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REALTA Tullamore’s Only Observatory The only piece of the Moon in Ireland Cosmos 2006 reviewed Where the computer came from Planets in strange places TAS and Irish Astronomers view eclipse from Turkey Plus your bi-monthly guide to what’s on in the sky! Reviews, Events And Lectures – Tullamore Astronomy Publication of the Tullamore Astronomical Society The Midlands only Astronomical Newsletter! Volume 8: Issue 2 – May/June 2006 Price: €5.25 It is time for change – for the better! E d i t o r i a l Editorial Summer is now here, and unfortunately, so does the opportunity of astronomical observing. Sounds funny, you might say, as it means the nights are not so cold and you don’t have to consider that itchy lambs wool sweater to keep you warm outdoors. But, we loose some dark sky opportunities. Also, you have to wait much longer to take the telescope outside. There seems to be more negatives than positives, I thought, regarding summertime observing. But then I also thought, there are some things that make up for it. Only during the summer can we see noctilucent clouds (see the June/July 2005 issue of Réalta), a chance for the zodiacal light, and the Perseids meteor showers. Kids don’t have to worry about homework on weeknights either. So, maybe it balances out – TAS can have more comfortable observing nights. Well, wait and see. Cosmos, Irelands second longest running star party took place without glitches for the most part. Numbers were down slightly due to the timing of the eclipse trip, Easter, and bank holiday weekends. The speakers, and their topics, were of an exceptional standard this year, and very varied. Our two overseas speakers, Neill Bone and Massimo Teodorani have expressed thanks to the hospitality extended to them from their new Irish friends! Some pictures from the weekend are in this issue. Fundraising – a word that sometimes make people cringe. To raise money, voluntarily, for an organisation that still charges you an admission fee. Any club or society needs funding, and sometimes membership fees are not enough. To me, it is amazing just how popular astronomy, as a science subject, has become. Yet, everywhere any astronomy club turns towards to find out about funding, be it from a science group, educational body, or even local councils, there is nothing. The National Lottery is another option, but the body seeking funds still needs to come up with money themselves. This is why TAS is brainstorming ideas to come up with easy ways to raise funds. When they happen, it will need volunteers. Think you can help? Either with a suggestion, or joining to help out in person, why not get in touch? TAS, like many other astronomy clubs in Ireland, are completely voluntary, and are not like the commercially minded Astronomy Ireland and so on. To that end I also draw your attention t IFAS, the only official home on the web of where like-minded astronomers, either in clubs or not, come together to share information. Its home can be found at www.irishastronomy.org. Recently, a new initiative was introduced – the monthly IFAS Astrophotography Competition. Each month, a different theme is set, and submissions are welcome from browsers. As yet, there is no prize, but if you log on, you can see some fantastic images taken by astronomers in Ireland. At this point, as editor, I also have to apologise for this issue. You see, we get busy now and again, and that means the late arrival of some things! On top of that, holding off till the last minute, I could not get a Skynotes section included. Our provider, John Flannery was just swamped with work commitments, so it had to be scrubbed! I also did not have time, for various reasons. Still, I hope the lack of these do not take away from the rest of what is included. There are, again, some fine articles in this issue, and all the latest news too. Réalta Magazine of Tullamore Astronomical Society Volume 8, Issue 2 – May/June 2006 This magazine is owned by Tullamore Astronomical Society, and maintained as a hobby by its members. Any opinions expressed by the editor and/or contributing editors through submissions and articles, are not those of the Society. Where possible, all sound confirmed sources of information contained in this magazine is stated. Editor: Seanie Morris Contributors: Patrick L. Barry, Trudy E. Bell, John Flannery, Deirdre Kelleghan, Girvan McKay, Michael O’Connell, Tony Phillips, Ciaran O’Reilly. Printed by: Aungier Print Ltd, Sackville Place, Sackvile Street, Dublin 1. Tel: 01 8788406/7 Contributions: These are always being sought from anyone, as variety is good. If you think you would like to submit anything for readers of Réalta, simply e-mail it to the Society at the above e-mail address, or send it on disc. Hand written articles are, of course, accepted, but cannot be guaranteed inclusion in the issue following submission due to time constraints. Availability: Réalta is available at a discount price to subscribed members of the Society. It is also available at full cover price to non-members, either at meetings or on sale in nominated local shops. Back Issues: Certain numbers of back issues are available at €2 each, subject to availability. To find out, get in touch via [email protected]. They will be sent out upon receipt of a stamped addressed envelope (.96 cents) for each copy requested). Copyrights: All submitted articles are copyrighted to the author and/or its source. Copying of any content is Réalta is allowed, as long as this source is acknowledged. Réalta is Copyright © 1997 to 2006 Tullamore Astronomical Society So, without further ado, I’ll let you engross yourself! -Seanie 2 Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society I n T h e S o c i e t y Astronomy Club, we have a car park! A t last, after years of trying but coming up against time constraints, budget constraints, and volunteer constraints, TAS has now finished its car park to accompany the Observatory at the Site. Now, cars can park in comfort without bouncing all over the knobbly grass and get stuck in soft patches. Over 60 tonnes of pit face gravel was purchased and delivered, and on Saturday March 11th, the work commenced. During a rainy day, all manners of tasks were done to improve both the look and safety of the Site. Many thanks to volunteers on the day: Frank Concannon, Darren Dempsey, Denise Matthews, Roger Matthews, Seanie Morris, Denise Murphy, and Michael O’Connell. Michael, Seanie, and Denise take a small break. Its tough work moving rocks you know! Getting stuck in. Frank ‘commandeered’ the digger for the morning – I think he really enjoyed it! The finishing touches – at least it is safe to drive over. The finished product is seen in the top-left thumbnail with Denise & Denise keeping eye over it! Roger taking care of some site maintenance. The hedges were trimmed back, and drainage cuts were put in place along the lane behind him. Darren Dempsey manages the filling around the Observatory exterior. This was to help curb the growth of weeds and moss up the walls. Watch Out! Michael gets used to driving a 3 tonne digger! I wonder where he bought his licence from? Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society 3 I n T h e S o c i e t y Looking back on Cosmos 2006 By Seanie Morris, Tullamore A.S. This year was probably going to be one of the toughest years of hosting Cosmos. Caught between the IFAS Turkey Eclipse Trip, Easter, and a string of Bank Holiday weekends, there was bound to be a shortfall. Still, even if numbers were down a little, it did not take away from the atmosphere of the weekend for Ireland’s only Spring Star Party! Cosmos 2006 opened up luckily enough with clear skies for visitors from far and wide, on Friday night enabling them to observe the wonders of the cosmos! Before that however, exhibits and displays were opened up, including one photo montage of the recent IFAS Turkish Solar Eclipse trip. Michael O'Connell, from TAS, gave the opening talk on how he was able to build his own backyard observatory. With only a handful in private or public ownership in Ireland, he made it look easy how to convert a garden shed. Later that night, around 20 people stayed out until the small hours of the morning with telescopes and binoculars of varying degrees of power. Fragments of Comet Wachmann-Schwassman 3 were easily seen. This comet will reach naked eye visibility in less than 2 weeks time. Saturday morning had the 'official' welcoming address by TAS Chairperson, Frank Concannon. Speakers on the day included Catherine Ansbro, questioning our apparent inability to break from the norm when it comes to questioning our mainstream thought on science and how we perceive the Universe around us. Massimo Teodorani enlightened the crowd with his recent SETI observations, including evidence he captured in Norway purporting to be of an extraterrestrial nature. Neil Bone from Astronomy Now magazine explored one of his favourite topics, The Northern Lights, or aurora, and how, when, and why they form. He included some stunning photography of recent aurorae from around Britain and Ireland captured in recent years. To round up Saturday's activities before the Cosmic Dinner that night was a fun and free-for-all Table Quiz. Quizmaster Seanie Morris had something for everybody, and not just the astronerds! Unfortunately weather was poor that night, so the troupe had to settle for indoor activities. Sunday opened with the General Meeting of the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies. Details of this can be found on www.irishastronomy.org, Irelands largest gathering of amateur astronomers. Later, Ash McFadden from Inishowen Planetarium demonstrated both with, and through his presentation, how fun science can be when presented in the right manner to kids. This included the annual Egg Lofting Rocket Competition Friday nights observing session. Many people stayed for this, with an array of telescopes and binoculars from Shane Culleton’s superb pair of Apogee 20 X 100’s, to TAS’s new 12 inch Dobsonian ‘Revelation’ reflector. Seanie Morris is seen here standing next to it. held in Inishowen. TAS has been invited as a group this summer to go up and partake in a rocket race of its own! After lunch, Anthony Murphy from Drogheda, and curator of Mythical Ireland, talked about how new levels of socalled 'passage tombs' in the Boyne Valley were accurate in their time keeping according to the positioning of the stars, that even over 5,000 years ago were exceptionally accurate in both design and function. Unfortunately, like most good things, Cosmos 2006 had to come to a close. A raffle for some great prizes wrapped up the events of the weekend, which still claims its spot as Irelands most looked forward to astronomy event of recent times. TAS would like to thank the generous support of Byrnes World of Wonder, Sennheiser, McKenna Electronics, the Order of Malta, Century 3000, the staff at Annaharvey Equestrian Farm, and to TAS's dedicated team of members that made sure a glitchfree and warm-welcomed event was had by all, especially Secretary Seanie Morris, and Treasurers Deirdre Campbell and Denise Matthews for their unwavering attention. Cosmos 2007 has been pencilled in for the weekend of March 9th to 11th, when once again, Tullamore will be at the Centre of the Universe! Visitors get a chance to talk to Ash McFadden (far right) – probably about the best way to blow up your neighbours 100 watt security light! John O’Neill of the IAS is caught peeking at the camera. Photos used here are courtesy of Michael O’Connell and Seanie Morris. 4 Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society I n T h e Winners of the Table Quiz (l-r) Leo Daly, Mark Daly, Dave Lillis, John Flannery, and Pat O’Neill. Seanie Morris is presenting the trophies. S o c i e t y Massimo Teodorani, SETI Researcher from Italy, about to present some theories and possible proof relating to space-faring visitations, based out of Norway. Albert White, IFAS Chairman, presenting Terry Moseley (and in absentia David Bell) with a crystal laserengraved token of appreciation for organising the Turkey Eclipse Trip this year. Deirdre Kelleghan (IAS) and Michael O’Connell (TAS Vice-Chairperson) TAS Treasurer Denise Matthews (at back) with her predecessor Deirdre Campbell, maintained unwavering attention at the admissions desk. Frank Concannon, TAS Chairperson, acted as MC for the weekend. Enjoying a hearty Irish breakfast! (l-r) Massimo Teodorani, Catherine Ansbro, Eamonn Ansbro, Neil Bone, and Ash McFadden. Dave MacDonald, Eamonn Ansbro, and Catherine Ansbro, enjoying some timeout. Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society 5 I n T h e S o c i e t y The day Turkey went dark March 29 th saw the Total Solar Eclipse across about 3% of the Earths surface. Totality included a path cut through eastern Brazil (for only a couple of miles at sunrise), the mid-Atlantic, North Africa, Turkey, southern Russia, and western Mongolia. A group of 140 astronomers and friends from around Ireland, under the banner of IFAS, headed to Turkey for a one week stay that included 7 nights in a five star beachside hotel, and some fantastic scenery in the surroundings of Antalya, in Turkey’s Mediterranean Riviera. Here are some pictures by some of those that made the trip. Needless to say, the experience of 3 minutes and 41 seconds of night time at 13:55hours in the afternoon, was breathtaking! Many thanks to David Bell and Terry Moseley for organising the trip. Getting some practice before the big day. Solar observing with the telescopes on Tuesday. A string of sunspots had just come into view this day, right on time for display on Wednesday! Deirdre Kelleghan from Bray captured maximum partial totality from Ireland with her digital camera and filter applied. Dave MacDonald from Kildare A.S. captured this image rd of 3 contact, also known as the Diamond Ring, just as the Moon was leaving totality. Members of Tullamore A.S that made the trip: (l-r) Seanie Morris, Deirdre Campbell, Michael O’Connell, Denise Murphy, Paul Fitzgerald, and Catherine O’Connor. The beautiful corona, seen from the Greek island of Kastelorizo, by Anthony Ayiomamitis. The magnetic field lines and swirls are clearly visible. This is one of the most beautiful pictures of the corona seen. 6 Dave Lillis from Shannonside A.C. created this montage of a sequence of images he captured as the Diamond Ring came into view. The bottom 3 are seen with the filter on. Miniature crescents seen through the holes of a colander John Flannery brought with him. This demonstrates the ‘pinhole effect’. Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society I n T h e S o c i e t y Letters to the Editor Have your comment or suggestion heard – e-mail [email protected]. From: Massimo Teodorani, Italy Subject: Thank you for Cosmos 2006! Date: Thu, 27 April Thanks again! Dear Seanie, Reply: It sounds like fun Ash! It won’t be the first time TAS was host to a rocket launch. At Astrofest ’95, two engineers test-fired a rocket at our Site. It was in an attempt to get the first real Irish rocket launched, with experiments, at the time. I don’t know what became of it unfortunately. We are thinking of perhaps doing something in conjunctio with our Perseids Star-B-Q in August. A lot of people look forward to that down here, so it could be a runner. We’ll keep in touch about it. Ash I had a really pleasant stay with you all. A breath of fresh air, intellectually and also from the friendly point of view. And accurate organization. Many Thanks to you all from me too! Massimo Reply: Massimo, it was a pleasure. Your talk was source for some great debates, both good and bad, sparking a lot of interest, which is a good thing. We hope your stay with us was a memorable one. From: Albert White Date: Sun, 23 April Subject: Archaeoastronomy Hi folks, From: Catherine Ansbro Date: Wed, 26 April Subject: Thank you for Cosmos 2006! Dear Seanie, Many thanks for your hospitality and for ensuring everything went smoothly. Both Massimo and I were very pleased with the whole event. I'm glad it got people thinking. That was our goal. You have a great thing going out there in Tullamore. Keep up the outstanding work. Best wishes, Catherine Reply: Again Catherine, it was our pleasure to have you over. Your talk was an eye-opener. Anthony Murphy's talk today was interesting. However as several questions made clear, there is no evidence for many the claims that he makes. The Cygnus enigma for example seems to assume that the builders of Neolithic Ireland saw the constellation of Cygnus as a swan, yet there is no evidence to support this. Even if there was documented evidence that it was the constellation of the swan to the Neolithic people, we still cannot go from there to conclude that any passage grave was build based on the position of Deneb. Just because we can find an alignment doesn't mean that the builders built their structure based on it. This is a major challenge for Archaeoastronomy; it is always possible to find some astronomical event or alignment that fits the evidence! To compliment Anthony's hard work in investigating the folklore and local geography, perhaps Tullamore Astronomical Society might like to invite Clive Ruggles to speak at a future COSMOS? Clive is Professor of Archaeoastronomy University of Leicester, and the author of 'Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland'. This is a 'must-read' book for anyone interested in the scientific study of ancient structures. Clear Skies, ~Albert From: Ash McFadden Date: Wed, 26 April Subject: Thank You! Dear Seanie, A big THANK YOU to yourself and all the Tullamore astronomical people for putting on a grand Cosmos 2006! I really enjoyed being there! And now some possible good news. I talked to the folks at the Department of Justice, Explosives Division, and they'd have no objection to folks in your locale building and flying model rockets there, as long as you coordinated with your Fire Marshal and the Gardaí Siochana and had me there as Range Safety Officer when you flew. Wanna make some noise? Reply: Thanks for the tip Albert. We are on the lookout for speakers for next year. However, having to consecutive years where a similarthemed talk was presented? I don’t know how that would go down. But, we have the details, and I don’t see why not in the next year or 2. From: Terry Moseley Date: Tue, 25 April Subject: Thanks! Hi all, Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society 7 I n T h e I want to say a very sincere 'Thank You' to IFAS for the lovely present and 'photo-certificate' given to me at COSMOS for helping to organise the eclipse trip to Turkey. There was of course one of each for David Bell too, and since David wasn't there, I have got his to give to him. For those of you not 'in the know' it consisted of a clear crystal cube inside which was 'engraved' by laser an exact miniature reproduction of the Milky Way Galaxy, complete with its encircling retinue of globular clusters. So I can study the galaxy even on cloudy nights, albeit with a magnifying glass rather than a telescope! David, with his interest in Cosmology, got a similar one, but showing the "2Degree Field" distant galaxy redshift survey. The 'certificate' is a beautiful A4 colour 'poster' with a sequence of three magnificent eclipse photos; one showing the Second Contact Diamond Ring, one of totality, and one of the prominences and the very start of the Diamond Ring at Third Contact. They are set over a beautiful shot of the ancient Roman site at Perge, which we visited. Photos were by Dave Lillis and Al White - thanks guys, they are excellent! The captions read "Thank you Terry S o c i e t y (David). From everyone on the IFAS trip to the March 29th 2006 Total Solar Eclipse Trip in Turkey". This was of course a complete surprise, and congratulations to everyone for keeping it secret so well. I therefore had no speech ready, so I hope I expressed my thanks adequately at the time. But I probably didn't, so I'll try to do here. I know that David and I both put a lot of work into making that event the success it was, but it was worth it! And all of you that went on the trip deserved nothing less than our best efforts, so of course we were going to do our best for you. And, critically, it was clear on the day! So all the work that went into selecting the site(s) etc was worthwhile! Anyway, someone else can have a go at my role for the next trip! You'll be glad to know that at the IFAS meeting at COSMOS, it was agreed that a small 'working party' would look at the options for the eclipse in Russia on 1/8/2008 (and maybe, as an alternative, the one on 22 July 2009 in China) Thanks again - I'm sure I can say that's from both of us. Terry Society News Admission is now €2 per person. Refreshments will also be available each night. Next TAS Meetings Subscriptions TAS will be keeping up a summer programme of lectures over the summer months, albeit the first Tuesday. The following dates are pencilled in: New members are always welcome. If you are a late-comer to the club, outstanding memberships are: Date May 2 May 16 Topic String Theory Astronomy For Dummies, nd the 2 visitation May 30 Telescope Night June 6 Our Sun and Stars July 4 August 8 August 12 Speaker Máire McKay, TAS TAS Members Michael O’Connell, TAS Speaker TBC TBA Comets and Meteors – Are they related? Seanie Morris, TAS Library Soon, the library cabinet will be in safe storage in the Presbyterian Hall, and book will be made freely available to members. Frank Concannon is the man to talk to. Seanie Morris, TAS Official Committee Positions Perseids Star-B-Q If you think you would like to give a talk, on any kind of astronomical interest you like, then please get in touch! Some new faces have given a talk in the past year, and it is always nice to see more. Get in touch with any committee member (see the website, or talk to them at meetings) if you need a little help! Change of Meetings Venue Recently, TAS had to vacate the Order of Malta Training Room for its meetings, due to their own change in venue! TAS now holds it public meetings in the Presbyterian Hall, to the rear of the Presbyterian Church, at the top of High Street, in Tullamore. 8 Single: €15 (€25 with Réalta Subscription) Family: €25 (€35 with Réalta Subscription) As was reported in the last issue, the AGM was held on January 24th, with the election of committee executives, but not the actual filling of places. At a recent committee meeting, the following was organised: Chairperson: Vice: Secretary/PRO: Treasurer: Members: Campbell IFAS Reps: Librarian: Réalta Editor: Webmaster: Frank Concannon Michael O’Connell Seanie Morris Denise Matthews Denise Murphy, Darren Dempsey, Deirdre Seanie Morris & Michael O’Connell Frank Concannon Seanie Morris Seanie Morris Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society I n T h e N e w s NEWS UPDATEFrom Around The Universe Jupiter’s new Red Sot Junior z Impactor to search for lunar water z Venus Express at, well, Venus z Green black holes? z Hubble sizes up 10th planet z Shuttle tank mated with boosters, closer to launch z Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter starts work z Poetic snap of Titan with rings z Hubble Zooms In on Jupiter's New Red Spot In April, two teams of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope obtained our sharpest views of Jupiter's long-lasting, Earth-size storm: "Red Spot Junior” (RSJ). Also known as Oval BA, in February the storm stunned observers by suddenly and mysteriously changing colour from white to orange-red. The oval is now nearly identical in hue to the planet's famous Great Red Spot (GRS). The first team used the highresolution channel of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) to capture RSJ in near-ultraviolet to near-infrared light on April 8th. The second group observed with the ACS's high-resolution and wide-field channels at visible and near-infrared wavelengths on April 16th, 24th, and 25th. The Hubble images, nearly as detailed as those obtained during the Voyager flybys in 1979, show swirling cloud formations within and around the new spot, including the storm's light "collar," which is currently quite prominent in RSJ but darker around the GRS. Many compounds of sulphur, phosphorus, hydrogen, and carbon have been postulated over the years that would account for the Great Red Spot's coloration, but these are usually ruled out based on spectral observations - they are either the wrong colour or are produced under the wrong conditions. One of the most popular theories is that phosphine, PH3, a colourless, flammable, poisonous gas, is being dredged up by the storms from deep in the Jovian atmosphere to high altitudes where it is broken down by ultraviolet photons from the Sun. Subsequent chemical reactions eventually lead to the formation of red phosphorus, P4. "Unfortunately, P4 generally seems to be the wrong shade of red!" says Simon-Miller. RSJ. lies in the South Temperate Belt, following behind the GRS by approximately an hour of Jupiter's rotation. They should pass each other sometime this July. The upstart spot formed in 1998– 2000, when three smaller white ovals known as BC, DE, and FA - collided and merged to form Oval BA. A similar merger centuries ago may have given birth to the Great Red Spot, which is roughly twice as large as RSJ. The reddening of RSJ could indicate that the storm is intensifying, though its diameter has so far remained largely unchanged. Measurements by Simon-Miller of her team's HST image give a long-axis dimension of 13,480 km for Oval BA and 20,740 km for the Great Red Spot. It's anyone's guess how long RSJ will remain red and whether it will grow or shrink in the coming months. As Red Spot Junior drifts slowly eastward and the Great Red Spot westward, the two are expected to pass each other in longitude in early July. According to amateur astronomers, July 10th may be the best date right now. However, since the spots do not move in a completely linear fashion, this date may be off by several days. Crescent Titan with rings This poetic scene shows the giant, smog-enshrouded moon Titan behind Saturn's nearly edge-on rings. Much smaller Epimetheus (116 kilometres, or 72 miles across) is just visible to the left of Titan (5,150 kilometres, or 3,200 miles across). The image was taken in visible light with the Cassini spacecraft narrow-angle camera at a distance of approximately 4.1 million kilometres (2.5 million miles) from Titan. The image scale is 25 kilometres (16 miles) per pixel on Titan. The brightness of Epimetheus was enhanced for visibility. 9 I n T h e N e w s Black Holes - are actually green? A new study finds that the supermassive black holes at the hearts of some galaxies are the most fuel-efficient engines in the universe. The finding, made using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and announced in a media teleconference today, is giving scientists insights into how supermassive black holes generate energy and how they affect the galaxies where they make their homes. Black holes are regions of space where gravity is so strong that matter and light can't escape once they pass the event horizon, a spherical boundary surrounding the black hole. However, inflowing matter that hasn't yet passed this point of no return can—through friction and interaction with the black hole's strong magnetic field— release energy in the form of either diffuse light or focused jets of energy. Once gas comes within a distance about a million times larger than the event horizon of the black hole, it becomes gravitationally captured. At this point the gas becomes fuel for the black hole engine. The new study looked at nine supermassive black holes at the centres of elliptical galaxies; each one was about a billion times more massive than our Sun. The black holes were relatively old and generated much less energy than the fiercely luminous and rapidly growing supermassive black holes known as “quasars." The researchers found that these "quiet" black holes released about 1,000 times more energy as jets than as light. The reasons for this are still unclear. How these black holes selectively put that much energy into the jets without producing much light. Most of the energy in the jets is being emitted as radio waves, but in at least one of the black holes studied, the energy was in the form of more energetic X-rays. As they race outwards from their parent black holes at nearly light speed, the jets carve out enormous cavities, or "bubbles," in the surrounding gas environment; some of these bubbles can be tens of thousands of light years across. Bubbles can also form in the aftermath of stellar explosions called supernovas; our own solar system is enveloped by such a structure, called the "Local Bubble," which was formed during an explosion long ago. The researchers used these bubbles to figure out the fuel efficiency of the black holes. Using Chandra images, they first calculated how much fuel in the form of gas was available to each black hole. They then estimated the power required to produce the bubbles that were observed. The finding could have implications for other types of black holes as well, including much smaller, stellarmass black holes, the researchers say. We already knew that powerful quasars are very efficient at making light. Now we know that black holes in elliptical galaxies are efficient as well. This suggests that being green is a trait that all black holes may have in common. The scientists think the supermassive black holes are green in another way, too. The energy that each black hole emits as jets warms the surrounding environment. This prevents gas from cooling and coalescing into billons of new stars and places an upper limit on how large a galaxy can grow. In an environmental sense, the black holes are actually preventing galactic sprawl from taking over the neighbourhood. Mars cameras debut as MRO adjusts orbit The Mars Colour Imager test view looks northward and includes the large Argyre Basin in Mars' southern hemisphere. Image courtesy: NASA/JPL/MSSS Researchers today released the first Mars images from two of the three science cameras on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Images taken by the orbiter's Context Camera and Mars Colour Imager during the first tests of those instruments at Mars confirm the performance capability of the cameras. The test images were taken from nearly 10 times as far from the planet as the spacecraft will be once it finishes reshaping its orbit. Test images from the third camera of the science payload were released previously. The cameras took the test images two weeks after the orbiter's March 10th arrival at Mars, and before the start of "aerobraking," a process of reshaping the orbit by using controlled contact with Mars' atmosphere. Currently, the 10 spacecraft is dipping into Mars' upper atmosphere as it approaches the altitude range that it will use for shrinking its orbit gradually over the next six months. The orbiter is currently flying in very elongated loops around Mars. Each circuit lasts about 35 hours and takes the spacecraft about 27,000 miles (43,000 km) away from the planet before swinging back in close. After hundreds of passes through the upper atmosphere, the drag will gradually reduce the far point of the orbit until the spacecraft is in a nearly circular orbit every two hours. After the spacecraft gets into the proper orbit for its primary science phase, the six science instruments on board will begin their systematic examination of Mars. The Mars Colour Imager will view the planet's entire atmosphere and surface every day to monitor changes in clouds, wind-blown dust, polar caps and other variable features. Images from the Context Camera will have a resolution of 20 feet (6 meters) per pixel, allowing surface features as small as a basketball court to be discerned. The images will cover swaths 18.6 miles (30 km) wide. The Context Camera will show how smaller areas examined by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment Camera - which will have the best resolution ever achieved from Mars orbit and by the mineral-identifying Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer fit into the broader landscape. It will also allow scientists to watch for small-scale changes, such as newly cut gullies, in the broader coverage area. Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society I n T h e Shuttle Fuel Tank to Meet Boosters for NASA's STS-121 Flight NASA aims to start connecting a redesigned external tank and two rocket boosters while managers consider data that shows extra safety modifications might be needed before the agency's next shuttle flight. But any additional work on the tank, if required, can be completed in time to launch Discovery on NASA's second post-Columbia test flight in early July, agency officials say. NASA took a big step toward launch on April 24th as crane operators hoisted the 154-foot-long tank off a transporter in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building. After carefully lifting the tank into a vertical position, the technicians were ready to ease it between two 149-foot solid rocket boosters already stacked on a mobile launcher platform. Mechanical connections were scheduled shortly after, and electrical connections to follow over the next 17 days. The mating operation is a critical milestone to launch in early July. The orbiter Discovery remains scheduled to move May 12 from its hangar to the assembly building, where it will be connected to the tank and its attached boosters. But first, NASA managers must decide whether to modify foot-long segments of foam insulation designed to prevent ice from building on metal brackets that hold fuel pressurization lines on the outside of the tank. Some managers propose to reshape the "ice-frost ramps" to reduce the amount of foam that could be shed from them during flight. Wind tunnel test results have been mixed. In one series of tests, foam broke free from a reshaped icefrost ramp on a mock-up at the Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center near Tullahoma, Tennessee. Insulation also was lost during separate tests of ice-frost ramps identical in design to those on the tank being readied for Discovery's flight. But the amounts were considered within allowable limits - that is, not large enough to cause catastrophic damage. Slight modifications subsequently were made to the reshaped ice-frost ramps, and more tests were run. The results in those cases were encouraging. The tests are part of an effort to eliminate sources of foam debris large enough to down an orbiter. The 2003 Columbia accident was blamed on foam debris, and a large piece of insulation nearly struck Discovery after launch in July. The Discovery debris came from a 38-foot foam ramp (11-meter) that served as a windshield for fuel pressurization lines and electrical cabling on the outside of the tank. Wind tunnel tests are being conducted to make sure the shuttle can be flown safely without it. Engineers remain concerned that ice-frost ramps such as those on Discovery's tank might be susceptible to internal cracking when supercold propellants are loaded into it. Such defects could weaken the ramps and make it more likely they could pop off in flight. Any extra work on Discovery's tank likely would be done in the assembly building between May 2 and May 9. Discovery still is scheduled to move out to its launch pad May 19th. A fuel-loading test is tentatively scheduled for June 1st, but managers still haven't decided whether to conduct it. The test would enable engineers to see whether replacements for suspect fueldepletion sensors in the tank work properly. It also would subject the tank's foam insulation to super-cold temperatures that could cause internal cracks. N e w s A decision on whether to proceed with the test is expected in early May. Discovery remains scheduled for launch during a window that will extend from July 1st through July 19th. Unexpected detail in first Venus south pole images T he European Space Agency's Venus Express has returned the first-ever images of the hothouse planet's south pole from a distance of 206,452 kilometres, showing surprisingly clear structures and unexpected detail. The images were taken 12th of April during the spacecraft's initial capture orbit after successful arrival on 11th of April 2006. The false-colour VIRTIS composite image shows Venus's day side at left and night side at right, and corresponds to a scale of 50 kms per pixel. Engineers have lost no time in switching on several of the instruments and including the VMC (Venus Monitoring Camera) and VIRTIS (Visible and Infrared Thermal Imaging Spectrometer) which imaged, for the first time in space history, the southern hemisphere of Venus as the spacecraft passed below the planet in an elliptical arc. Scientists are especially intrigued by the dark vortex shown almost directly over the south pole, a previously suspected but until now unconfirmed structure that corresponds to a similar cloud structure over the north pole. "Just one day after arrival, we are already experiencing the hot, dynamic environment of Venus," said Dr Hakan Svedhem, Venus Express project scientist. "We will see much more detail at an unprecedented level as we get over 100 times better resolution as we get closer to Venus, and we expect to see these spiral structures evolve very quickly." The initial, low-quality images were taken from an extreme distance of 206,452 kms from the planet, yet caught scientists' attention, particularly with the surprisingly clear structures and unexpected details shown in the VIRTIS spectrometer images. The day half is itself a composite of images taken via wavelength filters and chiefly shows sunlight reflected from the tops of clouds, down to a height of about 65 km above the planet's surface. The more spectacular night half, shown in reddish false colour, was taken via an IR filter at a wavelength of 1.7 microns, and 11 I n T h e chiefly shows dynamic spiral cloud structures in the lower atmosphere, around 55 km altitude. The darker regions correspond to thicker cloud cover, while the brighter regions correspond to thinner cloud cover, allowing hot thermal radiation from lower down to be imaged. In the first capture orbit, Venus Express will have 5 additional opportunities for gathering data until reaching pericentre. These observations represent a great opportunity because, at apocentre, the full disc of Venus is fully visible for the spacecraft's imagers. Such opportunities will not occur again during the nominal mission, starting on 4 June 2006, when the range of distances from the planet will be much smaller. N e w s In addition to VMC and VIRTIS, the spacecraft's MAG (Venus Express Magnetometer) has been switched on for initial verification and is operating nominally. Together with the ASPERA (Analyser of Space Plasma and Energetic Atoms), the two instruments are expected to gather information about the unperturbed solar wind and the atmospheric escape processes on Venus, a planet with no magnetic protection. A series of further engine and thruster burns are planned to gradually reduce the apocentre during the following 16 orbital loops around the planet and the spacecraft is due to attain its final 24-hour polar orbit on 7 May, ranging from 66 000 to 250 kilometres above Venus. NASA to send impactor into moon in search of water NASA has announced that a small, 'secondary payload' spacecraft, to be developed by a team at NASA Ames Research Centre has been selected to travel to the moon to look for precious water ice at the lunar south pole in October 2008. The smaller secondary payload spacecraft will travel with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) satellite to the moon on the same rocket, the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), to be launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The NASA Ames team proposed the secondary payload mission, which will be carried out by the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS). Hubble corrects size of the tenth planet NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has resolved the "tenth planet," nicknamed "Xena" for the first time, and has found that it is only just a little larger than Pluto. Though previous ground-based observations suggested that Xena was about 30 percent greater in diameter than Pluto, Hubble observations taken on December 9th and 10th 2005, yield a diameter of 1,490 miles (with an uncertainty of 60 miles) for Xena. Pluto's diameter, as measured by Hubble, is 1,422 miles. Hubble is the only 12 telescope capable of getting a clean visible-light measurement of the actual diameter of Xena. It only required a couple of Hubble images to nail Xena's diameter. Located 10 billion miles away, but with a diameter that is a little more than half the width of the United States, the object is 1.5 pixels across in Hubble's view. That's enough to precisely make a size measurement. Because Xena is smaller than earlier thought, but comparatively bright, it must be one of the most reflective objects in the solar system. The only object more reflective is Enceladus, a geologically active moon of Saturn whose surface is continuously recoated with highly reflective ice by active geysers. Xena's bright reflectivity is possibly due to fresh methane frost overlying the surface. It is possible that Xena had an atmosphere when it was closer to the Sun, but "froze out" at its current large distance, and material settled on its surface as frost. Another possibility is that Xena is also continuously leaking methane gas from its warmer interior. When this methane makes it to the cold surface it immediately freezes solid, covering craters and other features to make this Kuiper Belt object (KBO) uniformly bright to Hubble's telescopic eye. Xena is officially catalogued as 2003 UB313. Its orbital period is about 560 years, and the KBO is now very close to aphelion (the point on its orbit that is farthest from the Sun). Finding that the largest known KBO is a virtual twin to Pluto may only further complicate the debate about whether to categorize the large icy worlds that dwell in the Kuiper Belt as planets. If Pluto were considered to be the minimum size for a planet, then Xena would fulfil this criterion, too. Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society L o o k i n g U p Sky Notes For This Period Sorry folks, due to genuinely being very busy in the day job I have been unable to put together Skynotes for May and June. I am also out of the country during May and the beginning of June and the preparatory work for this has cut into the time I usually have to write up the celestial happenings column. Normal service will resume for the next issue, I hope! Many thanks! John Flannery. Two hydrogen atoms walk into a bar. One says, "I've lost my electron." The other says, "Are you sure?" The first replies, "Yes, I'm positive..." 13 L o o k i n g U p The May Day Sun This image of the Sun was taken on May 1st 2006 by Michael O’Connell, with his Coronado PST H-Alpha Telescope, and Canon 300d camera. He used a 2x Barlow, 20mm eyepiece, taking a 1/13th of a second exposure at ISO 400. Minimal processing in Photoshop. Have you got an astrophoto you would like to share with readers? Email it (with all its details) to [email protected] -Ed. 14 Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society F e a t u r e s Irish Moon Rock By Deirdre Kelleghan, Irish A.S. In Dublin city centre in the Natural History Museum lies a very special if somewhat small and unique treasure. In a glass case on the ground floor among 18 meteorites rests a piece of lunar basalt returned from the moon in 1972. This piece of moon rock is contained within a lucite orb and comprises of a 1cm piece of lunar mare basalt. It is from the Taurus Littrow valley and was collected by the Apollo 17 mission of the seventh to the nineteenth of December 1972. This particular piece of lunar material was presented to the People of Ireland in 1973 by President Nixon’s administration. As it was a gift to the Irish Nation, it was accepted by the then president of Ireland Erskine Childers. President Childers had the shortest ever reign as the head of the country as his life came to an untimely end after only one year in office. President Childers was the 4th president of Ireland and the only Irish President to die in office. Erskine Hamilton Childers was in office from 25 June 1973 - 17 November 1974 when he died of a heart attack. Eugene A Cernan Mission Commander, Ronald E Evens Commander module pilot, and Harrison H Schmitt Lunar module pilot The American President Richard Nixon had presented the moon rock as a goodwill gift to Ireland and to 134 other friendly nations in the world at the time. After the death of President Childers, the moon jewel our gift from the efforts of the Apollo17 crew was put on display in the Natural History Museum in Merrion Square. The Apollo 17 landing site is in a spectacular valley called Taurus-Littrow on the south-eastern edge of the Sea of Serenity (Mare Serenitatis). Sometime about 3.8 to 3.9 billion years ago, a mountain-sized asteroid or comet hit the Moon and blasted out a basin nearly seven hundred kilometres in diameter. Around the rim of Serenitatis, great blocks of rock were pushed out and up, forming a ring of mountains. In places, the blocks quickly fell again, and left radial valleys among the mountains. TaurusLittrow is one such valley. In December 1972 Eugene A Cernan Mission Commander, Ronald E Evens Commander module pilot, and Harrison H Schmitt Lunar module pilot went to the moon and Cernan and Schmitt spent 75 hours on the lunar surface, in this spectacular valley. Archives Letter from President Richard Nixon to foreign heads of state, dated March 21, 1973, reproduced from www.colectspace.com The Apollo lunar landing program conducted by the United States has been brought to a successful conclusion. Men from the planet Earth have reached the first milestone in space. But as we stretch for the stars, we know that we stand also upon the shoulders of many men of many nations here on our own planet. In the deepest sense our exploration of the moon was truly an international effort. It is for this reason that, on behalf of the people of the United States I present this flag, which was carried to the moon, to the State, and its fragment of the moon obtained during the final lunar mission of the Apollo program. If people of many nations can act together to achieve the dreams of humanity in space, then surely we can act together to accomplish humanity's dream of peace here on earth. It was in this spirit that the Untied States of America went to the moon, and it is in this spirit that we look forward to sharing what we have done and what we have learned with all mankind. Eugene A. Cernan, commander Extract from the Apollo 17 surface journal http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17.clsout 3.html “Houston, before we close out our EVA, we understand that there are young people in Houston today who have been effectively touring our country, young people from countries all over the world, respectively, touring our country. They had the opportunity to watch the launch of Apollo 17; (and) hopefully had an opportunity to meet some of our young people in our country. And we'd like to say first of all, welcome, and we hope you enjoyed your stay. Second of all, I think probably one of the most significant things we can think about when we think about Apollo is that it has opened for us - "for us" being the world - a challenge of the future. The door is now cracked, but the promise of the future lies in the young people, not just in America, but the young people all over the world learning to live and learning to work together. In order to remind all the people of the world in so many countries throughout the world that this is what we all are striving for in the future, Jack has picked up a very significant rock, typical of what we have here in the valley of Taurus-Littrow It's a rock composed of many fragments, of many sizes, and many shapes, probably from all parts of the Moon, perhaps billions of years old. But fragments of all sizes and shapes - and even colours - that have grown together to become a cohesive rock, outlasting the nature of space, sort of living together in a very coherent, very peaceful manner. When we return this rock or some of the others like it to Houston, we'd like to share a piece of this rock with so many of the countries throughout the world. We hope that this will be a symbol of what our feelings are, what the feelings of the Apollo Program are, and a symbol of mankind: that we can live in peace and harmony in the future.” Harrison H. Schmitt, lunar module pilot: “A portion of a roc k will be sent to a representative agency or museum in each of the countries represented by the young people in Houston today, and we hope that they - that rock and the students themselves - will carry with them our good wishes, not only for the new year coming up but also for themselves, their countries, Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society 15 F e a t u r e s and all mankind in the future. Put that in the big bag, Geno.” It is unfortunate that the descriptive card that rests in front of the moon jewel in the Natural History Museum is in fact incorrect; the Taurus Littrow lunar landing site is in Mare Serenitatis (The Sea of Serenity) that is its home not as incorrectly translated on the museum card “The Sea of Tranquillity”. The crew of Apollo 17 collected 741 individual rock and soil samples, total mass 111 kilo’s. This piece of lunar basalt is 3.7 – 3.8 billion (1000, 000,000) years old. The mare infill in the Taurus Luttrow valley is 1.7- 1.4 km thick. I have referred to this tiny piece of the Taurus Littrow site as a jewel and although it is not a wearable bauble it is in fact very valuable and a conservative estimate of its worth is $ 7,000,000. Commander Cernan and Commander Schmitt were the last people to walk on the moon to date. Recently the Apollo 17 mission commander Eugene Cernan received NASA’s first Ambassador of Exploration Award during the Naval Aviation Symposium in the U.S. Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. The award, which features a piece of Moon rock will remain on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation. The Ambassador of Exploration Award was announced in July 2004 during the 35th anniversary celebration of the Apollo 11 lunar landing. It recognizes the sacrifices and dedication of the Apollo, Gemini and Mercury veterans. Each astronaut, or their surviving family, will be presented with a lunar sample, part of the 842 pounds of moon rock and soil returned during the six moon landings from 1969 to 1972. Harrison H Schmitt is a retired politician these days and is a consultant in space, geology, business and public policy. Eugene Cernan is today involved in space technology development and sadly Ronald Evans passed away in 1990, after a successful business career. The Future of the Tullamore Observatory By Seanie Morris, Tullamore A.S. I n the midst of these great articles this issue, I thought I would just bring to your attention a little piece about our own club Observatory. You can see on the front cover what it generally looks like today, with the smaller photograph showing the official opening in 1998. It has remained virtually unchanged since then. The problem is that it has the potential to look even better. I am not talking about giving it a coat of paint, or cutting the grass, both of which it does need. There is more that can be added to it. Only recently, as you can see in this issue, the car park was ‘overhauled’ to allow more cars to park safely and comfortably on the site. It was a great achievement, even if it took a lot of time. One of the mitigating factors is funding. Only this year, with increased subscriptions and shrewd spending, as well as a successful Cosmos 2005, has the club been able to buy the gravel, hire the machinery, and with the work of a handful of volunteers, get the car park done. That is not all. The club now has in its possession a brand new 12 inch reflector. This new ‘Revelation’ will allow observing sessions whenever and wherever, with its future home being the Observatory. And thus repeats the circle – the Observatory. It is in need of some repair. The dome has to be overhauled, a secure winch system put in place, and a new mount added for the new scope. All this will take money. At a recent committee meeting, ideas were brought into discussion about 16 how TAS can get funding, even on its own. One favourable idea is a Race Night. Sponsors and members of the public become involved, with the chance of winning cash prizes, and also help TAS in the process. Some members are thinking though that it might be a hard fundraiser to crack. After all, TAS is not as well known as some other local organisations and GAA clubs, and it is not really a charity. So how does it overcome these kinds of obstacles when looking for help? Lets analyse that. Today, if you want to go to an observatory, what comes to mind? Dunsink? Schull? Armagh? Even Galway? Did you know that Dunsink is now closed, due to a numbers of different reasons, but one main one being that it is swamped by light pollution in Dublin? Did you know that both Armagh and Schull Observatories, at opposing ends of Ireland, are each over 5 hours of a drive away? And did you know that Galway Observatory is only allowing limited access to relevant students of the university? That does not leave a lot of options when it comes to astronomy, even as a hobby. Astronomy as a hobby – a new option in passing the time for many people in the last decade or two. Astronomy was once considered to be one of the favourite hobbies of geeks and nerds. Telescopes were expensive, books had to be read, and you had to teach yourself. Today, you can get cheap telescopes that do the job affordably, more people are interested so all you have to do is ask (instead of reading a book), and parts of astronomy are taught in primary schools as a nature subject, and in chemistry and physics in secondary schools as part of the curriculum. Today, it is one of the cool hobbies! Probably the icing on the cake for the area would be that when the Observatory is fully up and running, it will be the only active, and at most times publicly accessible, Observatory outside of Dublin, and the only one on your way to Galway. This would put Tullamore on the map again, with another first. And with the by-pass scheduled to pass near the Observatory when completed, there is no reason why it should not have direct access I the future So spread the word, TAS is on the prowl, and it will need as much help as it can get! If you have a suggestion for us, we are all ears! Get in touch via [email protected]. Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society F e a t u r e s They’ve Stolen our Stars!? By Girvan McKay, Tullamore A.S. One of the most outstanding astronomers of the 18th and 19th centuries was Sir Frederick William Herschel (1738-1822). Originally Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel, he was born in Hanover, Germany but moved to England to escape the French occupation of Hanover in 1757. There he became a music teacher (1766), then took up astronomy and the construction of ever more powerful reflecting telescopes. In 1781 he discovered the planet Uranus. This made him famous overnight and he was appointed private astronomer to King George III. He continued his research at Slough, assisted by his sister Caroline and his son John. He added greatly to our knowledge of the Solar System, the Milky Way and the nebulae. He discovered two satellites of Saturn, extensively observed double stars and produced a remarkable star catalogue. He was knighted in 1816. His house in Bath has been restored as a museum. Perhaps a lesser known fact about Herschel is that he spent some time in South Africa where he established an astronomical observatory. Another one of his interests was education and he was responsible for the foundation of schools in what became the Union of South Africa. That country had been a Dutch colony but was appropriated by the British. At that time most of the white or mixed race inhabitants spoke Cape Dutch (now called Afrikaans) but up to then there had been no schools. Education after Herschel was in English until the Afrikaners (Boers) were eventually able to educate their children in their own language. Herschel’s activities don’t seem to have been much appreciated by the Afrikaners. When he founded his South African observatory they complained that the British, having taken over their country, had now ‘stolen their stars?’ Nowadays our stars are being stolen by property developers, road builders and successive Ministers for the (Destruction of) the Environment. None of these seem to be doing much to protect the sky from light pollution or the landscape from destruction. Girvan McKay, TAS. J65 - Celbridge Observatory By Dave MacDonald, Kildare A.S. I ’ve been an amateur astronomer since I was old enough to look up to the skies. All my years of stargazing were rewarded recently when I received an observatory code from the International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Centre (IAU MPC). Luckily enough the observatory code was much shorter – J65. As of spring 2006, there are just over 1200 recognised observatories worldwide. Prior to 2006, there were two coded observatories in Ireland – Armagh (981) and Dunsink (982). I’m especially delighted as J65 is the first amateur observatory in Ireland. Journey’s Start Having recently acquired the financial ability to invest in my lifelong hobby, I made a key decision that my primary goal was to try and provide ‘real’ science data that would make a difference. I set about doing the research and quickly discovered that astrometry was well within my reach and was an important source of data for professionals. Astrometry is the precise measurement of the position and motion of astronomical objects. Recent astrometric measurements of the moons of Pluto have helped the New Horizons mission plan the correct movement of the probe. Of wider public concern have been measurements predicting the close approach of asteroids with Earth. Luckily, refined data shows the risk of known object impacts with Earth is pretty much zero. But then there are lots of unknown objects out there… 1200 GTO mount. It fulfilled all my criteria and luckily there was a two-year waiting list that gave me plenty of time to save up. Equipment I decided that if I was going to carry out astrometric measurements, I would need a high standard of equipment to give good science data. It was clear that the major initial investment was going to be the mount. It had to be capable of carrying a heavy payload, slew this equipment around the sky easily and track objects accurately. I eventually decided on the Astro-Physics I invested in a cheap CCD camera when the mount arrived in 2005. I started to learn how to image celestial objects which, like anything else in this hobby, is not as easy as it seems. For example, my idea of ‘accurate polar alignment’ was way short of that required for unguided imaging and I had to learn how to drift align. That in turn involved learning how to use a suite 17 F e a t u r e s of fairly complex software programmes… Needless to say, it took me about a year to get my skills to a level where I could confidently image faint stars and galaxies such that looked like, well, faint stars and galaxies. The Minor Planet Centre The next step was more an accident than a goal. I had started to research asteroids and came across the Minor Planet Centre web site. Here I learned how to generate ephemerides for asteroids I was interested in. One of the fields you complete is your location – you can type in your coordinates or simply your observatory code. Typing in latitude and longitude values every time I wanted to generate an ephemeris was becoming tedious. So I had a look around the MPC website and came across the method for obtaining an observatory code. Essentially, you observe a minimum of two (preferably three) asteroids over a number of nights. You then analyse the images and determine the location of your chosen object. The data is collated into the form required by the MPC and sent to them by email along with the geographical location of your set up. The MPC reviews the observations and provided they meet their criteria, you are issued an observatory code for that specific location. determining exactly where the target is located - this is done with software. few hours later that this was the first Irish Amateur observatory to be recognised. The next clear evening was some days away but the MPC do not required your observing nights to be consecutive – lucky for us in Ireland. When the skies eventually cleared, I repeated the previous exercise but the weather wasn’t being very cooperative. The process took a lot longer this time because of sporadic cloud. Eventually, I had sufficient images of reasonable quality. Since receiving the observatory code, I have continued to carry out astrometric measurements as often as the weather permits. Obtaining clear images of sufficient quality to permit accurate astrometric data is not as easy as it might sound. However, by choosing targets carefully meaningful data can be obtained. Choosing objects of sufficient brightness and high enough in the sky are the key parameters. Once solved, I found that only four targets out of the six were of sufficient quality. I set about formatting the data and checking it against MPC ephemerides (just to make sure). Eventually I had the data ready to go, but now I had to follow the MPC format. This was trickier than I thought. I sought the advice of the Minor Planet bulletin board members and with a lot of help, eventually had the data in the correct format – well, pretty much. Before hitting the send button though, I checked the data one more time and then, closing my eyes and crossing my fingers, sent the mail to the MPC. I would hope that 2006 will bring me closer to my goal of photometry. As well as purchasing the imaging and filter equipment, I also need to choose a new OTA. But like anything else, there will need to be compromises since the equipment is quite expensive. Certainly the imager is probably the most important item at the moment so the OTA may have to wait until 2007. I would hope to eventually land a 14” or 16” aperture OTA to enable me to choose the dimmer objects and go deeper than my current set-up allows. Can you do it? The Plan So, now I had method sorted, it was time to get a plan in place. It wasn’t too difficult to find six targets of varying magnitudes within my imaging capability. Also, they were reasonably far apart and were sufficiently high up in the sky. I chose six to make sure that if I had to cut the run short because of weather, I would hopefully still have three targets imaged. Next Steps One of the targets - MPL 1888 Journey’s End The next available clear night, I put the plan into operation. I set up the scope and found the first target. I took a few images that I quickly analysed to make sure the target was present, and when satisfied, I moved onto the next target. I was told that I might have to wait more than a week to hear anything back. To say I was surprised when I got a reply an hour later was an understatement. Even more of a surprise was that the MPC had issued me with an observatory code. At the end of the evening I managed to image all six targets. I then ‘plate solved’ the images. This is matching your image to the known star field and then Well, I was absolutely delighted as you can imagine. J65 Celbridge Observatory was now officially recognised. As an added bonus, I was informed by the MPC a There are many amateurs in Ireland now who have a keen desire to image the night sky. Some are content to produce images they can share with the community and their friends. There are a smaller number of amateurs who are keen to do real science with their equipment. In order to take part, whilst an observatory code is not a requisite, it is certainly a benefit in allowing external authorities ratify the quality of your data. Some amateurs might feel that they cannot achieve this objective. My advice would be that you don’t know until you try – give it a go. Dave McDonald J65 – Celbridge Observatory www.astroshack.net [email protected] 18 Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society F e a t u r e s Who Wants to be a Daredevil? By Patrick L. Barry and Dr. Tony Phillips When exploring space, NASA naturally wants to use all the newest and coolest technologies - artificial intelligence, solar sails, onboard supercomputers, exotic materials. But “new” also means unproven and risky, and that could be a problem. Remember HAL in the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey”? The rebellious computer clearly needed some pre-flight testing. and Solar Polar Imager—both of which would use solar sails to fly spacecraft that would study the Sun. “The technologies that we validate have future missions that need them,” Stocky says. “We try to target [missions] that are about 15 to 20 years out.” A menagerie of other cool NMP technologies includes ion thrusters, hyperspectral imagers, and miniaturized electronics for spacecraft navigation and control. NMP focuses on technologies that have been proven in the laboratory but must be tested in the extreme cold, vacuum, and high radiation environment of space, which can’t be fully recreated in the lab. New NMP missions fly every year and one-half to two years, taking tomorrow’s space technology for a daredevil test drive. This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Artist’s rendering of a four-quadrant solar sail propulsion system, with payload. NASA is designing and developing such concepts, a subscale model of which may be tested on a future NMP mission. Testing advanced technologies in space is the mission of the New Millennium Program (NMP), created by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in 1995 and run by JPL. Like the daredevil test pilots of the 1950s who would fly the latest jet technology, NMP flies new technologies in space to see if they're ready for prime time. That way, future missions can use the technologies with much less risk. Example: In 1999, the program’s Deep Space 1 probe tested a system called “AutoNav,” short for Autonomous Navigation. AutoNav used artificial intelligence to steer the spacecraft without human intervention. It worked so well that elements of AutoNav were installed on a real mission, Deep Impact, which famously blasted a crater in Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, 2005. Without AutoNav, the projectile would have completely missed the comet. Some NMP technologies “allow us to do things that we literally could not do before,” says Jack Stocky, Chief Technologist for NMP. Dozens of innovative technologies tested by NMP will lead to satellites and space probes that are smaller, lighter, more capable and even cheaper than those of today. Another example: An NMP test mission called Space Technology 9, which is still in the planning phase, may test-fly a solar sail. Solar sails use the slight pressure of sunlight itself, instead of heavy fuels, to propel a spacecraft. Two proposed NASA missions would be possible only with dependable solar sails—L1 Diamond www.tullamoreastronomy.com Home of Astronomy in the Irish Midlands! Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society 19 F e a t u r e s Planets in strange places By Trudy E. Bell Red star, blue star, big star, small star - planets may form around virtually any type or size of star throughout the universe, not just around mid-sized middle-aged yellow stars like the Sun. That’s the surprising implication of two recent discoveries from the 0.85-meter-diameter Spitzer Space Telescope, which is exploring the universe from orbit at infrared (heat) wavelengths blocked by the Earth’s atmosphere. At one extreme are two blazing, blue “hypergiant” stars 180,000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the two companion galaxies to our Milky Way. The stars, called R 66 and R 126, are respectively 30 and 70 times the mass of the Sun, “about as massive as stars can get,” said Joel Kastner, professor of imaging science at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York. R 126 is so luminous that if it were placed 10 parsecs (32.6 light-years) away - a distance at which the Sun would be one of the dimmest stars visible in the sky - the hypergiant would be as bright as the full moon, “definitely a daytime object,” Kastner remarked. Although actual planets have not been detected (in part because of the stars’ great distances), the spectra of the hypergiants show that their dust is composed of forsterite, olivine, aromatic hydrocarbons, and other geological substances found on Earth. These newfound disks represent “extremes of the environments in which planets might form,” Kastner said. “Not what you’d expect if you think our solar system is the rule.” Hypergiants and dwarfs? The Milky Way could be crowded with worlds circling every kind of star imaginable—very strange, indeed. Keep up with the latest findings from the Spitzer at www.spitzer.caltech.edu/ For kids, the Infrared Photo Album at The Space Place (spaceplace.nasa.gov/en/kids/sirtf1/sirtf_action.shtml) introduces the electromagnetic spectrum and compares the appearance of common scenes in visible versus infrared light. This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Artist’s rendering compares size of a hypothetical hypergiant star and its surrounding dusty disk to that of our solar system. Such hot stars have fierce solar winds, so Kastner and his team are mystified why any dust in the neighbourhood hasn’t long since been blown away. But there it is: an unmistakable spectral signature that both hypergiants are surrounded by mammoth disks of what might be planet-forming dust and even sand. At the other extreme is a tiny brown dwarf star called Cha 110913-773444, relatively nearby (500 light-years) in the Milky Way. One of the smallest brown dwarfs known, it has less than 1 percent the mass of the Sun. It’s not even massive enough to kindle thermonuclear reactions for fusing hydrogen into helium. Yet this miniature “failed star,” as brown dwarfs are often called, is also surrounded by a flat disk of dust that may eventually clump into planets. (Note: This brown dwarf discovery was made by a group led by Kevin Luhman of Pennsylvania State University.) 20 Toy Superstore The largest selection of toys, games and art accessories, as well as books, stationery, and school items. Tullamore Retail Park, Cloncollig, Tullamore www.worldofwonder.ie Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society F e a t u r e s Where Did the Modern Computer Come From? Some thoughts following Frank Concannon’s lecture of 7th March) By Girvan McKay, Tullamore A.S. On the 7th of March 2006 Frank Concannon gave us an interesting and well-researched lecture on the subject Pre-Industrial Computing. He told us how long before the invention of the modern electronic computer, so essential for modern astronomical and other scientific studies, the computer was not a machine but a human being who had to do all astronomical calculations in his (rarely her) head. What was achieved by this means was really admirable, as such computing involved long painstaking work by a succession of remarkably patient people with nothing to help them but ocular observation and their own brains. Following Frank’s talk I found myself wondering how the electronic computer began. Nowadays we can hardly imagine how astronomers could function without electronic computers. Of course the results obtained using a modern computer are only as reliable as the data fed into them by a human operator. This was graphically demonstrated by the fiasco of some years ago when NASA attempted an unmanned planetary mission but messed it up by confusing Imperial measurements with metric ones. This was certainly not the fault of the computers. I once heard a broadcast where a U.S. president (I can’t remember which one) was listing the scientific achievements of Americans, such as the invention of the telegraph, the telephone, the motorcar, television, the computer, etc. – none of which was, in fact, invented by an American. Usually such innovations are the result of a long process involving various people, often in various parts of the world. One nation cannot claim to have discovered everything and in many cases an invention or discovery is not the work of one single individual. principle can, however, be applied to other uses than music. The Jacquard Loom The history of the development of what we today call the computer goes back an astonishingly long way – in fact probably almost to the beginning of civilisation. A French silk weaver, Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834) had the brilliant idea of inventing a loom controlled by punched cards which made it possible for anyone to produce beautiful patterns with almost no skill at all. The Abacus Perhaps we can begin with the abacus, a simple, yet very effective calculating instrument when used by a skilled operator. This consists of a frame. With a series of rods or grooves on which bead counters representing numbers can be slid backwards and forwards. It may have originated in ancient Babylon and was used in China, Greece and Rome. It became widespread throughout Europe in the Middle Ages and is still used in Japan. It is said that experienced users of the abacus have been able to calculate faster than a mechanical calculator. It seems that the abacus was therefore the first really successful instrument for calculation. Perhaps, after the discovery of logarithms, it provided part of the inspiration for the slide rule used until fairly recently by engineers. The Musical Box This may seem to have nothing to do with the electronic computer but there may be some connection. Musical boxes were probably intended as a toy for children and idle ladies but their mechanism is very ingenious. This usually consists of a moving toothed cylinder striking a comb-like metal plate producing musical notes. The Babbage’s Difference Machine & Analytical Machine These were referred to in Frank’s recent talk. The English mathematician Charles Babbage (1791-1871) - whose assistant, interestingly enough was Byron’s daughter Augusta Ada, - invented a ‘difference engine’ for the calculation of logarithms and similar functions, and also designed an ‘analytical engine’ which performed a number of calculations by means of punched cards – an alternative application of the system invented by Jacquard. The Player Piano (“Pianola”) Around the 1890s something similar to Jacquard’s punched card system was applied to an invention called the player piano (patented under the name Pianola) which could be operated without having to learn to play the piano. This was fitted with a mechanism in which a perforated roll passes over a brass “tracker bar”, causing those keys to be depressed to which the perforations correspond. This invention seems to owe something both to Jacquard and to the old-fashioned musical box. What these three devices have in common is that they all operate on an “on-off”, “up-down” or “in-out” principle, which is the basis of the binary system 21 F e a t u r e s (See table below*). This uses only the two digits, 0 and 1 and was essential in the development of the computer. inventors in various countries designed mechanical typewriters, the most well known being the Remington. Later, electric typewriters replaced the mechanical ones. The Typewriter The only connection between the electronic computer and the typewriter is the so-called ‘qwerty’ keyboard which is used virtually unchanged in the former. In its absence it would be difficult to imagine how the modern computer could be operated. Several The Mechanical Calculator Like the typewriter, earlier calculator models were mechanical, but these have been succeeded by electronic and even light-operated models. Computers were so named because they computed, like calculators, but now they perform many other functions than mere calculation. The Turing Machine Alan Mathison Turing (1912-54) was a mathematician who worked as a cryptographer during the 2nd World War. He was one of the team which managed to break the German’s Enigma code, thus contributing to the Researchers in Fairbanks Alaska announced last week that they have discovered a superconductor which will operate at room temperature. The Editor’s rather lame attempt at filling in space… Allied victory at sea. He introduced the theoretical notion of an idealised computer (since called a Turing machine), laying the foundation for the study of artificial intelligence. This then was the real beginning of the electronic computer as we know it, but as we see, it has a very long history behind it. An important part of that history is the development of mathematics which required the replacement of the awkward Roman numeral system (I, II, III, IV, etc.) – useless for serious mathematics – by the so-called Arabic (originally Indian) numerals and the invention of zero and the decimal point. The digital system consists of UNITS, TENS, HUNDREDS, THOUSANDS, etc. The binary system consists of UNITS, TWOS, FOURS, EIGHTS, SIXTEENS, etc. Without the electronic computer and all these developments in the age-long history of mathematics and computing, space exploration (the Cassini and Huygens projects, the Mars orbiters and landers, the Hubble space telescope, etc.) would be inconceivable. A student recognizes Einstein in a train and asks: “Excuse me, professor, but does New York stop by this train?” Seanie-M DJ Services Pubs, Clubs, & Parties www.seanie-m.com 087 6825910 Over 8 years in the business. Let me make your event one to remember! Email: [email protected] Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society E x t r a s Wow! Look at this… Recently, while surfing on the internet, I came across the following computer designed pictures of the scale of the planets. I thought it would be pretty neat to add. When I first showed them during my own lecture Astronomy for Dummies on May 16th last, people were surprised and shocked to see the relative sizes. What got me was how surprising Saturn is compared to Jupiter! In the model with the Sun, you can’t even see Pluto! -Ed. (above) The Rocky Planets. (left) The Gas Giants in comparison. The number in () indicates its position from the Sun (right) The Solar System on display. At this resolution on this page, you fail to notice Pluto! The Sun is so big, 107 Earths would line up side by side across its diameter Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society 23 How To Find TAS’s Meeting Nights Tullamore Astronomical Society holds it talks and classes in astronomy on Tuesday nights, in the Presbyterian Hall, to the rear of the Presbyterian Church, on High Street. Meetings start at 8pm, are informal, and admission is only €2 per person, with tea and coffee afterwards. Weather permitting, astronomical observing with telescopes and binoculars will take place in the garden area to the rear of the Hall afterwards. TAS also holds Observing Sessions out at its Observatory and Site. Sometimes, these are inpromptu due to weather (when there is a chance, take it!). If you want to be kept informed when these occur, then let the Secretary have your e-mail and/or phone number. For more information, contact the club at: [email protected] Or see our website: www.tullamoreastronomy.com Réalta – Volume 8, Issue 1: March/April 2006 – Tullamore Astronomical Society