February 2009 - astronomy@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Astronomy Ireland] Venus-Moon Watches, Public Lecture, Limerick Evening Classes, October Evening Classes, New Branches, Career Opportunities
by AI Secretary 24 Feb '09

24 Feb '09

1. Ireland's Biggest Ever Telescope Event: Venus-Moon Watches Nationwide This Friday the 27th of February, Astronomy Ireland will host Venus-Moon Watches at locations all over the country. Venus and the Moon make a spectacular cosmic duet for the last time in our evening skies for 3 years. Venus - the hottest and brightest planet in the Solar System - will blaze above a dramatic crescent Moon in the evening twilight. Not only will the Moon and Venus be an amazing spectacle in the sky, but the Jewel of the Solar System, Saturn, will rise in the East. Through our powerful telescopes at each location, you will be able to see Saturn's rings almost completely edge-on; an event that won't be seen again for 30 years. Comet Lulin is currently at its closest to Earth and to date only a handful of people in Ireland have seen this celestial snowball. It is currently 30 times larger than our home planet, and after it hurtles past Earth and the Sun, it will venture back to the outer reaches of the Solar System, and will not return for many millions of years. We want everyone to come along to their nearest Venus-Moon Watch to witness these amazing events and to support Astronomy Ireland in promoting science and astronomy nationwide. Currently confirmed locations include: Cavan, Carlow, Clare, Cork, Dublin, Donegal, Limerick, Louth, Mayo, Sligo and Waterford For details of your nearest Watch and more information, please visit: www.astronomy.ie. 2. Public Lecture and DVD - "The European Space Agency" - David Southwood, Director of Science & Robotics at ESA Awarded a gold medal for his work by the Council of European Aerospace Societies in 2007, Professor David Southwood, Director of Science and Robotics at ESA, has pushed Europe beyond the frontier of space exploration. Professor Southwood is responsible for some of the most advanced robotics projects currently being undertaken in space science. Some of these include: a.. Hubble Space Telescope – the first of the space-based Great Observatories that allowed us to peer back in time to when the first galaxies were created. b.. The James Webb Space Telescope – the successor to HST, which will probe the formation of galaxies, stars, planets and the origins of life. c.. ExoMars – a project that will send a rover to Mars to drill into the Martian surface to search for life. d.. Mars Express – the ESA’s first mission to another planet in the Solar System. e.. Venus Express – the follow-up mission to Mars Express. f.. GAIA – a mission to build the most accurate 3D map of the Milky Way ever created. g.. Planck – this telescope will map the Cosmic Microwave Background and may find out how the Universe began expanding. h.. Herschel Space Observatory – a European far-infrared space telescope to be launched in April 2009. i.. Rosetta – a robotic spacecraft launched in 2004 to investigate two asteroids, and to put a lander on the surface of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko. j.. Cassini-Huygens – the famous craft that flew to Saturn and landed on Titan, its largest moon, teaching us not only about the outer Solar System but also about our own home planet. k.. LISA Pathfinder – a fundamental research mission that will put Einstein’s Theory of Relativity to the test like never before, probing the Universe for gravitational waves. …And countless others! Astronomy Ireland has booked the biggest lecture theatre in Trinity College for what will be a hugely popular and exciting talk by Professor Southwood. Do not miss out on this opportunity to learn about the European Space Agency: where it came from, where it’s at, and where it’s going. Tickets for this lecture cost only €7 and are available online at www.astronomy.ie/lecture200903.html or over the phone on (01) 847 0777. The lecture will take place in the Edward Burke in Trinity College, and will begin at 8pm sharp. DVD for Everyone in Ireland For those who cannot make it to the venue on the night a DVD will be available for €7 (same price as a ticket). Everyone in Ireland can order a DVD online at www.astronomy.ie/lectureDVD.html. 3. Limerick Astronomy Evening Classes Do you know how the Universe was born? Did you know that you are made of almost 50% comet juice? Did you know that the Zinc in your body, which you need to live, was created by an exploding star? The Astronomy Ireland Evening Classes will answer these questions and begin in Limerick on 19th of March at 7:30pm. These exciting and hugely anticipated classes are suitable for people of all ages and all abilities. There is no mathematics or any other educational requirement for these classes. Learn about the pioneers of astronomy and their painful history, the mysterious world of dark energy, dark matter and black holes, how our Solar System was formed, how a telescope works and much, much more. The classes cost €180 and includes membership to Astronomy Ireland and a subscription to our full-colour magazine Astronomy & Space. This monthly magazine gives all the latest national and international news, and is packed full of features, photos and a diary of spectacular celestial events that everyone can see for the coming month. Be sure to book online now at www.astronomy.ie/class/limerick.html or over the phone on (01) 847 0777, as bookings cannot be taken on the night! 4. Evening Classes in October Remember, if you missed out on the Astronomy Evening Classes this time round, they will take place again in October. Book online now for October at www.astronomy.ie/class. If you enrol now, your subscription to Astronomy Ireland will begin straight away, so you can enjoy your copy of Astronomy & Space magazine immediately. 5. New Astronomy Ireland Branches for IYA 2009 Astronomy Ireland is expanding! We are opening dozens more Branches all over the country, and what better time to do this than the United Nations International Year of Astronomy! This is part of our drive to promote astronomy and a science culture in Ireland and to give everyone the opportunity to learn much more about this beautiful and enthralling science! If you have a telescope or are interested in setting up an Astronomy Ireland Branch in your area, please do not hesitate to email us or call us (01) 847 0777. Our staff at our head office will support you, organise events for you and give you all the assistance you need. 6. Career Opportunities We're Hiring. Astronomy Ireland is growing rapidly. We are looking for the best and the brightest to join our team. We are looking for dynamic, motivated and focused people to work with us to help develop and grow our organisation. Vacancies are available in all departments. Please email your CV to jobs(a)astronomy.ie, and tell us how you think you could contribute to our team and the development of Astronomy Ireland. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Telescopes Gather for Biggest Event in IYA on Feb. 27th
by AI Secretary 18 Feb '09

18 Feb '09

1. Venus - Moon Watches Nationwide to Include Saturn and Naked Eye Comet In celebration of the International Year of Astronomy, Astronomy Ireland is setting up powerful telescopes around the country for you to witness our next event, the Moon passing very close to Venus in evening skies, which is so spectacular it won't occur again for 3 years. The planet Venus, which has lit up our evening skies for the past months will soon disappear from them completely, leaving this Watch as your last chance to view this beautiful planet blazing beside the Moon until 2012. Venus' disk will show a huge crescent like you have never seen before. The Moon will be a thin crescent just below Venus, making an extremely eye-catching spectacle to the naked eye, rather like it did on December 1st when people jammed all our phone lines asking what the super bright 'star' was near the Moon - See report and photos here The new naked eye Comet Lulin (see finder charts in our Feb and March magazine) will also make an appearance and is currently brightening in magnitude as it approaches a fly by of Earth. Incredibly, it will be right next to Regulus, the brightest star in Leo, making it easy to locate at each Watch. Saturn will also be visible in the night sky for this event, and is currently nearly ringless due to its axial tilt, a sight you will not see again for 30 years. With so much happening on this night, this is an unmissable event and we will have high powered telescopes set up across Ireland to let you view this amazing spectacle. We have Venus - Moon - Saturn - Comet Watches starting at 7pm on February 27th in the following locations: Carlow Clare Cork Donegal Down Dublin Limerick Louth Mayo Mullingar Portlaoise Sligo Tipperary Waterford Wexford With 15 locations (so far), call or email if you want a Watch in your town? This is Astronomy Ireland's biggest event ever. We will be there with information and magazines for sale even if it's cloudy, so come along regardless of the weather at 7pm. Check out www.astronomy.ie or call our head office (01) 847 0777 for more details. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Feb. DVD Available, An Post Competition, Naked Eye Comet
by AI Secretary 11 Feb '09

11 Feb '09

DVD of 'Cosmic Casualties' Now Available Doug Ellison flew in from the U.K. for IYA 2009 to give one of the most fascinating lectures in the history of Astronomy Ireland on February 9th and now it is available on DVD for everyone in Ireland to own and watch. Doug took the crowd through a whirlwind tour of the highs and lows of unmanned space travel over its 50 year history, starting with the Cassini mission which was, coincidentally, the subject of our New Year lecture by Professor John Zarnecki (which is also available on DVD) Doug reminded the crowd of the problems on the Cassini mission where nobody allowed for the Titan probe's frequency changing due to Doppler effects which would have meant no pictures or data would have been received. Also, someone forgot to turn on one of the radio transmitters but fortunately Earth based receivers were upgraded in time. Apparently even giving the world's greatest scientists two billion dollars doesn't guarantee perfection. He then went on to describe the Galileo mission to Jupiter, where the giant communication dish failed to fully open and the 130,000bps (bits per second) of data was diminished to a paltry 10 bps, reducing the information received by a factor of over 10,000. Engineers, through their ingenuity, compressed data and focused cameras on smaller areas and managed to get back nearly all (70%) of data. Also discussed were the Mars rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, who have been trekking across the face of Mars for over 5 years despite being given life spans of only 3 months. Doug has personally viewed all 200,000 photos sent back from these rovers and delighted in wowing the audience with the panoramic views of Mars that have been taken over the years, using special software for his presentation. Doug's knowledge was encyclopaedic and his enthusiasm for all these missions was infectious, which the crowd shared, laughing and ultimately delivering a thunderous round of applause. Doug was interviewed on Phantom FM today, and you can hear him here We are delighted to make the DVD of this lecture available to everyone in Ireland to make this a truly national event. ORDER DVDs HERE 2. An Post Astronomy Ireland are helping An Post promote their astronomy themed writer's competition for primary schools around the country called the 'What's the Story?' challenge. They would welcome contact from schools which are interested by March 6th and you can contact them at (01) 7058400 or www.anpost.ie/educationawards 3. Comet Breaks Naked Eye Visibility Barrier Martin McKenna from County Derry reports seeing Comet Lulin with the naked eye last weekend. As explained in our last email the comet will be brightest at the end of this month and we want you to email your own sightings to observe(a)astronomy.ie so we can record them for posterity in our magazine. For a star map and full details of viewing Comet Lulin subscribe to our magazine here. Remember, there is loads to see this month: Venus now at its best for 3 years, Saturn now at its best for 30 years, Naked Eye Comet Lulin, and countless deep sky objects visible in these long dark winter nights, so get out observing every clear night. For FREE advice on what to see please call our Telescope Shop on (01) 847 0777 (full time staff are available to advise you six days a week!) and see the Sky Diary pages of our magazine every month. Astronomy Ireland www.astronomy.ie Tel (01) 847 0777

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[Astronomy Ireland] Lecture & DVD, Equipment, Lots to See, Work Experience
by AI Secretary 09 Feb '09

09 Feb '09

1. Public Lecture and DVD There are still places available for the following talk in the Fitzgerald (Physics) Building, Trinity College Dublin, and the DVD is available too. 'Cosmic Casualties' Monday 9th Feb at 8pm Join Doug Ellison, founder of www.unmannedspaceflight.com, who will be delving into the complex world of space exploration and revealing the glorious successes and enormous failures of over 50 years of space travel. If you would like to book a place please go to www.astronomy.ie or call (01) 847 0777 or just come along on the night, doors open at 7:30pm. Also, we are putting this talk on DVD for everyone in Ireland at a modest cost : ORDER DVD HERE 2. DONATE MORE PCs Thanks to all those who donated computers and accessories so far. As the society expands we are still seeking more equipment so please keep them coming. See here 3. LOTS TO OBSERVE THIS WEEK 2009 is a fantastic year so far for binocular and telescope users, and the pace looks set to continue. There is too much to see each night to list here so see the Sky Diary pages of our magazine for more, but here is a quick round up of some of the things you should see. For free telescope advice please call us 6 days a week on (01) 847 0777 VENUS: Observations of Venus are requested for this week. The planet is now at its best and shows a large crescent disk in even our smallest telescopes. We only have a few more weeks then we have to wait 3 years to see a sight like this again in evening skies. Please email observe(a)astronomy.ie if you observe Venus. SATURN: is now rising in the East at 8pm so you should get good views before midnight. The rings are closest to edge-on that we will see for 30 years so tell us what you see in your telescope and we will record it in our magazine for posterity! MOON: Watch the Moon rise each evening in the East. It's Full on Feb. 9 LUNAR OCCULTATIONS: Perhaps the best such event of the year occurred on Feb. 6 and it was clear over most of the country! See page 23 of the February magazine for details and for 3 more very good occultations this month, though in morning skies this time. Check this column in our magazine every month! I.S.S.: will next be visible from March 18th for about 10 days. (Text SPACE to 57003 if you want to be on our text alert service for ISS, texts cost 1euro each) NAKED EYE COMET: Comet Lulin is now mag 7 and in reach of binoculars as it hopefully brightens to naked eye visibility later this month. By the end of this week the Moon is out of the way and the comet rises before midnight near the bright star Spica. A star map showing how to locate Comet Lulin is on page 28 of our February magazine. See the March issue (out later this week) too. As our magazine is filed with national libraries here and abroad it is the record of Irish observations so we ask every one of you reading this to email a brief report of what you see every time you go out observing, be it with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope, especially all of the objects above: Please email observe(a)astronomy.ie to be included in our monthly magazine report for posterity! (to get the magazine for just 4euro each month click the link below) 4. WORK EXPERIENCE If you know anyone who is seeking work experience (Transition Year Students, FAS courses, etc) please send them our way. Each year we take on dozens of people on our work experience programme in our offices in Artane, Dublin 5. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Astronomy Ireland Public Lecture and DVD Feb 9th, Donate PC's, What to See
by AI Secretary 04 Feb '09

04 Feb '09

1. Exploding Parachutes and Burst Airbags - Astronomy Ireland Public Lecture (and DVD) On Monday February 9th Astronomy Ireland will be celebrating the United Nations International Year of Astronomy by flying in a brilliant public speaker from the U.K. Doug Ellison has appeared on the BBC's Sky at Night with Sir Patrick Moore and he will be talking in Ireland about "Cosmic Casualties". RTE's Gerry Ryan will interview Doug Ellison on the morning of his lecture so book your seats early as tickets could sell out on the day. His lecture is all about mistakes that have been made in space that have made front page headlines around the world and cost billions of euros! Space Travel can be a very intricate and problematic enterprise, as should be expected when venturing into the unknown. Doug Ellison, a self confessed space exploration addict, will be delving into this complex word and revealing the highs and lows of over 50 years of space travel. Doug, a multimedia producer by day, is the founding administrator of the well respected Unmannedspaceflight.com forum by night. Over the past 5 years he has talked to astronomy and science societies, schools, and the general public, conveying the excitement and adventure of our solar system. This lecture will be taking place in the Fitzgerald Building in Trinity College at 8pm on Monday, Feb 9th. Astronomy Ireland will be producing this lecture on DVD for those who cannot attend on the night. This can be purchased at www.astronomy.ie/lectureDVD.html or call (01) 847 0777 Book your tickets now at www.astronomy.ie or call (01) 847 0777. 2. Donate PC's Astronomy Ireland is taking on new staff and volunteers all across Ireland. If you have any PC's or similar equipment that you would like to donate to the society please reply to this email or call. 3. Observing Highlights Tonight (Feb 4th) the Moon passes in front of the Pleiades star cluster. Saturn's rings are closer to edge on than they will be for 30 years. Venus blazes in the South after sunset. Comet Lulin is near Zubenelgenubi and brightening, currently magnitude 7 and rising at 2am. For more details of all these sights see your magazine. Please email observe(a)astronomy.ie and tell us what you see for our monthly magazine report of all Irish Astronomy. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Galway, Sligo, Letterkenny Evening Classes Feb. 4, Venus Watch Publicity Success
by AI Secretary 02 Feb '09

02 Feb '09

1. Galway, Sligo, Letterkenny Evening Classes on Feb. 4th This year has been declared the United Nations International Year of Astronomy and in celebration we are organising events for you all around the country, to bring Astronomy to everywhere in Ireland. Our Beginners Evening Classes launched to great acclaim in several locations across the country last week and we have received a huge surge of bookings after the first class with people recommending it to their friends. Sligo, Letterkenny, Galway are all still available and begin this week, as is Limerick which commences on March 19th, so this is your chance to secure your place on this amazing course. We want you and all your family and friends to learn about the universe you live in, and to experience these jaw dropping classes that will reveal the mysteries of the universe. Learn about the history of astronomy and the people who pioneered it, the mysterious world of dark energy and dark matter, how the planets formed, how exactly a telescope works, and much, much more. The price of these classes also includes a one year membership to our society Astronomy Ireland and our magazine, Astronomy & Space (or a reduction of 50 euro if you are already a member). Our full colour monthly magazine will keep you up to date on all the latest astronomical news, articles, pictures and even contains a sky diary which will tell you what is visible in the Irish sky each month. Learn everything you ever wanted to know about the Universe but were afraid to ask! Pat Kenny Interview Listen to David Moore, Ireland's best known astronomer, tell Pat Kenny all about the universe when he advertised this course on RTE Radio 1 HERE Enrolments quadrupled overnight after this interview! Advanced booking is essential so enrol now at www.astronomy.ie/class (01) 847 0777 2. Venus Watch Report Poor weather dampened our Venus Watches throughout the country, but it didn't dampen our spirits! Our Chairman David Moore gave over 20 interviews last week alone (including on The Last Word with Matt Cooper on Today FM). We're planning to do it all over again on February 27th under some better conditions (see here) Read a full report of last Friday's Venus Watches here Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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