https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/ael/Research/ConferencesandSymposia/INSAP2025

    The IAA is one of the sponsors of the event, and we are mounting an exhibition of members’ photos in the Council Chamber / Canada Room in the main Lanyon building for the duration of the conference, We are also mounting an exhibition of more photos, and IAA and astronomical items, and meteorites (thanks, Mike Simms) n the main library (the McClay Library) from now until the end of the month.  Very big thanks to Bernie Brown for putting together and curating both the photo exhibitions.

   IAA members are also involved – speakers include Prof Mark Bailey, Robert Hill, and Terry Moseley

   Other big names include Pro Tom Ray from DIAS, Prof Clive Ruggles from U of Leicester, Dr Ed Krupp from the Griffith Observatory and Planetarium in Los Angeles, and Prof Jocelyn Bell Burnell.

    This major international conference celebrates the “Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena” in the arts .

IMPORTANT: IAA Members can attend any or all of the main sessions totally free, as we are one of the sponsors of the event. But you MUST give me your name and address, no later that 5 June, so that I can forward it to the organisers, who will then have a list with your name on it. Please bring some form of ID, just in case! That includes the welcome reception at the City Hall on 8 June, but NOT the dinner nor the optional trips!

See: INSAP 2025 | School of Arts, English and Languages | Queen’s University Belfast

“The 13th International Conference on the Inspiration of Astronomical Phenomena (INSAP) offers a dynamic forum for scholars, artists and enthusiasts from a variety of disciplines to explore the profound impact of astronomical phenomena on human thought, culture and artistic expression throughout history. From ancient mythology to modern art, and from literary works to cutting-edge scientific research, the conference fosters interdisciplinary dialogue that bridges the gap between science and the humanities. This year’s theme, Celestial Connections Across Time and Space, explores the diverse ways in which celestial events have driven scientific innovation, sparked ethical, religious and philosophical questions and inspired artistic and literary creativity throughout history.

Northern Ireland, with its stunning landscapes and legendary skies, has long inspired awe and wonder. From the ancient megalithic monuments like the Giant’s Ring and Beaghmore Stone Circles, which align with celestial events, to the region’s clear, starry nights that offer breathtaking views of the Milky Way, it is a location where the heavens and Earth converge in a profound dialogue.

Taking place at Queen’s University Belfast 8-13 June in the iconic Canada Room and Council Chamber within the Lanyon Building and on 13 June at the historic Armagh Observatory, the conference covers an extensive range of topics—from ancient astronomy and indigenous sky lore to the latest advances in astrophysics and space exploration.

Highlights of the conference include keynote lectures by leading experts Dame Susan Jocelyn Bell Burnell (Department of Physics, Oxford University) and Professor Tom Ray (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), expert-led sessions on neolithic sites like Newgrange, Dowth, Knowth and Stonehenge, interactive workshops, art and astro-photography exhibitions and panel discussions that will inspire new perspectives and collaborations.

The Welcome Reception will be held on Sunday 8 June in the Rotunda of Belfast City Hall. Delegates will explore the rich history of Belfast and enjoy a private, guided tour of the iconic City Hall. The tour will provide access to areas typically closed to the public, including The Council Chamber and the Robing Room, where the civic chains and official jewels are displayed.

The Conference Dinner is scheduled for June 12 at Belfast Castle, nestled on the picturesque slopes of Cave Hill Country Park.

Attendees will have the opportunity to visit Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, one of the oldest observatories in the UK and Ireland, centre for astronomical research since its establishment in 1790. Today, it remains a vital institution for studies in solar physics, stellar activity and climate science. As well as Armagh Observatory, the Planetarium plays a crucial role in public outreach and education, inspiring the next generation of astronomers through interactive exhibits and educational programs.

Other events include cultural and musical performances, a guided bus tour of Belfast, stargazing sessions and the optional guided tour of Ireland’s key astronomical landmarks of Newgrange, Dowth and Knowth on Saturday 14 June.

The conference is supported by the School of Arts, English and Languages (Queen’s University Belfast), the ‘Crossing Frontiers: Medieval Visions of Modern Science‘ International Research Network, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, NI SPACE, Belfast City Council, Visit Belfast, and the Irish Astronomical Association.”

Synopsis: 

The origin of the solar system and the emergence of life are themes central to forefront research in modern astrophysics. I will give a brief overview of the observational efforts in this direction, including our current understanding in how a star is born and the implication of this process for the resulting planetary system. 

BIO 

Dr Deirdre Coffey is Associate Professor at the UCD School of Physics. She earned her PhD at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS). Her post-doc experience was at Arcetri Observatory in Florence, Italy. She is National Program Manager for the European Space Agency’s upcoming space mission ‘Ariel’ to probe exoplanet atmospheres. She is the current Chair of the Astronomical Society of Ireland, and a committee member of the Royal Irish Academy’s Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences Committee. 

Synopsis:

The lecture will chart the career of Vera Rubin as an astronomer from school days, through university and on to professional research positions. The lecture will detail her collaboration with Kent Ford to use the newly developed image tube spectrograph which improved the optical sensitivity of telescopes ten-fold. Its subsequent use to plot the rotation curve of the Andromeda Galaxy and the unexpected results of that work will be described. Subsequent study of a range of field galaxies led to the confirmation of dark matter as part of spiral galaxy structure. The lecture will also briefly describe the instrument that was used for these discoveries and a brief indication of the properties of dark matter. Awards received by Vera Rubin in later life will also be mentioned. 

Bio:

Paul Bates is currently the President of the Irish Astronomical Association, a part-time lecturer in physics and astronomy at the Belfast Metropolitan College and a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. His particular interest presently is to encourage the shift of astronomy into a more central place in the curriculum of schools in Northern Ireland through his participation in AEON, the Astronomy Educators Outreach Network in the UK. 

Venue: Larmor Lecture Theatre, Astrophysics Research Centre, Physics Building, QUB.

Admission free, including light refreshments, All welcome.

IAA Lecture Tues18th February 2025 – Larmor Theatre, QUB – Note – Tuesday!

Prof Monica Grady – “Rocks from Space”

Note, admission is Free, but as this is a Northern Ireland Science Festival event, tickets are required…..

https://nisciencefestival.com/events/rocks-from-space

Traditionally, astronomers study stars and planets by telescope. But we can also learn about them by using a microscope – through studying meteorites. From meteorites, we can learn about the processes and materials that shaped the Solar System and our planet. Tiny grains within meteorites have come from other stars, giving information about the stellar neighbourhood in which the Sun was born.

Meteorites are fragments of ancient material, natural objects that survive their fall to Earth from space. Some are metallic, but most are made of stone. They are the oldest objects that we have for study. Almost all meteorites are fragments from asteroids, and were formed at the birth of the Solar System, approximately 4570 million years ago. They show a compositional variation that spans a whole range of planetary materials, from completely unmelted and unfractionated stony chondrites to highly fractionated and differentiated iron meteorites. Meteorites, and components within them, carry records of all stages of Solar System history. There are also meteorites from the Moon and from Mars that give us insights to how these bodies have formed and evolved.

In her lecture, Monica will describe how the microscope is another tool that can be employed to trace stellar and planetary processes.

Monica Grady is Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences in the School of Physical Sciences at the Open University in Milton Keynes. She obtained a degree in Chemistry and Geology from the University of Durham in 1979, and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge in 1983. Her thesis concerned the carbon chemistry of meteorites, and she has continued this study throughout her subsequent career. Professor Grady has led major research programmes in the study of the origin and evolution of the Solar System through analysis of meteorites, the Moon, Mars, asteroids and comets. Her particular research interests are in carbon and nitrogen chemistry with additional expertise in the mineralogy of meteorites, especially of primitive meteorites and meteorites from Mars. Her work builds a bridge between the non-biological chemistry of the Galaxy and the origin of life on Earth. It also provides a framework within which the potential for life beyond Earth can be considered.

A full biography can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monica_Grady

This is a joint meeting with the Belfast Geologists Society

“Dawn of the Modern World: Life, Death and Rain in the late Triassic ”, by Dr Mike Simms, Irish Astronomical Association & Belfast Geologists Society.

Synopsis:

In November 1987 two young geologists stumbled upon evidence that the aridity of the Late Triassic was interrupted by greatly increased rainfall ~234 million years ago. This climate change appeared synchronous with mass extinction/diversification events both on land and in the sea. It was a key episode in the evolution of life, sometimes described as the Dawn of the Modern World, and affected everything from dinosaurs to dinoflagellates and coccoliths to coral reefs.
  Evidence for the Carnian Pluvial Episode was first announced in 1989 but was virtually ignored for 20 years. Since 2010 there has been a huge upsurge in interest worldwide. Research groups have confirmed much of what was reported, and hypothesized, in that first paper and the CPE has entered the scientific ‘mainstream’.

This talk will provide a history of the discovery of the CPE, the evidence for the climatic and biotic changes, more recent developments in the study of the CPE, and its implications for what is happening with our climate today.

Both of those geologists (now not so young) live in Northern Ireland today.

 Biography:

Mike has been Curator of Geology at National Museums NI since 1996, and a geologist since 1967. His interests range from fossils and ancient palaeoenvironments, to caves and what they tell us about landscape change and climate, with extraterrestrial interests in the origin and synthesis of elements and, of course, meteorites. Mike has had four fossil species named after him, including an exceptionally ugly Jurassic fish and a Jurassic cockroach.

Admission free, all are welcome, including Light Refreshments.

“Exploring our Solar System: Past, Present, and Future”

Synopsis:

Our Solar System is a rich and dynamical playground of rocky planets, gas and ice giants, and lots of chaotic and interesting smaller asteroids. Within the various small body populations in our Solar System, there lies is a treasure trove of information that can tell us about where we came from and how we came to exist.

In this talk I want to give a guided history tour of how we think we know how a Solar System is created, from the earliest dusty disk around the Sun, to planet formation, to what is currently out there now. I’ll then talk a bit about my own research into how we get this understanding from both ground and space-based telescopes, as well as creating models of Solar System bodies.

Finally, I’ll give everyone a sneak peek into the next revolutionary telescope, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, that is going to revolutionise our understanding of the Solar System.

Bio; I am a current 3^rd (and final) year PhD student at Queen’s University Belfast, where I work with Dr Meg Schwamb on understanding the small Solar System bodies through both observational studies with ground-based telescopes, and by creating models and simulations to compare.

I completed my undergraduate master’s study at Queen’s University Belfast in 2022 in ground-based observations of comets and their brightening as they move nearer to the Sun.