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Event

Lecture – Weds 19th Oct – Dr Morgan Fraser (UCD) “Gaia: Mapping the Milky Way and Beyond from Space”

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Gaia is the European Space Agency's flagship mission for this decade, and is revolutionising our understanding of the Milky Way and beyond, by allowing astronomers to measure distances to a billion stars. 
 
I will outline the Gaia mission, and some of the technology that makes this possible. As the first public Gaia data release is made in September 2016, I will highlight some of the key science results to date, and discuss some of the things to look forward to from Gaia in the future. Finally, I will talk about the Gaia Alerts project, which uses Gaia data to find transients, and how amateur astronomers are getting involved.
 
Doors open about 7.15pm. There is free parking available on the campus in the evenings. Admission Free, including light refreshments. We are located in the Bell Theatre, Department of Mathematics and Physics, QUB – details here……
 
With thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for assistance with this event.
Event

Lecture Weds 5th Oct – Prof Jose Groh (TCD) – “Live fast and die hard: the evolution and death of massive stars”

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“Live fast and die hard: the evolution and death of massive stars”
 
Stars more massive than 8 Suns end their lives in dramatic supernova explosions. But before dying, these monster stars have tumultuous lives when they blow winds, suffer giant eruptions, and interact with companion stars. In this talk, Prof. Jose Groh (TCD) will give an overview on the fast lives of the most massive stars in the Universe and how they evolve. He will also discuss the roles of massive, monster stars as cosmic engines of the Universe.
 
This promises to be a masterclass in the role played by the biggest stars in our Universe and is a must see!
 
This is a World Space Week event
 
Doors open about 7.15pm. There is free parking available on the campus in the evenings. Admission Free, including light refreshments. We are located in the Bell Theatre, Department of Mathematics and Physics, QUB – details here……
 
With thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for assistance with this event.

 

Event

Opening Lecture Weds 21st September – Prof Alan Fitzsimmons – “Sungrazing Comets – Falling Into Hell”

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This year's season opener features a return visit to the IAA by Prof Alan Fitzsimmons of QUB's Astrophysics Research Centre on the subject of "Sungrazing Comets – Falling Into Hell". Alan is one of our greatest supporters and most popular speakers and has given us many superb lectures over a period measured in decades. This once again promises to be an excellent start to our new lecture season. 
 
Doors open about 7.15pm. There is free parking available on the campus in the evenings. Admission Free, including light refreshments. We are located in the Bell Theatre, Department of Mathematics and Physics, QUB – details here……
 
With thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for assistance with this event.
IAA

2016-17 Memberships Due

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A reminder to Members, and indeed anyone who wishes to become a member, that the membership year begins on 1st September. Despite rising costs, by managing the Association’s finances carefully we have managed to hold the membership fees down to the same level as they have been for several years now and as always we are providing a full programme of 14 lectures plus the AGM together with observing nights and our comprehensive outreach programme at lånepengar.se.

New and existing members can (re)join here……

Membership of the IAA costs £20 (€25) per year for Individual Membership or £25 (€30) per year for Family Membership (all members of a family at one address) from September to August and entitles members to attend all IAA events including our regular speaker programme. Also, there are four issues of the IAA magazine “Stardust” produced annually and these will be delivered to your home address.

Event

“Images of Starlight” exhibition 2nd August – 30th Sept Linenhall Library

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The Irish Astronomical Association (IAA), in conjunction with the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies (IFAS) and the Irish Astronomical Society (IAS), presents "Images of Starlight", a highly regarded exhibition of the best astronomical photographs taken by amateur astronomers throughout Ireland.
 
See coverage of the launch on NVTV here from 18.42 onwards….
 
 
This exhibition was launched at the Linenhall Library, Belfast, on 2nd August, and will run until 30th September. The Library is open 9.30am – 5.30pm Monday – Friday and 9.30am – 4pm Saturday. Admission is free. This exhibition originally opened in Dublin in February to great acclaim, and has been viewed by tens of thousands of people at three venues since then.
 
 
 
Images of Starlight
 
With modern high quality telescopes, standard digital cameras, and computer-aided guiding and post processing, amateur astronomers are now taking photos of better quality than those taken by the biggest and best professional telescopes in the world before the digital era.
 
The exhibition was originally organised by the IAS (Irish Astronomical Society, Dublin) and IFAS, and was open to all amateur astronomers in Ireland. Over 60 photos of extremely high quality were selected, printed at large scale to the highest possible standards by Canon Ireland, and professionally mounted. The Belfast incarnation of the exhibition adds another 21 images taken by IAA members.
 
The exhibition showcases amazing images of spectacular objects from the Aurora or Northern lights in our own atmosphere, to the Sun, Moon, planets and comets in our Solar System, to beautiful nebulae, star-forming regions and star clusters in our own Milky Way Galaxy, and on to other distant galaxies whose light has travelled many millions of light-years to reach our telescopes and cameras.
 
The exhibition will feature Irish category winners of the International Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, organised by the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London. It also includes what is believed to be the largest and most detailed image of a constellation ever taken by an amateur astronomer.
 
While the exhibition is aimed at the general public, the aspiring astronomical photographer will find inspiration and the advice they need to take their first steps.
 
 

 

Event

IAA Perseid Meteor Shower Barbeque – Thurs 11th Aug – Cancelled

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**Note this event is cancelled due to bad weather**

The Perseid Meteor shower is caused by the Earth passing through the debris trail of Comet 109P Swift-Tuttle which orbits the Sun with a 130 year period. The meteors hit the Earh's atmosphere comparitively fast, aprroximately 35 miles/sec or 120,000 mph and burn up at a height of around 50 miles. This year we are expecting a Zenithal Hourly Rate (ZHR) of as much as 200 on the Thursday night which is outstanding – in fact this year it is possible that we will see an outburst, assuming we hold the event on the Thursday evening.

We have chosen Thurs 11th August for this event this year – it is actually the best night in terms of expected meteor numbers and the weather looks slightly better than the Friday, though if things change closer to the date we may postpone to the Friday – watch this space!. Meet at 8:00pm for the Barbeque with observing from 10:30pm onwards.

Event

IAA Solar Day, WWT, Castle Espie – Sun 7th Aug 2pm – 5pm

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The next popular IAA solar outreach day will be on Sunday 7th August from 2:00 to 5:00. All the usual attractions – solar observing if clear, telescope display, meteorites to handle, exhibition of space & astronomy items and of course the ever popular starshows in the Stardome, courtesy of Armagh Planetarium. Shows will run at 2:00, 2:45, 3:30 and 4:15 and tickets are bookable at the reception desk at Castle Espie
 
The "Solar Days" are generally held at one or two venues during the summer months and provide an excellent opportunity to promote astronomy at a time when dark skies don't arrive until late at night and we're getting prepared for our lecture programme which starts in September. They are always popular events and all ages are catered for.
 
Event

Monday 9th May – Mercury Transit Observing & Talk

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On Monday 9th May there will be a rare Transit of Mercury. This occurs when Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, passes between the Earth and The Sun – usually it will pass above or below but on rare occasions like this it will go directly in between and will be visible against The Sun for several hours as it makes its passage across.

This last happened in 2006 and will happen again in 2019, however this year's event is very well placed and can be seen in its entirety from Ireland, weather permitting of course! Unlike the Transit of Venus, which could be observed using eclipse glasses only, Mercury is both smaller and further away so can only be seen with optical aids.

DO NOT under any circumstances try and use Eclipse Glasses in conjunction with binoculars or any other optical aid to see this event, eye damage may well result.

Instead, come and join the IAA and members of the Astrophysics Research Centre at QUB to view the event in complete safety.

Observing will begin outside the front of QUB at Midday and continue until the end of the transit after 7pm, then there will be a Michael West Lecture on "Einstein’s Gravity From The Transit Of Mercury To The Detection Of Gravitational Waves" by Professor Patrick Brady, Center for Gravitation, Cosmology & Astrophysics, University of Wisconsin.

Transit begin and end times are 12;12 BST and 19:42 BST

We will also be holding a similar event at Portstewart, Co Derry, at the Agherton Parish Centre, from 12.00 until the end of the event.

Further details on the observing here…..

Further details on the talk, for which registration is required, here…..

IAA

Weds 13th April – Annual General Meeting

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Wednesday 13th April marks the date of the 42nd Annual General Meeting of the Association. The purposes of the meeting are to review the activities of the past year, elect a new Council for the coming year and for the Council to receive feedback from the membership on how they – that's you – would like to see the Association develop.
 
We have also had a sub-committee sitting to decide whether or not the prestigious Aidan P Fitzgerald Award should be awarded this year, and if so, who the recipient should be. 
 
This award is given no more than once a year for "Outstanding Service to the Association" and is named after one of the leading members of the Association in the 1940s and 50s.
 
As well as the formal business, which we will try and complete as quickly and efficiently as possible, we will have no less than three reports back from the Indonesian Total Solar Eclipse of 9th March from Terry Moseley, Andy McCrea and Kate Russo.
 
All are welcome, though of course only paid up members are eligible to vote on business matters. Doors open about 7.15pm. There is free parking available on the campus in the evenings. Admission Free, including light refreshments. We are located in the Bell Theatre, Department of Mathematics and Physics, QUB – details here……
 
With thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for assistance with this event.
Event

IAA at Benburb Castle, Sat 9th April, 7 p.m

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The IAA has been invited to hold another one of our ever-popular public astronomy events at a new venue, Benburb Castle, Co Tyrone. We will have observing (if clear) of a lovely young crescent Moon, magnificent Jupiter, and maybe even glimpse the innermost planet, elusive little Mercury. Plus of course all the usual Deep Sky Objects visible in this darks-sky location.
 
There will also be a very good pass over by the brilliant ISS.
 
Benburb Castle is just S of the main street, the B128, in the village of Benburb. The B128 runs from Blackwatertown to Aughnacloy, and Benburb is just a few miles west of Blackwatertown, NW of Armagh City.
 
The entrance to the Castle from the B128 was misleading the last time I was there- it took you into the Priory instead! So to be sure, note this: the entrance drive is just West of the junction between the B128 and the B130 from Benburb to Dungannon. Thus, if coming from Blackwatertown, enter Benburb village along the B128 and look out for the junction with the B130 to the right. The entrance to the castle is the next entrance on your left.
 
GPS: The entrance to the Castle off the B128 is at N 54d 24' 43"; W: 6d 44' 46".
The 'Castle' itself (more of a collection of fortified houses, really) is at N 54d 24' 36"; W: 6d 44' 45".
 
Tea and coffee etc will be provided.