Event

Lecture – Weds 30th Nov – Dr Wes Fraser (QUB) – “Recent space exploration: small guys take the spotlight”

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In the last few years, we have witnessed a second renaissance in robotic space exploration. Unlike the era of Voyager and Magellan however, the missions that have truly caught the public’s eye have visited the Solar System’s small objects. New Horizons to Pluto, Rosetta to comet 67P, Dawn to Ceres and Vesta, we now have a deep understanding of these small bodies implicating facts about their formation that we are still yet to fully appreciate.
 
Working our way from the asteroid belt outwards, I will give an overview of each mission, including details of the spacecraft, and summarize the astrophysical import of some of the landmark results each mission has produced. Along the way, I will show some of the most spectacular space photos ever taken, and some of social media’s often hilarious reactions to humanity’s latest space explorations.
 
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 16th Nov – Eleanor Edwards – “The Space Academy” and Paul Evans – “Beginners’ Astrophotography”

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Something a little different, this meeting is aimed at newcomers and beginners reflecting the substantial influx of new members this season.  IAA Schools Officer Eleanor Edwards will describe her involvement with the UK's Space Academy, and how it relates to teaching astronomy and space science in schools. IAA President Paul Evans will then talk about everything you need to know about getting started in astrophotography, using just your camera and a tripod, leading on to simple imaging through a telescope and a few fun techniques for presenting your work! 
 
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 2nd Nov – Dr David Malone (NUIM) “How we tell the time”

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Knowing the date and time is a question that is tightly tied up with astronomy, combined with some history, politics and a bit of physics. This talk will give a summary of how the calendar and clock we have today has changed from ancient times right up to 2016.

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 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.
 

Astronomy in Northern Ireland and Beyond