March 2013 - astronomy@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Astronomy Ireland] Comet & Jupiter Watch Tonight, Magazine Delay
by AI Secretary 29 Mar '13

29 Mar '13

Spring Sale Membership DVD Shop 1. Comet & Jupiter Watch Tonight Tonight (Friday, March 29th) Astronomy Ireland will hold a special Comet & Jupiter Watch from 8pm to 8:30pm at the Astronomy Shop in Swords, Co Dublin. Comet PANSTARRS is currently visible in our evening skies, and will be located close to the Andromeda Galaxy in the north-west for the next week (technically it will be at its closest to the galaxy on April 3rd and 4th). Please check out the Astronomy Ireland magazine for a map of where to find it exactly in the sky. For some of the latest images taken of Comet PANSTARRS, please visit www.astronomy.ie/comet. Remember, this is the first chance to the comet up close in a dark, Moon-free sky! For more details and directions click HERE. 2. Magazine Delay Due to illness, production of the April issue of the Astronomy Ireland magazine has been unfortunately delayed. We do, however, expect that members will receive their copy in the post next week. We sincerely apologise for this. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Comet PANSTARRS, Aurora, Send Observations/Photos
by AI Secretary 15 Mar '13

15 Mar '13

1. Comet PANSTARRS This comet has at last been seen with the naked eye from Ireland and photographs are coming in. Check out our provisional webpage with my own first photo: www.astronomy.ie/cometpanstarrs.php There is a full article and star map to locate the comet in the March issue of Astronomy Ireland magazine (tip: look to the lower left of the Moon in the coming days and you should see the comet just above the horizon in strong twilight around 7pm). Subscribe to our magazine www.astronomy.ie/join and you will get all the information and the historical record of all the Irish photos we get of this rare naked eye comet! VIEWING: Our normal Friday night Telescope Night is being held one hour earlier than normal at 7pm March 15th to allow viewing of the comet from our Telescope Shop near Dublin airport www.astronomy.ie/map We will plan other viewing events as the comet gets higher, stay tuned! Telescope Night details are always posted here after 2pm each Friday (as they are weather dependent): www.astronomy.ie/scopenight 2. Northern Lights This Weekend As if a naked eye comet were not enough to celebrate St Patrick's Day weekend there was a huge explosion on the Sun and displays of the Northern Lights (Aurora) are possible tonight (Friday) and Saturday. Most auora are green on photographs (the eye often sees them as 'white' though, if they are faint) so how appropriate for St. Patrick's Day weekend! 3. Send your sightings! Remember, Astronomy Ireland's magazine ( www.astronomy.ie/join ) is the record of Irish astronomy. It is filed in libraries around the world and the Irish National Library so we want to document everything seen in Irish skies, as well as bringing you exciting reports and photos each month, so, please tell us if you observe (or photograph) any of the above, or anything else interesting, all year round: Please always email your observations to: observe(a)astronomy.ie for publication in Astronomy Ireland magazine. Thank you! Wishing you all clear skies, David Moore, Editor & Chairman. Magazine: www.astronomy.ie/join Shop: www.astronomy.ie/shop Map: www.astronomy.ie/map Tel: (01) 890 11 11 _____ No virus found in this message. Checked by AVG - www.avg.com Version: 2013.0.2904 / Virus Database: 2641/6172 - Release Date: 03/13/13

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[Astronomy Ireland] Major Cosmology Lecture and DVD, The Sky at Night, Astronomy Ireland on Newstalk
by AI Secretary 06 Mar '13

06 Mar '13

New Year Sale Membership DVD Shop 1. Major Cosmology Lecture and DVD Are you interested in the latest understanding of how our Universe came to be? And about why it is the way it is? Then Astronomy Ireland's March 11th Public Lecture in Trinity College is for you (or order the DVD if you can't get to Dublin at astronomy.ie/dvd) We are now pretty sure we can explain how our Universe came to be the way it is. At last we think we can 'fingerprint' the universe, to explain how it came to be the way it is. The next step is to explain why the Universe is as it is. One of the world's leading experts at explaining the universe is Professor Andrew Liddle who will give our Public Lecture on March 11th: "FINGERPRINTING THE UNIVERSE" This should be a fascinating lecture by a major International Speaker so please encourage everyone you know to come along. DATE: Monday March 11 at 8pm VENUE: Trinity College Dublin TICKETS: €7 (€5 concession) ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Prof Liddle has written textbooks on cosmology but he also enjoys explaining the universe to the general public. He has been professor of astrophysics at the University of Sussex and is now at Edinburgh University. He is author of over 200 scientific papers and four textbooks. His speciality is cosmology - the study of the entire Universe - and he is interested both in the present state of the Universe and its behaviour during its earliest epochs. While most of his work is theoretical, he contributes to some large observational programmes including the European Space Agency's Planck Satellite. SPEAKER'S DESCRIPTION OF TALK: Advances in astronomy and computer simulation have given us a high-precision description of our Universe. This Lecture will describe the precision cosmology, like the measurement of the relic radiation left over from the Big Bang, known as the cosmic microwave background. This gives us the Universe's 'fingerprint', telling us which, out of all the possible Universes, is our own. However, while precision cosmology may tell us how the Universe seems to work, we have yet to learn why the Universe is as it is. The Lecture will end with some speculation on how to take that next step. Book tickets online HERE or call us at (01) 890 11 11. 2. The Sky at Night: "Moore Winter Marathon Results" To find out how everyone got on in Sir Patrick Moore's last Moore Winter Marathon, Chris Lintott and Lucie Green travel to the Kielder observatory. All of the Sky At Night team have now given public lectures to Astronomy Ireland which you can get on DVD at www.astronomy.ie/dvd TSAN MARCH 2013 Sun Mar 03 at 11:55pm BBC 1 Northern Ireland Sun Mar 03 at 11:55pm BBC HD Thu Mar 07 at 07:30pm BBC FOUR Fri Mar 08 at 02:30am BBC FOUR Sat Mar 09 at 11:30am BBC 2 Northern Ireland Sun Mar 10 at 02:00am 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). For advice on telescopes to view the objects in this programme call Ireland's biggest telescope shop at Astronomy Ireland: www.astronomy.ie/shop or call (01) 890 11 11 six days a week 3. Astronomy Ireland on Newstalk David Moore will feature on the Newstalk show "Talking History" this Sunday, March 10th, at 7pm, to review the life and work of the great scientist Sir Isaac Newton, and to talk about a new book all about him. For more information on this show, please click HERE. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Public Lecture: 'Fingerprinting the Universe'
by AI Secretary 05 Mar '13

05 Mar '13

New Year Sale Membership DVD Shop Public Lecture Fingerprinting the Universe Rapid advancements in cosmology over the last couple of decades have made us realise that there could be more than one universe in existence - what scientists call the "Multiverse". We have also discovered that instead of the Universe ending in a "Big Crunch" it will instead expand forever. This expansion is even accelerating thanks to the mysterious "Dark Energy" that permeates space itself. The Universe will die in a "heat death", where space itself will be so stretched out that even the distance between individual atoms will be immense. Our knowledge of the Universe has grown from the Cosmic Microwave Background: something of an "echo" from the Big Bang and a fingerprint of the early Universe. But while we have learned much about the Universe, there are still many questions to be answered: which universe is ours, and why is our universe the way it is? The March Public Lecture will be delivered by Professor Andrew Liddle from Edinburgh University, and will take place in Trinity College Dublin on Monday, March 11th, at 8pm. Book tickets and order DVDs of this lecture 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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