September 2012 - astronomy@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Astronomy Ireland] 'Discovering the God Particle', Sun Show on Saturday, Harvest Moon this Weekend
by AI Secretary 28 Sep '12

28 Sep '12

Aurora Trip Membership DVD Shop 1. Public Lecture: Discovering the God Particle In July of this year a team of scientists at CERN - led by Professor Rolf Heuer who gave Astronomy Ireland's Public Lecture the same month - announced the discovery of a new particle, which was widely believed to be the long-sought Higgs Boson. In light of the immense public interest in the Higgs Boson in Ireland at that time, our October Public Lecture will be delivered by Dr Cormac O'Raifeartaigh who will explain what the Large Hadron Collider is, how the Higgs Boson was discovered, and what it means for our understanding of the Universe. With the start of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, particle physics entered a new era. The LHC will provide a deeper understanding of the universe and the insights gained could change our view of the world. The LHC is expected to yield insights into the nature of dark matter and the existence of hidden extra dimensions. The lecture, The Higgs Boson will take place on Monday, October 8th, at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin, and people are invited to bring friends and family. Tickets and DVDs of this lecture can be booked online at www.astronomy.ie or by calling (01) 890 11 11. 2. Sun Show on Saturday Each Saturday from 1pm we will hold a Sun Show at the Astronomy Ireland Shop, allowing the general public to view the Sun in safety to see magnificent solar flares and planet-sized sunspots. This is an excellent opportunity to try out some daytime astronomy with the help of experienced astronomers. Get more information on the Sun Shows HERE. 3. 'Harvest Moon' this Weekend The closest Full Moon to the autumn equinox (which took place on September 22nd) is known as the Harvest Moon, as farmers used to use its light to collect crops late into the night. The Full Moon occurs on the night of Saturday, September 29th, and at sunset you will notice the Moon rising in the East. You may also notice an illusion that makes the Moon appear larger when it's closer to the horizon. As it rises the Moon may have a warm, reddish colour: this is because the atmosphere scatters the blue light and allows the red light to travel to your eyes. Be sure to let us know what you see this weekend by emailing your observation reports and photographs to observe(a)astronomy.ie, so that they can be included in an upcoming issue of Astronomy Ireland. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Fireball Blazes Across Ireland and UK, God Particle Lecture
by AI Secretary 25 Sep '12

25 Sep '12

Aurora Trip Membership DVD Shop 1. Fireball Blazes Across Ireland and UK By far the most impressive fireball of the last several decades was seen on Friday night (September 21st) at 10:55pm, and now the hunt is on for any meteorites (rocks) that have landed on Ireland. Skywatchers in Ireland, the UK, and mainland Europe observed an extremely bright object break up into several smaller fragments as they glided across the sky heading towards Ireland, glowing as the friction of the air caused them to heat up. Due to the brightness of the fireball, there is reason to believe that the fragments were large enough to survive the fall to the ground, as happened in 1969 and 1999 in Northern Ireland and Co. Carlow. We are appealing for people to report their sighting of the breathtaking fireball to the organisation on our website at www.astronomy.ie/fireball. With detailed reports, we will conduct an analysis to determine where the object may have dropped debris on Irish soil, and we will announce results on this email newsletter. RTE reported on the fireball both online HERE and on the RTE News, which you can watch HERE. For more information and a photo of the fireball taken by a Star-B-Q attendee, please click HERE. 2. Public Lecture: The Higgs Boson: What It Is and What It Means In July of this year a team of scientists at CERN - led by Professor Rolf Heuer who gave Astronomy Ireland's Public Lecture the same month - announced the discovery of a new particle, which was widely believed to be the long-sought Higgs Boson. In light of the immense public interest in the Higgs Boson in Ireland at that time, our October Public Lecture will be delivered by Dr Cormac O'Raifeartaigh who will explain what the Large Hadron Collider is, how the Higgs Boson was discovered, and what it means for our understanding of the Universe. With the start of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, particle physics entered a new era. The LHC will provide a deeper understanding of the universe and the insights gained could change our view of the world. The LHC is expected to yield insights into the nature of dark matter and the existence of hidden extra dimensions. The lecture, The Higgs Boson will take place on Monday, October 8th, at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin, and people are invited to bring friends and family. Tickets and DVDs of this lecture can be booked online at www.astronomy.ie or by calling (01) 890 11 11. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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[Astronomy Ireland] 'The Higgs Boson', Astronomy Evening Classes, Sun Show on Saturday
by AI Secretary 20 Sep '12

20 Sep '12

Aurora Trip Membership DVD Shop 1. Public Lecture: The Higgs Boson: What It Is and What It Means In July of this year a team of scientists at CERN - led by Professor Rolf Heuer who gave Astronomy Ireland's Public Lecture the same month - announced the discovery of a new particle, which was widely believed to be the long-sought Higgs Boson. In light of the immense public interest in the Higgs Boson in Ireland at that time, our October Public Lecture will be delivered by Dr Cormac O'Raifeartaigh who will explain what the Large Hadron Collider is, how the Higgs Boson was discovered, and what it means for our understanding of the Universe. With the start of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, particle physics entered a new era. The LHC will provide a deeper understanding of the universe and the insights gained could change our view of the world. The LHC is expected to yield insights into the nature of dark matter and the existence of hidden extra dimensions. The lecture, The Higgs Boson will take place on Monday, October 8th, at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin, and people are invited to bring friends and family. Tickets and DVDs of this lecture can be booked online at www.astronomy.ie or by calling (01) 890 11 11. 2. 'Astronomy for Beginners' Evening Classes Our extremely popular Evening Classes begin on Thursday, October 11th. The classes are aimed at the beginner and cover everything you ever wanted to know about the Universe. There are eight classes in total and content covered includes an introduction to the night sky, the Sun and the Moon, planets and stars, history of astronomy, deep sky objects, the big bang and even a class on telescopes and how to use one. The enrolment fee for the Classes is €180 and includes membership to Astronomy Ireland. The fee for members is €130. For more information and enrolment details call us on (01) 890 11 11 or visit www.astronomy.ie/class. 3. Sun Show on Saturday Each Saturday from 1pm we will hold a Sun Show at the Astronomy Ireland Shop, allowing the general public to view the Sun in safety to see magnificent solar flares and planet-sized sunspots. This is an excellent opportunity to try out some daytime astronomy with the help of experienced astronomers. Get more information on the Sun Shows HERE. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Star-B-Q: Wonders you will see!
by AI Secretary 14 Sep '12

14 Sep '12

Are you excited yet? I am! The latest Weather forecast looks good for tomorrow night and we have perhaps the best line up of speakers ever for Star-B-Q 2012. People travel from all across Ireland to our Star-B-Q each year to see the "Wonders of the Universe" in a truly dark sky through some very powerful telescopes. And here's why you should join them to see 'wonders' most people in the world will never see and I wanted to share my excitement about these objects with you. These 'wonders' are star clusters, galaxies, gas clouds and planets all look very well in photographs but they have a majestic ethereal quality when seen 'live' in a telescope, with the actual photons of light made by these objects stimulating the cells in your eye after a journey of sometimes millions of years. Apart from the telescopes, just to look up at the Milky Way (which can be seen reaching right down to the horizon from the Wicklow Mountains - see picture on our website) is amazing, and we'll have the most powerful hand-held laser in Ireland that shines a beam that a thousand people can see at once enabling us to teach everyone their way around the sky at once. WONDERS The Andromeda Galaxy - our nearest galactic neighbour, nearly a trillion stars 2.5 million light-years away. P.S. make sure you see Tom O'Donoghue's amazing photo of this object which he'll be exhibiting at Star-B-Q. Click here for photo The Ring Nebula - the remains of a dead star, two thousand light years away. It's an amazing 'doughnut' or 'smoke ring' to your eyes, and think, this is the fate that awaits our own Sun! Click here for photo The Whirlpool Galaxy - a vast spiral galaxy colliding with a smaller neighbour. Another trillion stars first seen to look like a 'whirlpool' by our own Lord Rosse in Co. Offaly. Click here for photo The Great Hercules Cluster - a giant group of nearly a million stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. It looks like someone sprinkled a pile of salt on a black velvet. A truly amazing sight in a big telescope. Click here for photo The Dumbbell Nebula - another dying star making an amazing gas cloud shaped like an apple core. 1400 light years away and an amazing sight in a big telescope. Click here for photo The Pleiades Star Cluster - or "The Seven Sisters" - visible to the naked eye! But best seen in binoculars. You'll be amazed at the view even a €70 telescope gives of this famous cluster. Click here for photo Jupiter - will it have a scar left from that impact earlier this week? Even if not, the cloud belts and moons are an amazing sight in a powerful telescope. Spend a good time straining to see all the detail as it is 450 million miles away remember! Click here for photo The Wild Duck Cluster - about 3,000 stars 6,000 light years away, visible in binoculars and really spectacular in a telescope from a dark sky! Click here for photo There'll be other clusters too like M36, M37, M38 all in Auriga, and lots more targets like the Crab Nebula (a supernova remnant 6,000 light-years away in Taurus) and more if you stay late, so plan to make a night of it! BOOK NOW I hope you're excited now and you'll help us make this the biggest fund-raiser we've ever had by getting all your friends and family along tomorrow night. Please book online (or call (01) 890 11 11 and tell us how many in your group). Tickets are only €39 for adults and €29 for children. ALL WELCOME - see webpage for speakers, classes vouchers, exhibition, telescope discounts, and raffles with telescope and binoculars as door prizes! Call (01) 890 11 11 or www.astronomy.ie/sbq David Moore, Chairman Astronomy Ireland - the world's most popular astronomy society

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[Astronomy Ireland] All Ireland Descends on Best Star-B-Q Ever
by AI Secretary 12 Sep '12

12 Sep '12

EVERYONE IN IRELAND By far the biggest event of the year is our annual fundraising star party "Star-B-Q". People come from all over Ireland (and abroad!) to look at the Wonders of the Universe (more on this tomorrow and see webpage linked at the bottom of this email) with the biggest array of telescopes assembled in Ireland each year. SPEAKERS They also come to hear the speakers, which this year include: - Pete Lawrence, BBC Sky At Night presenter with Sir Patrick Moore - David Grennan, Irish Supernova Hunter record-holder - David Moore "The Universe" talk for beginners GET MONEY BACK IN OFFERS! But there's lots more for our annual flagship event including huge discounts that will pay for your Star-B-Q several times over! - Everyone gets a voucher for our Telescope Shop giving discounts of more than your Star-B-Q ticket price! - Huge €50 discount on our October Evening Classes (thousands have taken this extremely popular course) PLUS: - We'll have Ireland's most powerful hand-held laser to teach you the constellations. - Bring your binoculars and we'll show you how to use them for astronomy. - See the Milky Way stretching across the sky right down to the horizon in the dark skies. - See satellites, shooting stars and learn the folklore of the constellations with the naked eye. - And see star clusters, galaxies, gas clouds in giant telescopes like most people in the world will never see them, and all 'live'. (If skies are not clear we will set the telescopes up on subsequent weekends to guarantee you a look at these objects - so we can even beat the weather, though the forecast looks good) EXHIBITORS: Then there are the exhibitors: - Irish Rocketry Society with real live rockets! - World-class astronomy photo exhibition by Tom O'Donoghue www.astrophotography.ie - Planetarium - a unique portable version - Project Travel who organise amazing Aurora tours to Norway for us - Our own Telescope Shop with every type of telescope, books, binoculars and more THE CRAIC But most of all come for the amazing atmosphere in the highest village in Ireland with exceptionally dark skies, and a terrific buzz and excitement of Ireland's biggest astronomical gathering. All barbecue food (and soft drinks) are included in the admission price. BOOK LIFETIME EXPERIENCE Everyone is welcome - so bring family and friends. Isn't this the one event in your life that you should everything for each year? We think so and we've pulled out all the stops this year with the BBC's top man to make this perhaps the best Star-B-Q ever! Please book before Friday so we can tell our caterers how many people to expect: www.astronomy.ie/sbq

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[Astronomy Ireland] JUPITER IMPACT - WEBPAGE & VIEWING EVENT
by sec＠astronomy.ie 12 Sep '12

12 Sep '12

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[Astronomy Ireland] 'In Search of the Northern Lights', Star-B-Q, Astrophoto Exhibition Opens, Moon Near Jupiter
by AI Secretary 07 Sep '12

07 Sep '12

Aurora Trip Membership DVD Shop 1. Public Lecture: In Search of the Northern Lights Over the next two years Irish skies are to be set ablaze with displays of the Northern Lights, and ejections from the Sun could knock out satellites and send power grids into overload plunging millions of people into darkness. The surface of our parent star, the Sun, is bubbling with activity, forming giant dark sunspots and creating vast plasma flames, shooting gigantic clouds of material into space and towards our home planet. When these massive ejections strike, they can trigger the breathtaking auroral displays, but also cause havoc in other ways. To explain what is going on on the Sun, why there are bursts of aurora for a couple of years every 11 years, and the dangers involved with the radiation from the Sun, Astronomy Ireland has invited leading space researcher Dr James Wild from Lancaster University to give a Public Talk on Monday September 10th about the famous Northern Lights. The lecture, In Search of the Northern Lights, will take place on Monday, September 10th, at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin, and people are invited to bring friends and family. Tickets and DVDs of this lecture can be booked online at www.astronomy.ie or by calling (01) 890 11 11. 2. BBC's The Sky at Night Comes to Ireland! Sir Patrick Moore's world record TV series THE SKY AT NIGHT is back on BBC TV this week (transmission times below) with a show about the new Curiosity Mars Rover. Pete Lawrence is Sir Patrick's right-hand man when it comes to telling the UK what to see in the sky each month and he has graciously accepted our invitation to be the main speaker at this year's Star-B-Q which has been Ireland's biggest annual star party for over a decade. Star-B-Q takes place in the very dark skies of Ireland's highest village, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow. >From 1,000 feet above sea level in the depths of the Wicklow mountains the night sky is breath-taking, and on top of this there will be the country's biggest array of large powerful telescopes to show the wonders of the universe to the general public like few people on Earth have ever seen them. So, get all your friends and family together and book your tickets to come and hear one of the BBC's top astronomers speak and see the universe like you have never seen it before. FOR TICKETS: Call (01) 890 11 11 or book online: www.astronomy.ie/sbq THE SKY AT NIGHT ON TV Sir Patrick Moore and the team discuss the Curiosity rover on Mars, and talk about what to see in the night sky. Mon Sep 03 at 12:30am BBC 1 Northern Ireland Wed Sep 05 at 07:30pm BBC FOUR Thu Sep 06 at 12:20am BBC FOUR Thu Sep 06 at 10:00pm BBC HD Sat Sep 08 at 12:00pm BBC 2 Northern Ireland Sun Sep 09 at 01:05am BBC FOUR Note that the BBC1 and BBC2 programmes are shorter versions (20 minutes). Try to watch BBC FOUR or BBC HD transmissions (30 minutes) 3. Astrophotography Exhibition Opens On September 6th, David Moore, Chairman of Astronomy Ireland, formally opened A View of the Cosmos, a new astrophotography exhibition by Tom O'Donoghue featuring some of the most stunning astrophotos you are likely to ever see! One was featured on the prestigious Astronomy Picture of the Day website (Rho Ophiuchi) and another, of the Pleiades, is short-listed by the Royal Greenwich Observatory for the Astrophotographer of the Year award, for which we wish Tom the best of Irish luck. That these photographs are taken by an Irishman from Irish skies (well, partially; they were also taken from Spain!) is even more remarkable and we highly recommend you drop by this exhibition over the weekend or early next week. The exhibition runs for just a few more days, details on www.astrophotography.ie For more details about last night's opening, please click HERE. 4. The Moon Near Jupiter This Weekend >From 11pm tonight (Friday, September 7th) and from around midnight on Saturday look towards the eastern horizon to see the Moon rising with a very bright 'star' just to its left. The brilliant 'star' just 6 degrees to the left of the Moon is in fact the planet Jupiter which has just become an evening object. Jupiter will be visible in evening skies until April next year. So, dust off your telescope and start your 8 month viewing season of Jupiter this month! For more information on this stunning sight, with a map and advice on how to view it and photograph it, please click HERE. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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[Astronomy Ireland] 'The Sky at Night' Comes to Ireland, Astrophotography Exhibition, Public Lecture
by AI Secretary 04 Sep '12

04 Sep '12

Aurora Trip Membership DVD Shop 1. BBC's The Sky at Night Comes to Ireland! Sir Patrick Moore's world record TV series THE SKY AT NIGHT is back on BBC TV this week (transmission times below) with a show about the new Curiosity Mars Rover. Pete Lawrence is Sir Patrick's right-hand man when it comes to telling the UK what to see in the sky each month and he has graciously accepted our invitation to be the main speaker at this year's Star-B-Q which has been Ireland's biggest annual star party for over a decade. Star-B-Q takes place in the very dark skies of Ireland's highest village, Roundwood, Co. Wicklow. >From 1,000 feet above sea level in the depths of the Wicklow mountains the night sky is breath-taking, and on top of this there will be the country's biggest array of large powerful telescopes to show the wonders of the universe to the general public like few people on Earth have ever seen them. So, get all your friends and family together and book your tickets to come and hear one of the BBC's top astronomers speak and see the universe like you have never seen it before. FOR TICKETS: call (01) 890 11 11 or book online: www.astronomy.ie/sbq THE SKY AT NIGHT ON TV Sir Patrick Moore and the team discuss the Curiosity rover on Mars, and talk about what to see in the night sky. Mon Sep 03 at 12:30am BBC 1 Northern Ireland Wed Sep 05 at 07:30pm BBC FOUR Thu Sep 06 at 12:20am BBC FOUR Thu Sep 06 at 10:00pm BBC HD Sat Sep 08 at 12:00pm BBC 2 Northern Ireland Sun Sep 09 at 01:05am BBC FOUR Note that the BBC1 and BBC2 programmes are shorter versions (20 minutes). Try to watch BBC FOUR or BBC HD transmissions (30 minutes) 2. Exhibition: A View of the Cosmos by Tom O'Donoghue Tom O'Donoghue - one of Ireland's leading astrophotographers - is holding an exhibition of his stunning images at the Centre for Creative Practices starting this week from September 6th to 12th. This exhibition, entitled A View of the Cosmos, will feature some of Tom's newest single frame images and widefield mosaics of up to 60 hours of exposure time per photograph. A View of the Cosmos begins at 6pm on September 6th at 15 Pembroke Street Lower, Dublin 2, and it will be launched by Astronomy Ireland's David Moore. See some of Tom's work on his website at www.astrophotography.ie 3. Public Lecture: In Search of the Northern Lights 2013 is expected to be the peak of the current solar cycle, meaning that northern lights should be more and more visible, even from Ireland! In this talk, Dr James Wild of Lancaster University will talk about the aurora borealis, or northern lights. What are they? How are the caused? Do they have any relevance to our daily lives or are they just objects of great beauty and wonder? How can we predict when they will be visible? All these questions will be answered at the talk with the aid of some amazing images of the breathtaking phenomenon. The lecture will take place on September 10th at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin. For tickets and DVDs of the lecture, please click HERE. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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