will also dedicate part of the meeting to an introduction to celestial coordinates and the visual appearance of objects in binoculars and telescopes. What are stellar coordinates? What will the Andromeda Galaxy look like in my telescope? Come along on the night and learn a little of the hobby's jargon. We'll also introduce a Question and Answer box so you can "post" your question for the next meeting (or people can email me now with their own question and we'll tackle it during Thursday's meeting).
Mary Mulvihill asked me to mention the following event. It's on early in the evening so you might make both the lecture in Trinity AND our SDAS talk! I would also recommend checking out a book Prof Luminet co-authored called "Celestial Treasury". It's a fascinating account of the discovery of our place in the cosmos along with a history of celestial cartography. It also contains many, many rare medieval illustrations making it a valuable reference for anyone interested in the history of astronomy.
Mirror, mirror in the sky . . . could the dodecahedron be the shape of the Universe?
The dodecahedron is a fascinating shape, one of the platonic solids, with five-fold symmetry. But could it also hold the secret to the shape of our universe?
Learn more at a special public lecture by Prof Jean-Pierre LUMINET, director of research at the Observatoire de Paris.
An award-winning physicist, sculptor and author of several popular science books (all be they mostly in French) Luminet's interests include not just science, but also art, literature, sculpture and films. More info (including links to his simulated photo of a black hole) at http://luth2.obspm.fr/~luminet/eluminet.html See also His Finite Dodecahedral Universe which made the cover of Nature on October 9th 2003
When: Thursday 2nd February at 5:10 pm. Where: TCD MacNeill Theatre, Hamilton Building, (Lincoln Place Entrance), Trinity College Dublin Presented by: the School of Theoretical Physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (http://www.stp.dias.ie/events/) Admission free, all welcome
also on Thursday, 2nd February at 9pm on Channel 4 television is a documentary on the Space Shuttle "Challenger" disaster. The mission was high profile because Nasa was hoping to demonstrate that spaceflight had now become routine by including Christina McAuliffe, a high-school teacher, on the crew. Sadly, 73 seconds into the flight, a seal on one of the solid rocket boosters failed with disastrous consequences. Set those video recorders while you are at the meeting!
finally, a work colleague was telling me about a fundraising event that will take place on Friday, 17th February at 8:30pm in ALSAA (Airport sports complex). Well known comedian Jason Byrne and guests will feature on the night and all proceeds will help Swords Educate Together National School. Tickets are €20 which is a bargain as most comedy shows are at least €30 in Vicar Street, etc. Send me an email if you are interested in going, bring along a crisp €20 note to the next meeting and I'll source your ticket(s) in the meantime from David here at work.
atb,
John
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
January 24, 2006 Latest News
hi all,
great to see so many people along to the meeting last Thursday night and I think it went very well. Many thanks to everyone who helped out . . . to those who ran the impromptu telescope Q and A session in the hall, to Deirdre Kelleghan for showing us the latest Cassini mission DVD (and giving us a copy for loan to members), and to the people who have sent in some feedback.
the mention of feedback has brought up a good point about the meetings; we should set aside some time to go through general astronomy basics such as how to know where to find an object in the sky, etc.
at the next meeting, on Thursday, 2nd February, we'll spend about 15 to 20 minutes going through celestial coordinate basics and the visual appearance of objects in telescopes and binoculars. We'll introduce a "Question of the Month" box as well into which you can post any query on any aspect of astronomy and space. Even if you feel a question is ridiculous, it's still worthwhile asking because we all ran into those same pitfalls when starting out on our explorations in astronomy.
I still have to get confirmation of our speaker for the 2nd but will let people know closer to the time.
I may not have those Dorling-Kindersley "Universe" books until the March meeting. The rep for the Book People told me on Friday that his other copies of the book are out on preview in various businesses at the moment so he will not get them back until the second week of February. I have to contact him then to find out what stock is left. I'll keep people posted on that.
Saturn to hide a star: a rare occultation of a star by Saturn occurs tomorrow evening, January 25th, when the planet slips through the outer edges of the Beehive Star Cluster in Cancer. The star is magnitude 7.9 so the event is easily viewable in a small telescope. Technically, in binoculars too, but you the low magnification of these instruments won't let you spy the star flickering slightly as as the planet's ring system glides across it. More details on the event can be found at http://www.irishastronomy.org/boards/viewtopic.php?t=3094 . . . send me any reports if you manage to spy the occultation. Even if you miss the event, do look at Saturn dominating the Beehive over the next couple of weeks. It will be a spectacular sight in any instrument to spot the famed star cluster buzzing about Queen Bee Saturn.
Party in Galway: a reminder about the one-day Connacht Star Party this coming Saturday, January 28th. It's in the Westwood House Hotel in Galway City and features a great line-up of speakers, display and trade stands, along with observing in the evening. More details on the www.galwayastronomyclub.ie web site.
Astronomy CD: I've done up a CD of astronomy software, useful articles, free star atlases, etc., and will have it at the next meeting if anyone would like a copy, price €2. All profit goes back into the club . . . since we have no membership dues, it will build a small fund for future speaker expenses. I may have some solar eclipse shades in reserve too for anyone travelling to the March 29th total solar eclipse. I got an order of 50 in from the States this morning from Rainbow Symphony (not the mylar ones, but the shades that give the Sun an orange tint . . . far more attractive).
have a good week all,
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
January 11, 2006 Date Change!
NOTE: Due to Gonzaga not being available Our January meeting has been deferred to Thursday, January 19th at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh * * *
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)
January 10, 2006 Next Meeting
Our January meeting has been deferred to Thursday, January 19th at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh
the talk on the night will be "A Full Year of Moons", an exploration of the many motions and fascinating aspects of our natural satellite. The emphasis is on some unusual characteristics of the Moon during 2006 such as the exceptionally high position of the Full Moon on the celestial sphere, and a penumbral lunar eclipse on March 14th.
because of the meeting being deferred, it has meant shelving another aspect of the talk to tie in with the birthday of the HAL 9000 computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey! It's birth date in the movie is given as January 12th, 1997. Happy Birthday HAL!
on the night of January 19th, we'll also have a 30-minute exclusive video presentation of the latest DVD released by NASA JPL from the Cassini mission. Anyone that was at Deirdre Kelleghan's talk before Christmas saw some earlier exclusive footage. Fascinating stuff. So do come along on the night and be amazed by the picture portraits of the Ringed Planet.
we will also set aside some of Thursday's meeting to discuss telescopes. I know a few people purchased the Meade ETX 70 or Skylux telescope from Lidl before Christmas so if you are having any problems setting up the scopes, or just want to know a bit more about using them, drop by on the 19th to learn more.
check out the latest edition of Arcturus, the free 16-page bimonthly magazine for amateur astronomers, online at http://www.irishastronomy.org/user_resources/viewFiles.php?folder_id=3 . . . you can also download previous issues here from the archive. The magazine features articles written by sky enthuasiasts countrywide as well as detailed sky notes for the current two month period.
I am currently compiling a CD of astronomy software, observing booklets, interesting webpages, utilities, and much more. The CD will be available at the next meeting priced two euro. Any profit goes to the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies to help pay for the upkeep and bandwidth of the web site. If you cannot make the meeting, please drop me a line requesting the CD and we can make some arrangement to get it posted or delivered to you.
The Irish Astronomical Society have their annual "Sky-High" magazine on sale in the astronomy book section (downstairs) in Eason's, O'Connell Street, Dublin. This is a very comprehensive guide to what's up in the sky during 2006 and is excellent value for five euro -- especially when you consider some of the other year books have less detail and charge a lot more.
This year's BT Young Scientist Exhibition will be held in the RDS from Tuesday, 10th January to Saturday, 14th January. Best of luck to anyone in Gonzaga who has an entry this year. More details on the event are at http://www.btyoungscientist.ie/timetable_of_activities.html
The well-known science broadcaster Leo Enright introduces a series on astronomy on RTE One (television) on Sunday mornings at 9:45 am. Be sure to tune in and follow these fascinating documentaries. More details on the www.science.ie web site (go to the EVENTS section for the list of upcoming programmes). You can also watch the latest episode on the RTE web site.
Leo is also one of the guest speakers at the third Connacht Star Party hosted by Galway Astronomy Club on Saturday, January 28th. The event will be held in the Westwood House Hotel (on the N59 Galway-Clifden 1km from Galway City). The Entry fee is €20. Some of the highlights include:
Dr. Mary Bruck: Irish wives in two famous Astronomical Parterships Leo Enright: Mars 3-D Dr Paul Roche: Robotic Telescopes,bringing the Universe into the Classroom Dr Sean O'Donnell: William Rowan Hamilton a reluctant Astronomer
The NUI Galway Observatory will again be open to the attendees by Professor Mike Redfern
There will also be an imaging workshop, meteorite displays (including some from the Moon and Mars), trade & info stands, evening meal and a quiz. For more information check out www.galwayastronomyclub.ie
--Albertw 15:21, 13 March 2006 (GMT)