South Dublin/Gonzaga astronomy activities

hi everyone,

just a quick note to keep you all appraised of current activities in the South Dublin Astronomical Society and Gonzaga College Astronomy Club.

we've NO MEMBERSHIP FEE and through the generosity of Gonzaga College we are able to hold a meeting on the first Thursday of each month which is FREE. Everyone is welcome join in the activities of two of Dublin's brightest and most vibrant astronomy clubs!

(and nay'er an aurora slide in sight )

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our next meeting in fact is on Thursday, 4th March 2004 and will be given by Dr. Kevin Nolan of the Planetary Society. Kevin is the Irish representative of the Planetary Society and has been involved in a number of areas to popularise astronomy and space science around the country including the European Southern Observatory's "Life in the Universe" competition.

Kevin's talk will be titled "Mars: A Cosmic Stepping Stone" and promises to be a fascinating and topical account of our explorations of the Red Planet, and a look ahead to the planned voyages of humankind into deep space.

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this coming Friday, February 27th, we will be holding our first big observing night at a dark location in Wicklow.

everyone is invited to come along and enjoy the wonders of the winter night sky through a variety of binoculars and telescopes. With Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter on view along with the First Quarter Moon there is rich pickings for all star gazers. Add to that the sprinking of deep-sky delights such as the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades, Hyades, and Beehive star clusters, then the time will fly by as you watch the sky!

the arrangement is to meet in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, at 7pm SHARP on Friday at the Monument in the centre of the village. We will then travel to Cloon Wood where there is ample parking and room to set up equipment.

Cloon Wood is on the Enniskerry to Sally Gap road, a couple of miles from where the Wicklow Way crosses over the road heading south to Knockree Youth Hostel. The area is marked on Sheet 56 of the Discovery Series O.S. map.

if you miss us in Enniskerry, the best way there is to keep to the right of the fork in the road leading to Enniskerry at the point where there is the garage. Then go right at the crossroads and up the steep hill heading out of the village. Keep on going a few miles and you'll see the broad car park on the left with the wood itself on the right.

HOWEVER -- if the weather prospects do not look good or if you feel the event may not go ahead, then ring me on 086 - 81 81 931 on the day (or if you get lost!). See you there!

REMEMBER TOO -- dress warmly as the nights are still quite cold and bring along some snacks and warm drinks. A deck-chair is useful too just to relax with a pair of binoculars and sweep the star fields of the winter Milky Way. Also, any torches should have the lamp part covered with red cellophane or the bulb replaced with a dim red one to protect night vision -- searchlights are taboo to astronomers!

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comet C/2002 T7 LINEAR is sinking a little lower with each passing evening as twilight lingers that little bit longer in the western sky. I haven't seen it in a few days but last week it was very "ghostly" as it's quite diffuse and you could potentially be staring at the spot but missing seeing the comet so patience is need to tease out it's light.

the comet is near the star Algenib in the bottom left-hand corner of the Square of Pegasus; check out www.spaceweather.com for a current map or, alternately, www.heavens-above.com which has a chart of the general location along with a more detailed map for binocular users. The encke.jpl.nasa.gov site run by Charles Morris is a worldwide clearing house of comet observations and perusing it you'll get an idea of how amateur astronomers are tracking these celestial snowballs.

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from Mary Mulvihill's science@culture info-mail . . .

Eggs in space: egg up, egg down and no omelette! Them's the rules for an international schools competition being run by Inishowen Maritime Museum and planetarium (Greencastle, Donegal,
www.inishowenmaritime.com/index.shtml ) and a sister planetarium in Texas.

teams (ages 10-Leaving Cert) must design an egg-bearing payload to launch and safely recover an egg (museum staff provide the re-usable egg-shuttle rocket launcher and explosives). Win marks for not
scrambling your yolk, and if your payload reaches the highest altitude.

along the way, learn about rocket science and space engineering. Entry charges cover tutorial costs and a construction materials kit; the museum can assist schools without access to a NASA-style budget. First fly offs start in May, so enter now. T: 074 938 1363.

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-- www.science.ie has details of science events of interest to all

-- here's an interesting link for those of us with two left feet in Gigi's on a Thursday night . . . www.zefrank.com/invite/swfs/index.html

-- another group I'm involved with, Sunshine House, were asking for volunteers who would be available to do the annual Advocate church gate collection on Palm Sunday (and masses on the Saturday evening). This is the only public fundraiser for Sunshine House in Balbriggan and some of you are familiar with the work there. If interested, ring the Sunshine office in Nicholas Street any Tuesday or Wednesday evening between 7:30pm and 9:30pm. The number is 454 9922.

-- congrats to the Gonzaga students who took part in a chess tournament in Bunratty last weekend. A very enjoyable trip was had by all.


Clear Skies!!!


John Flannery
SDAS

Kevin's talk will be titled "Mars: A Cosmic Stepping Stone" and promises to be a fascinating and topical account of our explorations of the Red Planet, and a look ahead to the planned voyages of humankind into deep space.

I saw Kevin give that talk in the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre a while back and its a very nice multimedia presentation, well worth seeing.

the arrangement is to meet in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow, at 7pm SHARP on Friday at the Monument in the centre of the village. We will then travel to Cloon Wood where there is ample parking and room to set up equipment.

Cloon Wood is on the Enniskerry to Sally Gap road, a couple of miles from where the Wicklow Way crosses over the road heading south to Knockree Youth Hostel. The area is marked on Sheet 56 of the Discovery Series O.S. map.

I doubt I'll be there for 7 if at all, but Is the site the parking area at O 185 179 (wicklow way intersection)? Just to save me ringing asking where everybody is

Cheers,
~Al

Is the site the parking area at O 185 179 (wicklow way intersection)?

hi Al,

it's about two miles further on that road from the place actually marked with the Parking symbol. I think there's a sign marked "Oakview" or "Oak" something on the left hand side at the point where the car park is -- the parks there are not actually marked on the map so they must be relatively new.

there can sometimes be a little traffic on this road but nothing that interferes very much with observing. It is possible too to lug stuff round the Coillte barrier and set up a few yards down the track where you are shielded from the road lights but have great eastern, southern, and western horizons (not so good to the north -- so you might miss any aurora!) The mast of Kippure is visible from here also but is not a nuisance.

speaking of aurora, there's been an X-class flare on the Sun which might be Earth-directed and if so, is due tomorrow sometime.

best,

John
SDAS

so you might miss any aurora!

You should be able to clearly see Aurora from there.
Check out O 145 171

Cheers,
~Al