January 2004 - astronomy@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Astronomy Ireland] Space Chase tonight, Public Lecture Feb 9 "Life", Sky at Night on TV
by Astronomy Ireland 30 Jan '04

30 Jan '04

1. SPACE CHASE TONIGHT Friday Jan. 30 No one reported seeing Progress following I.S.S. across the sky last night. I only caught a glimpse of I.S.S. through tiny breaks in the clouds from our Shop in Artane, Dublin 5 at 6:19pm on Thursday. Watch out tonight, the expected time for I.S.S. is 6:51pm, passing near the Moon. Start counting when I.S.S. passes the Moon and let us know how many seconds later Progress passes the Moon. Remember they are moving at 5 miles per second so you can gauge their actual distance apart in space using this. Tonight's weather forecast seems to call for broken cloud across the country (but never believe the forecast, go outdoors regardless!) so I am hoping someone will get to see the space chase. Record how bright Progress compared to any of the stars or planets. Email us your name, location, and, if you can, the number of seconds between I.S.S. and Progress (and how bright both were if you can) to observe(a)astronomy.ie (or text to 086-081 99 86). Docking of Progress with I.S.S. is set for Saturday at 1:18pm so we will not see a "space chase" on Saturday unless docking is delayed. Check our Newsline Saturday before sunset for an update. You can still see I.S.S. after tonight remember. In fact every night until Feb. 7 (Saturday week). We issue the latest predictions on our Newslines 1550-111-442 (09001 88 19 50 in N.Ireland+Britain). The prediction is usually in the first 30 seconds of the recording so it only costs a fraction of a euro or pound to get it. Call after 12noon and before sunset for that evening's prediction and any news. 2. ASTRONOMY IRELAND FEBRUARY LECTURE ABOUT "LIFE" You are all invited to come and hear Prof R.N. Butler from the Chemistry Dept at the National University of Ireland, Galway, when he gives our February Public Lecture on Feb. 9 in D.C.U. at 8pm. "The Enigma of the origin of life on Earth and the Question of Extraterrestrial Life; Facts and Fictions" is the title he has chosen and he promises to: (i) critically assess the current state of knowledge on the origin of Life on Earth (ii) Assess the planetary bodies Mars, Europa, Titan and Triton from the point of view of Life and (iii) Comment on the prospects for Life elsewhere in the Universe in our space-time. The lecture will be at a general level and no chemical formulae or equations will be used. VENUE: Henry Grattan Building, Dublin City University, Collins Ave, Dublin 9. Everyone is welcome and admission is 5euro (3euro if you show a copy of our February magazine at the door, or are a student, OAP or under 18) You can buy tickets in advance by sending payment and a S.A.E. to P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5 but BEFORE Feb. 5, or drop in to our Shop/office in Artane, Dublin 5. See also http://www.astronomy.ie/nextlecture.html for links to maps and how to get to our Shop. 3. SKY AT NIGHT "Roving on Mars" Sunday night Sir Patrick Moore presents his monthly TV programme on Sunday night just after midnight: BBC 1 at 12:50am (officially Monday morning Feb. 2). Tune in for "the latest news from the NASA Mars Rover, Spirit and Opportunity, and the European spacecraft, Mars Express." http://www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe to our FREE emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie NOTE: P.S. DID YOU KNOW that using the link on the last line below you can see an archive of all the past notices that have been sent? You can also change your subscription settings to this list:

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[Astronomy Ireland] Space Chase!, Mars News, and send your name to a Comet
by Astronomy Ireland 28 Jan '04

28 Jan '04

The International Space Station is visible blazing a trail across the sky every night this week (and next week until Feb. 7). I've seen it a couple of times already, passing near Venus, Mars and the Moon now that they're all in the evening sky. On board are two space veterans Michael Foale and Alexander Kaleri. They've been on I.S.S. since October and will stay until April. See the I.S.S. column in our magazine every month for details of what they are doing up there. If you've never seen it before I.S.S. is the brightest star-like object in the sky (apart from Venus, which I.S.S. can occasionally rival in brightness) for a couple of minutes, moving from West to East, usually very high up. I.S.S. flies over at a different time each evening - so call our Newslines 1550-111-442 (74c/min) after 12 noon each day for that night's prediction. In N.Ireland/U.K. call 09001 88 19 50 (60p/min). [The prediction should be within the first 30 seconds so it only costs a few cent/pence] But the interest hots up on Thursday night for a couple of nights when an unmanned Progress re-supply craft will be launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on its way to dock with I.S.S. We should get to see the Progress as a slightly dimmer 'star' chasing I.S.S. across the sky. It is delivering 2.5 tonnes of food, fuel and supplies. Progress is due for launch at 11:58am Thursday so we get out first chance at seeing a "space chase" on Thursday night (not Friday night as you may see mentioned in the media and elsewhere). The Russians tend to launch regardless of weather conditions so the launch time should be quite reliable. On Thursday night the distance between I.S.S. and the Progress is likely to be quite large. I.S.S. may be going down in the East as Progress is coming up in the West. But they may be closer so get out and check for yourself. Progress is due to dock with I.S.S. on Saturday at 1:18pm Saturday so we should see a much closer "space chase" on Friday night. If anything does not go to plan they may not dock on Saturday so another space chase might be seen on Saturday and subsequent nights. Call the Newsline and we'll post brief updates on the space chase as well as the prediction for seeing I.S.S. each evening. You can watch the docking of Progress with I.S.S. live on NASA TV from 12:30pm Saturday, see: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/MM_NTV_Web.html This Sunday is the 1st anniversary of the loss of the Shuttle Columbia something to reflect upon as you watch I.S.S. over the weekend. The next Shuttle mission to I.S.S. is not expected before November, maybe even next year. Email observe(a)astronomy.ie if you see the "space chase" BRIEF NOTES: 1. Congratulations to NASA on landing its second rover "Opportunity" on Mars last Sunday, and for re-establishing contact with the Spirit rover that landed 3 weeks earlier, although it will be weeks before they get it 'roving' again. For pictures follow the 3 links on our webpage www.astronomy.ie 2. Congratulations to Prof David Southwood and his team who released the first images from Mars Express. David told us in Dublin on Jan. 12 at our New Year Public Lecture that the pictures were stunning but could not be publicly released until the German Science Minister was ready! Commiserations to the Beagle 2 team (especially those we met at our Astro-Expo last November in Dublin) who suffered what must be the fatal blow over the weekend when a new communication mode was tried to make contact with the now lost probe. 3. January 31 is the deadline to send your name to a comet. See page 11 of the January issue then click on: http://deepimpact.jpl.nasa.gov/sendyourname/index.html Do a search for "Astronomy Ireland"! Can anyone beat certificate no. 9021? Enjoy the space chase and pass on our Newsline numbers to everyone you know by email or word of mouth: 1550-111-442 (74c/min in Republic of Ireland) 09001-88 19 50 (60p/min N.Ireland and Britain) ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to this emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Aurora update
by Astronomy Ireland 22 Jan '04

22 Jan '04

The expected disturbance from the Sun reached Earth at 1:40am this morning (Jan. 22) causing auroral activity at high latitudes. The magnetic field was not favourable at the time but this is improving. The aurora should last 24 hours or more so an aurora could be seen from Ireland this evening after sunset. The weather forecast is not looking good but they have been significantly wrong about this in the past so do check the sky all night long. If you see anything please immediately text your name and location to 086-081 99 86 and email a short report to observe(a)astronomy.ie as soon as you can. P.S. Our comment about Luas and Mars landers drew an unexpectedly large response. So far I have been told the Marian Finnucane show on RTE Radio 1 this morning mentioned it and we had calls from Newstalk 106FM and the Irish Sun(who will probably have a piece tomorrow). If you heard it anywhere else reply to this email and let me know. Well done Michael Lennon. SPECIAL OFFER: buy any Celestron telescope from our huge Astronomy Shop before March 31 and get 750euro worth of eyepieces and accessories for just 299euro! Delivery anywhere in Ireland. Call (01) 847 0777 Monday to Saturday inclusive. Please get others to join Astronomy Ireland and support our IRISH astronomy magazine: www.astronomy.ie/sub ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Aurora alert; Mars rovers+Luas; DTP; Venus near Moon
by Astronomy Ireland 21 Jan '04

21 Jan '04

1. AURORA ON THURSDAY? We have received an alert about a possible aurora coming tonight and tomorrow. A recent solar flare and other events lead aurora experts to believe that at 3am tonight (Jan. 22) there could be a display of the aurora. The time of start of the aurora could be out by "several hours" but it should last long enough to see after sunset on Jan. 22 as well. So watch before dawn and after sunset on Thursday Jan. 22. As usual, if you see anything text your name and location to 086-081 99 86 or email a short report to observe(a)astronomy.ie 2. MARS NEWS As NASA's first rover "Spirit" starts trundling across the surface of Mars they are busily preparing to land the second identical rover "Opportunity" on Sunday morning at 5am our time (and not "Saturday afternoon" as one pundit announced recently). Meanwhile the British Beagle 2 team have decided to delay trying to contacting Beagle for a couple of days longer than the 10 days planned. This would guarantee it would reset itself into a new communications mode if it is still functioning. This means they will try to make contact this Saturday Jan. 24 - keep up-to-date via there website (see the 3 Mars links we recommend on our website www.astronomy.ie) Those of you who met some of the Beagle team at Astro-Expo last November, or met David Southwood at our New Year Lecture Jan. 12 will wish them luck. On a different note entirely, Michael Lennon provides the following interesting comparison :-) NASA Sprit: * Earth to Mars: Approx. 77 Million kms * NASA Spirit Cost: Approx. 321 Million * Launched: 10-06-2003 * Landed: Jan 2004 * Status: Working Luas: * Length of first two lines: Approx. 25kms * Luas cost so far: Approx. 675 million * Construction of Line A, commenced in September 1999. * Status: Not working 3. DESK-TOP PUBLISHING If you're good with a computer you may be interested in helping to produce our magazine each month for a little extra pocket-money! If so email me at info(a)astronomy.ie (or just reply to this email now) for details. Earn thousands of euro a year! 4. VENUS + MOON You can hardly have missed the planet Venus blazing in the southwest for a couple of hours each evening after sunset over the past few weeks. Every time it's clear we get phone calls, and sign up a few new members - thanks Venus! On Saturday though there will be a beautiful spectacle to behold with the naked eye when a thin crescent Moon will lie just below Venus. There is a diagram on page 27 of the January issue of our magazine showing the scene. Warn everyone you know to go out after sunset and look above the horizon where the Sun went down for an amazing sight. Around 6pm should be a good time. The dark side of the Moon should be faintly visible due to Earthshine so do take a close up look in binoculars too. Let us know what you see (observe(a)astronomy.ie) and send in any photos too. The International Space Station will be visible next week. More then. SPECIAL OFFER: buy any Celestron telescope from our huge Astronomy Shop before March 31 and get 750euro worth of eyepieces and accessories for just 299euro! Delivery anywhere in Ireland. Call (01) 847 0777 Monday to Saturday inclusive. Please get others to join Astronomy Ireland and support our Irish astronomy magazine: www.astronomy.ie/sub ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Evening Classes: Correction, Enrol, Teachers wanted
by Astronomy Ireland 19 Jan '04

19 Jan '04

Our highly popular Astronomy Classes for Beginners start tomorrow night (Jan. 20) with registration from 7:00pm in Dublin City University (Henry Grattan Building). CORRECTION: At the New Year Lecture last week by Prof David Southwood from E.S.A. Paris, we accidentally handed out booking forms for the courses that we ran in Tallaght in October 2003! Please ignore these! The new classes WILL DEFINITELY BEGIN IN D.C.U. JANUARY 20, 2004! We have a new and larger room (CG12 in the Henry Grattan Building) with a built in data projector as Emmet Mordaunt, who originally designed the course, has updated it to use the last presentation methods. You are supposed to book in advance but due to the large numbers interested in the class we will have 3 people dealing with the 30-minute Registration on the first night so you can book a place now by replying to this message ("info(a)astronomy.ie" should come up in the "To:" field) giving your name and a contact phone number for you. Then just show up in CG12 in D.C.U.'s Henry Grattan Building at 7:00pm. Map: http://www.astronomy.ie/images/primap.gif D.C.U. is an ideal location for most of Leinster as it is easy to get to quickly via the M50. It is only a couple of miles from Dublin city centre also (about 3 times closer than our old Tallaght venue). The 10 classes all take place on a Tuesday evening starting Jan. 20 and run from 7:30pm for 2 hours with a break in the middle. No prior knowledge is assumed and there are no maths or equations, it's not that sort of course as it's aimed at beginners who want to know more - the typical member of Astronomy Ireland. Course fee is 75euro to members. Non-members are very welcome and pay 105euro but you can join at the same time as enrolling for the course and immediately get the members rate. Membership costs 40euro and includes getting our magazine in the post each month, which will further benefit your learning. More details and a course outline are at http://www.astronomy.ie/eveningclass.html If you know anyone interested in learning more about astronomy please forward this email to them. And finally, we are looking for more people in Dublin, and around the country (where 70% of our members are located), to give the course we have developed. You should have a good knowledge of astronomy and an aptitude for teaching and dealing with people. We pay the teachers rate. Reply now if you might be interested. ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe to our FREE Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Prof Southwood interviews; DEN TV
by Astronomy Ireland 13 Jan '04

13 Jan '04

Jan 12 at 5:20pm: 1. Forgot to say in last email that I don't think Prof Southwood was on 2FM Gerry Ryan show today (Monday Jan. 12) as we announced last week. Based on second-hand reports I have received I think the interview may have gone out last Friday? Someone might know this or could someone check out http://www.rte.ie/rams/radio/latest/fri/2fm-arc-grs.smil and it it's there how many hours, minutes and seconds into that recording it is and I can announce it on this list as I know that not all of you from outside the Leinster area cannot get along but would like to hear the great man speak. RTE TV 9pm News may be interviewing Southwood tonight (Jan. 12) We should be able to give you a URL to watch a recording of this tomorrow if you miss it! Morning Ireland were also on to us about interviewing him for Tuesday morning. Again, we should be able to get a URL for you to listen to this if you miss it. One interview on Tuesday morning that I can confirm is Breakfast with David McWilliams on Newstalk 106 It's at 9:10am they tell me. That's a local station for Dublin but you can tune in live on the net at www.newstalk106.ie 2. DEN TV Yours truly will be back on the Den with Dustin and the gang to talk about the images coming back from the surface of Mars. Set your video or tune in to the Den on Network 2 between 4pm and 5pm on Wednesday Jan. 14. ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to our emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Bigger DCU venue for New Year Lecture; Gamma Virginis occulted
by Astronomy Ireland 12 Jan '04

12 Jan '04

1. BILLION DOLLAR MAN LECTURE MOVED (slightly) D.C.U. (and ourselves) have been getting so many calls about our New Year Lecture tonight (Jan. 12) that they have asked us to move the Lecture a few hundred metres from the Henry Grattan Building to the Larkin Theatre which seats 3 times as many people, and in even more plush surroundings. We will start the lecture 10 minutes late at 8:10pm to allow people time to get to the new venue so don't worry. The map on our website shows that the Larkin Theatre is even closer to the multi-storey car park http://www.astronomy.ie/images/primap.gif In fact just walk out of the car park and the Larkin Theatre is the round building almost directly in front of you. Nicknamed for the size of the budgets he controls, "the billion dollar man" Prof David Southwood from the European Space Agency in Paris is expected to announce in Dublin tonight that the Beagle 2 lander is all but lost. However, Mars Express is a great success. There are dozens of other missions either in space or about to be launched or being built on Earth that Prof Southwood will also describe. I have heard Prof Southwood speak in public in the past and you are in for a treat this year at our 2004 New Year Lecture. Tickets will now be available on the door (5euro each). All welcome. This is the highlight of our 2004 Lecture programme so don't miss it! 2. MOON OCCULTS BRIGHT DOUBLE - VIDEO Check your magazine this week and you'll see Jupiter is near the Moon, Venus is near Uranus, and Mars and Saturn are on view. But one special event happens late on Tuesday night when the Moon passes in front of the bright star Gamma in Virgo (mag. 2.9). As explained on page 26 of the January issue this is a very close double star (only 0.62 arc seconds apart) that will disappear and reappear in a two-step process as first one star and then the other is covered/uncovered by the Moon's edge. Many of you have digital cameras that can shoot short video clips. You can even hand hold these at the eyepiece of a telescope to record this event. Obviously camcorder owners can do this also. It would be very interesting to record this event as even a small telescope should show it well. Those with no cameras but who do own binoculars or telescopes can watch it for themselves of course. Disappearance is at 2:11am at the left(bright) edge of the Moon, and reappearance is at 2:58am at the top (dark) side of the Moon as seen from Dublin. If you know your latitude and longitude email me and I'll send an exact prediction to you. Send reports of what you see to observe(a)astronomy.ie ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to our emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie Please join Astronomy Ireland online and support our IRISH astronomy magazine: www.astronomy.ie/sub Please forward this notice to everyone you think might be interested.

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[Astronomy Ireland] New Year Lecture; TV youth; BBC Sky at Night; Esat Young Scientist AI stand
by Astronomy Ireland 09 Jan '04

09 Jan '04

2004 January 9 at 2pm. Happy new Year from all at Astronomy Ireland. NOTE: Apologies for this mailing list being down for approx 2 weeks from Dec. 18 and thanks to the administrators at DCU's Redbrick Society for fixing things over the holiday period. If you know anyone who tried to get added to this list in December please ask them to try again now by going to the link at the bottom of our website: www.astronomy.ie 1. NEW YEAR LECTURER FROM PARIS IS "BEAGLE 2 BOSS"! "Exploring Space at the European Space Agency" This year Prof David Southwood from E.S.A. Paris office will deliver Astronomy Ireland's 2004 New Year Public Lecture. It will take place in Dublin City University (on Collins Avenue, Dublin 9) at 8pm on Monday January 12th. All welcome. Admission 5euro (3euro to members) There is a full write up of the talk on our website at http://www.astronomy.ie/newyr04lect.html Beagle 2 and Mars Express are just 2 of the spacecraft that Prof Southwood is responsible for as the Director of Science at ESA. He also has a probe arriving at Saturn this year, one on its way to the Moon (SMART-1), another scheduled for launch to a comet (ROSETTA) next month and an impressive array of space telescopes in orbit or on the drawing board from the Hubble Space Telescope to its successor. He will talk about all of these and ESA's even bigger plans for the future. You may have seen him on TV over Christmas and on Wednesday this week when he had to deliver what may turn out to be the death knell for Beagle 2 when Mars Express failed to pick up a signal from the British-built lander. There will be another 'good' pass over the Beagle 2 landing area on Monday morning so we should get the very latest update straight from the horse's mouth as it were at the lecture on Monday night. This is obviously a major event for Ireland to have a speaker of this calibre at such a critical time for E.S.A. and a lot of tickets have been sold for the event already so you should get yours from our office/Shop in Artane or at our stand in the RDS (see below) today or tomorrow. It's a fascinating talk so do get a group together and come along. Prof. Southwood will be interviewed on 2FM on Monday on the Gerry Ryan Show (9am-12pm). Tune in, especially if you cannot get to Dublin for the New Year Lecture. 2. RTE want a young person RTE's News dept want a young person to talk about what they think of all the recent Mars exploration for their "news2day" TV news show on Network 2. The show is aimed at 7-13 year olds. Please email info(a)astronomy.ie if you think you know anyone who would like to go on air? The coverage of the Beagle 2 landing attempt over Christmas was very good and of course when NASA's Spirit rover landed last Sunday the coverage was incredible with NASA receiving a billion hits on its website in just a few days - an all time record for any website. If you haven't already seen the websites start here: www.beagle2.com http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov 3. BBC "Sky At Night" with Sir Patrick Moore This programme was originally broadcast last Sunday night but will be repeated on Saturday January 10th at 12:45pm on BBC 2. January's edition is entitled "Music of the Spheres" and is about sounds from space. You can get details and even watch the programme online at www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight 4. Astronomy Ireland at Young Scientist Exhibition in RDS Jan. 8,9,10 Come along and see our stand at the 2004 EsatBT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in the RDS, Dublin 4 from 10am-5:30pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday January 8, 9 and 10. Check out over 400 student projects and other exhibitors from robots to computers and of course Astronomy Ireland. Details on www.esatys.com Remember, you can buy your tickets for our 2004 New Year Public Lecture on Jan. 12 at the RDS. Please join Astronomy Ireland online and support our IRISH astronomy magazine: www.astronomy.ie/sub Please forward this notice to everyone you think might be interested. ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to our emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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