Dr Ian Elliott RIP and some astronomy events

It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of Dr Ian Elliott this week. Ian was a former staff astronomer at Dunsink Observatory who specialised in solar physics. He was a great friend to the Irish amateur astronomy community and gave many talks to clubs as well as writing on aspects of astronomical history. Ian also had a deep interest in promoting science and in this he was involved with ISCAN, the Institute of Physics in Ireland, and other bodies. He will be deeply missed by family, friends, and all who knew him. Details of the service this Saturday (May 16th) for Ian can be found on www.rip.ie

John


Some upcoming events of interest ...

Monday, May 18th (to 20th): Pint of Science public lectures

www.pintofscience.ie

Pint of Science is a Dublin-based festival that aims to make cutting-edge science accessible and fun by bringing current scientific research to the public through talks in the informal and relaxed environment of the pub. The festival will run over three days with different pubs hosting talks from different fields.

Some of Ireland’s top scientific researchers will give talks on their research and related areas. These events will give members of the public the opportunity to learn about current scientific research in a welcoming environment. Members of the public will also be encouraged to engage with scientists, asking questions about and discussing their research.


Thursday, May 21st: Irish Meteorological Society talk

irishmetsociety.org/programme/may-lecture-roland-draxler

The next IMS public talk on Thursday 21 May will feature Roland Draxler of NOAA who will give an insight into the development and use of the HYSPLIT dispersion model. There will also be a second briefer presentation from John Flannery on: "The Outer Limits - To Pluto and Beyond" ahead of NASA's New Horizons mission to that planet. The event will be at the Custom House in Dublin, commencing at 6pm with refreshments beforehand from 5.30pm. Please book if you plan to attend.


Saturday, May 23th: “Light and Shadow” event at UCD

light2015.ie/light-shadow/

Celebrate the International Year of Light at UCD with an exciting and entertaining programme of talks, exhibits, interactive demonstrations and tours. Light & Shadow allows you to explore light in nature, technology, communication, health and art. The key note speaker is Evelyn Cusack. Admission is free but tickets must be booked via the Eventbrite web link at the end of the event page mentioned above.


Tuesday, May 26th: “Long-term and short-term climate change of Mars” lecture

www.ucd.ie/earth/newsevents/events/

The UCD Earth Institute presents a talk in the Royal Irish Academy (Dublin) by Dr Ernst Hauber that explores current questions about the planet Mars that we are seeking answers to. Mars is a cold and dry planet, and the present surface activity is dominated by wind. But this has not always been the case: Ancient valley networks and abundant hydrated alteration minerals networks show that there must have been a time more than 3.5 billion years ago when the surface of Mars was much wetter and perhaps warmer than now. What caused the dramatic transition to the cold desert planet of today?


Wednesday, May 27th: “Quantum Universe” public lecture

www.stp.dias.ie/iqf2015/

The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies will host the Irish Quantum Foundations meeting this year and a public lecture will be held on May 27th in TCD as part of the event. Professor Viatcheslav Mukhanov (Arnold Sommerfeld Center Munich) will give a talk “Quantum Universe” that will explore why are atoms stable and what caused galaxies, stars and planets to form? The talk will explain why quantum physics is crucial for explaining both.


Friday, June 19th: “At home in the Universe”

dublin.sciencegallery.com/events/2015/04...universearielwaldman

Dublin’s Science Gallery hosts a talk by Ariel Waldman which will explore how the idea of ‘home’ may change as humans continue to explore space, and to move further out into the universe? Ariel Waldman is the creator of Spacehack.org, a directory of ways to participate in space exploration, and the global director of Science Hack Day, a worldwide event that brings together scientists, technologists, designers and people with good ideas to see what they can create in one weekend.


Friday, June 19th (to June 21st): Solarfest

www.facebook.com/pages/Solarfest/223930147635707

Solarfest 2015 is now extended to a full weekend over 19-21 June and once again features talks on our nearest star along with daytime solar observing. Kevin Smith and Meath Astronomy Club have now come on board to add their support and help with the extended programme. Details of how to reserve seats will be posted shortly to www.irishastrosoc.org/


June 25th to 28th: Robert Boyle Summer School

www.robertboyle.ie/

Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) was born in Lismore Castle, Co. Waterford and was perhaps the most influential scientist of his day and the most respected of the founding members of the Royal Society of London. An annual celebration of his life is run each summer at Boyle's birthplace under the auspices of the Robert Boyle Summer School.


Friday, July 31st: Once in a Blue Moon

www.seasonalbeast.ie/events/

To mark the rare "blue moon" of 31st July, Seasonal Beast presents a very special evening in celebration of the Moon!

Taking place in the spectacular Freemasons' Hall on Molesworth St., Dublin, expect wonderful live music, inspiring talks from science writers and broadcasters, fantastic short film screenings, and a free drinks reception. The Irish Astronomical Society will set up high-powered telescopes in the venue's courtyard so guests can admire the splendour of the Moon up close.


August 14th to 16th: Skellig Star Party

skelligstarparty.com/

The inaugural Skellig Star Party in 2014 was a resounding success and the 2015 edition promises to be even better. A real coup for the organisers will be a talk by Dr Kimberly Ennico-Smith who is a Co-Investigator and deputy Project Scientist for NASA's New Horizon's mission. Also due to attend is astronomer Nick Howes who has previously spoken at this year’s Galway and Cosmos star parties. The SSP is held in Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry, in the core part of Europe's only Gold Tier Dark Sky Reserve.


Support Ireland’s bid to join the European Southern Observatory

www.change.org/p/government-of-ireland-a...southern-observatory

Ireland must get Government support to bid to join the European Southern Observatory so that Irish researchers will have access to large optical telescopes again. Sign the petition above now to show your support!


Cosmic Light Kit

info from Terry Moseley

The Cosmic Light EDU kit has been launched! The main goal for this project is to involve schools around the globe in awareness campaigns for light pollution and to discover the nature of light. The project has assembled an educational kit, with simple resources and activities to support teachers. There are many and varied networks involved in this project so participants can benefit from many opportunities for a rich cultural interchange.

The project aims to target diverse social and cultural audiences, and there is a special component designed for children with visual impairment incorporated in the kit to promote inclusivity. The kit will have printable materials, several digital tools and resources and training efforts will be implemented in order to empower teachers to make full use of the kit. The campaign will reach teachers and students in 100 countries around the world.

Take a closer look at all the resources featured in the Comic Light EDU kit here: nuclio.org/cosmiclightedukit/

The IAU Cosmic Light programme has also released the Dark Sky Meter (DSM) app for iPhones free of charge! All you have to do is point your phone at the night sky, and it measures the night sky brightness for you. Then, you can use the IYL DSM app to submit your measurement easily. All measurements will be entered into the Globe at Night database and be used by researchers. The DSM IYL2015 app is already available for free on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/app/dsm-lite/id626796278?mt=8


Win a Trip to Paranal with the Photo Nightscape Awards 2015

www.eso.org/public/announcements/ann15017/

ESO invites you to take part in the second Photo Nightscape Awards (PNA), an international photo nightscape competition for astrophotographers. As a partner in the competition organised by Ciel et Espace Photos, ESO will award the first place winner of the Nightscape category a trip to Paranal, home of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in northern Chile.

The competition categories are: Nightscape, In Town and Timelapse, and they are open to photographers from all countries. Close date is September 30th and more details can be found at the above link.


New Horizons spies Pluto and its moons

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html

NASA’s New Horizons probe is now just sixty days from its historic encounter with the distant dwarf planet Pluto and the latest images from its LORRI camera show Pluto’s retinue of moons. While the resolution isn’t yet good enough show great detail, there are also tantalising suggestions of a polar cap on Pluto. Expect the next two months to see more and more secrets of this far-flung world revealed.

Principle Investigator Alan Stern is writing a blog for Sky & Telescope magazine and the first two instalments can be found at www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/n...-to-pluto-040320154/ and www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/p...ture-show-050420155/

Check out Emily Lakdawalla’s blog for the Planetary Society at www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/ for more updates too.

Very sad indeed. Rip Ian.

I wrote to him in 1986, when I was 10, looking for details on any telescope retailers in Ireland, and he sent me out some pricelists from a company called Astrophil. I still have them to this day!

Really helped me get off the ground with picking that first scope!

A great enthusiast altogether,

Stephen.

I remember Dr. Ian Elliott very well. Back in the 1980's, I bought a 28 mm RKE eyepiece from him when he was in the trade. I still have it -I use it for solar events. In 2013, Valerie and I witnessed the ISS zipping across the Sun on a Saturday morning using that same eyepiece with image projection. What an excellent treat that was!!
So I will always remember Ian Elliott with great admiration. When he came to Solarfest 3 of 4 years ago, I showed him that same eyepiece -what an honour!
And of course, I do recall very well his lectures on freezing winters and buying snow tyres for our cars.

Aubrey.

I'm sorry to see that Ian passed away. I first met Ian when it was my first time going to Dunsink Observatory. Ian was a Solar Astronomer and had made contributions in Solar studies during his whole professional life. I had met him on many occasions, mainly at conferences, talks he gave to the Irish Astronomical Society in Dublin and the ASGI meetings. In his retirement, he played a significant role in preventing the demolition of Daramona Observatory, Co. Westmeath; this is where the first ever photoelectric star observations were recorded in 1897.
I believe Ian was the last living astronomer that had worked at Dunsink Observatory.

Eamonn

Many thanks everyone for posting up those tributes to Ian.

I was at the service in Kilternan last Saturday afternoon and there was a good cross-section of the Irish professional and amateur astronomy community there. It was a beautiful ceremony.

John