All posts by iaaadmin

Lecture: 4th March – Dr John Mason – “Mysteries of the Aurora”

Dr John Mason is a former President of the British Astronomical Association, and a full member of the International Astronomical Union. He has given us many lectures over the years, all of them superb! He knows ‘everything about everything’ in astronomy.
 
 
Next to a Total Solar Eclipse, a good aurora is probably the most spectacular sight in the sky. They have been recorded since antiquity, and they are only about 50 miles above out heads, yet there’s a lot we don’t know about them. 
 
As well as some lovely picturess, John will be telling us all about them, and what we still don’t know. 
 
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m. 
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.

IAA at NI Science Festival 26th -28th Feb

Thurs 26th – Sat 28th Feb. 10.00 – 19.00 each day – Hands-On Digital with the BBC .
 
The BBC Blackstaff Studios, Gt Victoria St Belfast, are offering a free chance to experience the latest in Digital technology, including IAA Secretary Tony Kempston and his amazing Oculus Rift Virtual Tour of the Solar System and the rest of the universe. You HAVE to try this out! No tickets needed and , but it will be First Come First served for each event.
 
More details at: www.bbc.co.uk/digitalni and http://www.nisciencefestival.com/  
 
 
IAA / QUB Solar day, 11.30 – 16.00 Saturday 28th February,  in front of the main building 
 
IAA in conjunction with QUB. Free event. 
,
Solar Observing in white light, H-alpha and Calcium 
 
Live links to Solar satellites such as SOHO and talks in the Council Chamber in the main building. 

Lecture: 18th Feb, 7.30 p.m. by Dr Jorick Vink, Armagh Observatory: “Star Formation in the Milky Way and in the early Universe”

We are delighted to have Jorick back again to give another of his excellent lectures. Jorick is a Senior Research Astronomer at Armagh, specialising in very massive stars and star formation. This is a fascinating subject, as we are constantly discovering older and older stars, including one which had a nominal age older than that of the universe itself. But within the error bars of the estimate, it just fell within the estimated age of the universe, which is 13.8 billion years. 
 
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m. 
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.

Lecture 4th February 2015 – Tom O’Donoghue -“Astrophotography: From Single Pane to Mega-mosaic”

Tom O'Donoghue takes some of the best deep sky astrophotos you will ever see taken by any amateur astronomer. He is totally dedicated, to get the best quality images possible! As well as taking the superb shots you can see on his website www.astrophotography.ie he is now working on a 'mega-mosaic' of the whole Orion constellation and all its associated nebulosity, of which the best known are of course the Orion Nebula itself (M42), the 'Running Man Nebula', and the Horsehead Nebula. But there's much more!
 
In this talk he will describe how he acquired his skills and his equipment, how he takes and processes the images, and describe his "Orion Mega-Mosaic"
 
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m. 
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.

Lecture 21st January 2015 – Professor Alan Fitzsimmons – “Rosetta at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko”

Synposis: This year the European spacecraft Rosetta became the first spacecraft to rendezvous with a comet, and the first to place a lander on its surface. The 3-day landing and operations period of the Philae lander was followed by millions of people around the world. Yet we still have at least a year of stunning science to come from Rosetta – plus hopefully some more from Philae. This talk will summarise the aims of the mission, show some of the first results, and explain some of what will happen in the coming months.
 
 
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m. 
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.

Lecture 7th January 2015 – John Flannery (IAS) – “The Sky by Eye – How to Rediscover the Soul of Astronomy”

Arthur C. Clarke once described the Universe as a device contrived for the perpetual astonishment of astronomers. Anyone can discover that sense of wonder. You just have to look up. It’s a common belief you need some form of optical equipment to witness those astonishing sights but that is not the case.

The Sky by Eye is a list that encourages people to observe the Universe with the unaided eye. It comprises 110 sky objects and phenomena ranging from the whimsical to challenging. Examples include studying the colours of the Moon, tracking a planet through its opposition loop, using a UHC filter to observe deep-sky objects with the unaided eye, observing the broad spectrum of atmospheric optics, and even building medieval astronomical instruments. 

The beauty of the Sky by Eye list is that you can delve deeper into areas such as meteor observing or revisit some aspects as your awareness grows. You may take a lifetime to tick off all the sights but the goal is to open your eyes to understanding and appreciating the rhythms of the sky, as well as build a foundation to enhance your enjoyment of astronomy. The list draws on the work of others including Joe Orman, Fred Schaaf, and Chet Raymo who all touch the soul of why we are naturalists of the night.

The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m.
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.

 

Naked Eye Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy visible from Ireland!

A new comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy (his 5th!), official name C/2014 Q2, is heading North and has gradually brightened. Currently it shines at magnitude 5.5, barely visible with the unaided eye even in a very dark sky, but relatively easy in binoculars.

IAA member John C McConnell has imaged the comet – shown here, taken with a 50mm lens at f2.2 for 10 seconds.

 

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy

Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy by IAA member John C McConnell 28th Dec 0045 UT

The Comet is currently moving up through Lepus and into Eridanus then on up towards Taurus. It is expected to attain maximum brightness around 7th January when it will be to the upper right of Rigel and almost directly below The Hyades.

Location maps available at Heavens-Above here…

Path through the sky at Virtual Telescope here…

IAA Lecture 17th December: Dr Ernst de Mooij (QUB) – “Characterising the atmospheres of exoplanets”

Over the past two decades more than one thousand planets have been discovered outside our Solar System. What is even more interesting is that we have started to investigate atmospheres of these planets using telescopes both on the ground and in space. In this talk I will show how we can study the atmospheres of these alien worlds, and what we have learned from these observations.

 
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m.
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.

Lecture 3rd December: Prof Tom Ray, of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Title: “The Einstein Lens and a Tale of Two Eclipses.”

This lecture will present some exclusive new findings about the trips that were made to various parts of the world to observe the Total Solar Eclipse in 1919: the first attempt to check the predictions of General Relativity. see http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/benchmarks-solar-eclipse-proves-relativity
 
There are two important local connections –
 
1. The telescope lens, which was made in Ireland; and 2. The astronomer who led the expedition to Brazil was Andrew Crommelin, born in Cushendun, Co Antrim, and son of the family who gave their name to NewtownCrommelin in Co Antrim! See http://www.newulsterbiography.co.uk/index.php/home/viewPerson/1805  Andrew Crommelin was a noted cometary astronomer, and one of only 4 people who have a comet named after them although they did not discover it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/27P/Crommelin
 
You will have a chance to see the telescope lens that proved Einstein’s theory of Relativity was correct! And it was made in this Island!
 
   
This lecture will as usual be in the Bell Lecture theatre, Physics building, main QUB Campus.
 
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. Venue: the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m.
 
Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.