“Apollo 17 – Ron Evans and his Long Voyage to the Moon”

This talk, based on a book by the speaker, will tell the fascinating story of how Ron Evans got from a farming town of 900 people in the Mid-West, to a Moonbound spacecraft. 

Biography: Geoffrey Bowman was born in Bangor in November, 1954, and went to Bangor Grammar School, where he developed a fascination for science and geography.  He then studied law at Queen’s University, obtaining an Honours Degree before spending 39 years as a solicitor. 

From as far back as he can remember, Geoffrey has been fascinated by the night sky and, growing up in the 1960s, by the unfolding drama of the Space Race.  News of the historic flights by Gagarin, Shepard and Glenn helped to ignite a life-long passion for space exploration.

A Fellow of the British Interplanetary Society, Geoffrey is also a Member of the Irish Astronomical Association.  Over a 30-year period from 1983, Geoffrey has met 20 of the 29 flown Apollo astronauts, including 10 of the 12 Moonwalkers, but – significantly – he never met Ron Evans, command module pilot on Apollo 17. 

After Geoffrey retired in 2017, he was approached by the inspirational Colin Burgess, managing editor of the “Outward Odyssey” series of space-books published by Nebraska University Press  Geoffrey had contributed two chapters to a 2010 book (“Footprints in the Dust”) and Colin suggested “doing a whole book.” 

After some discussion, it was agreed that Geoffrey would write a full biography of one of the lesser-known Apollo astronauts, Ron Evans, whose untimely death in 1990 is largely responsible for his relatively low profile. After much research, the story which emerged was of a man regarded by many as one of the true unsung heroes of Apollo.

Paul Evans is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: IAA Zoom Meeting
Time: Mar 16, 2022 07:15 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84434258581?pwd=TEo5bzlTU3ZNY2xiTWhVNC8zVnJvdz09

Meeting ID: 844 3425 8581
Passcode: 162552

The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start

This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/irishastronomy/videos

Title
Star and planet formation: a whistle-stop tour! 

Abstract
Studies of the birth of a star and its solar system have become particularly relevant in this exciting new era of extrasolar planets discoveries.

I will outline our current understanding of how a star is born, and how observations of newly forming stars can hint at sites of newly forming planets.

Finally, I will outline Ireland’s involvement in the European Space Agency’s upcoming space mission ‘Ariel’ to probe exoplanet atmospheres. 

Brief Biography
Dr Deirdre Coffey is an Assistant Professor at the UCD School of Physics. She earned her PhD at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), which she followed with five years of post-doc experience based at Arcetri Observatory in Florence, Italy, and also at DIAS.

She joined UCD in 2012. Her research interests are in the area of star and planet formation. Currently, she is National Program Manager for the European Space Agency’s upcoming space mission ‘Ariel’ to probe exoplanet atmospheres; she is Chair of the Astronomical Society of Ireland; and committee member of the Institute of Physics in Ireland, as well as the Royal Irish Academy’s Physical, Chemical and Mathematical Sciences Committee. 

Paul Evans is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: IAA Zoom Lecture
Time: Mar 2, 2022 07:15 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88613059568?pwd=am1hd2lTb214TWtTL3NxRC9KOGp3UT09

Meeting ID: 886 1305 9568
Passcode: 383639

The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start

This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/irishastronomy/videos

“SETI and Adaptive Optics: A Match Made in the Heavens”

Synopsis:

This presentation gives an overview of SETI (the search for extra terrestrial intelligence) and the various methods by which this search is carried out. In the first part of the talk, I outline the history of SETI before detailing more recent work in this area, focusing briefly on the use of the I-LOFAR radio telescope for SETI activities. The disadvantages of conventional radio SETI techniques are discussed, while also highlighting the value of optical telescopes to the SETI cause.
The second part of this talk introduces my research on adaptive optics (AO) and how this technology is crucial for imaging exoplanets directly. I describe the main components of an AO system and how they work before speculating on how adaptive optics may be able to detect evidence of advanced alien civilisations.

Biography:

I’m Ben, an avid space geek and first-year PhD student researching adaptive optics at NUI Galway. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to the world of SETI last Summer when I took part in an internship with Breakthrough Listen and the Berkeley SETI Research Center. An active member of the NUIG Astronomy Society, I always enjoy talking about the wonders of the night sky. When I’m not tinkering with my own telescope or designing a new one, I’m usually found running, reading or knee-deep in a pile of Lego.



Paul Evans is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting. Topic: IAA Zoom Meeting
Time: Feb 16, 2022 07:15 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86036851590?pwd=RUVBYnVxSmZ5UHlwOTA1OGdvVmQ0QT09

Meeting ID: 860 3685 1590
Passcode: 833900

The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start

This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/irishastronomy/videos

“Black Holes Across Cosmic Time”

Abstract:

The last decade has led to an unprecedented in advance in our understanding of black hole population demographics. We are, like never before, in a golden age of black hole observations. The breakthroughs in observations of black holes have been matched to a large extent by similar breakthroughs in our theoretical understanding of black hole demographics.

In this talk I will discuss the initial predictions of black holes stemming from General Relativity moving on to discuss recent detections of black holes through gravitational waves and with the Event Horizon Telescope. I’ll finish by discussing some outstanding questions in the field.

Biog:

PhD Institute of Astronomy at the University of Cambridge

Postdoctoral Research: University of Helsinki, Institute of Computational Cosmology at Durham University

Postdoctoral Fellowships: Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship (2016-2018) at DCU,Royal Society

Fellowship (2020 – present) Maynooth University

Paul Evans is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: IAA Zoom Meeting
Time: Feb 2, 2022 07:15 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84822534019?pwd=UHFscTFDQlBETFc1VVo5UmxJRXdoQT09

Meeting ID: 848 2253 4019
Passcode: 213472

The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start

This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/irishastronomy/videos

“The Webb: Well Worth Waiting For”

Abstract:

On Christmas Day, the Webb was launched from Kourou in South America. It is currently on its way to a special orbit well beyond the Moon having undergone a number of very complex manoeuvres.

After giving everyone an update, and an explanation of what to expect over the next few months, I will briefly introduce its four main instruments and describe how the Webb can help us understand the birth of the first stars in the Universe and how stars and planets, like our own Solar System, form.

Bio:

Tom Ray is Director of the School of Cosmic Physics at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

He began his career in Radio Astronomy at Jodrell Bank before working at a number of institutions including the University of Sussex and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg. His primary interest is in star and planet formation.

Tom is Co-Principal Investigator of the Mid-Infrared Instrument on the James Webb Space Telescope and Co-Principal Investigator on the Ariel Mission to explore exoplanets.  In addition he is building a new type of super-cooled detector, known as a Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector, for optical/near-infrared astronomy.

Tom’s other interests include ancient astronomical sites, such as Newgrange, and the history of Irish astronomy.

In his spare time he sails.

Paul Evans is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: IAA Zoom Meeting
Time: Jan 19, 2022 07:15 PM London

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4222002106

Meeting ID: 422 200 2106

The room will open around 19:15 to allow for a prompt start

This talk will also be Simulcast on our YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/irishastronomy/videos