SDAS newsletter for October and astronaut visit

hi all,

hope everyone has been well.

Astronaut visit on October 6th

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Robert S. Kimbrough, who flew on STS-126 and made 2 space walks, is visiting Ireland this week for World Space Week. He is giving a talk in The Helix at DCU tomorrow. The event can be booked via dublin.usembassy.gov/visit-by-nasa-astro...shane-kimbrough.html


October newsletter

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The October issue of the club newsletter is now available to download from the link below. It's about 600K in size and the 8-page issue features the second part of the atmospheric optics article, the star Polaris in mythology, details of what's on view in the sky during the month, news notes, event listings, and much more. Click on dl.dropbox.com/u/25805353/Arcturus/arc_2011_October.pdf


Sidewalk Astronomy on October 7th

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The Dublin Sidewalk Astronomers will meet at the Martello tower car park in Sandymount ( www.irishastrosoc.org/wordpress/?page_id=59 ) from 8 to 10 PM to observe the first quarter Moon. If you have a telescope you would like help with or just have general queries about the IAS or astronomy you are more than welcome to come along. If the weather is bad we will be there from 8 to 9 PM. All are welcome and feel free to bring a scope along if you wish.


Next meeting on October 20th

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The next IAS & SDAS joint meeting is on Thursday, October 20th in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh at 8pm. Solar expert Dr Ian Elliott will speak about the Sun’s variability and the Earth’s climate. It is a topical subject as recent scientific papers speculate on the solar cycle quietening down and this may lead to us experiencing more severe winters.


Prof Richard Somerville talk last week

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I was at the terrific talk on John Tyndall and the Greenhouse Effect given last week by Prof Richard Somerville in the Mansion House Round Room. Prof Somerville's occasional comments that he was "still smarting" from an interview earlier in the day on the Pat Kenny Show sent me searching the web this morning for any references.

John Gibbons gives his take on the interview at www.thinkorswim.ie/?p=1562 and it is a salutory lesson that scientists really have to patiently work at demolishing a lot of myths around the real global issues facing us today -- not just climate change, but nuclear power, challenges in areas as diverse as health scares to genetic engineering, and many other disciplines.

The Pat Kenny interview is online at www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_patkenny.xml

Sean Duke writes about Tyndall in the current issue of Science Spin, but also blogs the article at seanduke.com/2011/09/05/a-greenhouse-gas-man-john-tyndall/

The public lecture was prior to the start of a major conference on Tyndall and the Greenhouse Effect that took place last week in Dublin Castle. See tyndallconference2011.org/

Prof Somerville's book "The Forgiving Air" is a lucid account of the issues around climate change and can be purchased through Amazon at www.amazon.co.uk/Forgiving-Air-Understan...id=1317210686&sr=8-1

talk to you all soon,

John


Other events to note

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Download our October news letter to get the web site details for the various clubs and organisations whose events are listed here.

Oct 3rd - Galway Astronomy Club talk "ET: Where are you?" by Terry Moseley
Oct 3rd - Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy Society beginners night
Oct 4th - Midlands Astronomy Club talk "The Faulkes Telescope" by Michael O'Connell
Oct 4th - Science Gallery at TCD talk by Dr Michael John Gorman … see www.sciencegallery.com
Oct 5th - IAA talk "Amateur Meteor Observing & a possible Draconid outburst" by Dr Geert Barentsen
Oct 6th - Shannonside Astronomy Club talk "The Lunar 100" by John Lally
Oct 7th - Closing date for the Geological Survey of Ireland's photo competition
Oct 10th - Astronomy Ireland talk "Sounds of the Cosmos" by Dr Lewis Dartnell
Oct 11th - Kerry Astronomy Club talk
Oct 13th - Irish Meteorological Society visit to Dunsink Observatory
Oct 14th - Maths Week Ireland (to Oct 22nd)
Oct 15th - Octocon 2011 at the Camden Court Hotel, Dublin
Oct 16th - Hamilton Walk from Dunsink Observatory to Broom Bridge
Oct 16th - Mallow Science and Maths fair … see www.mathsweek.ie
Oct 17th - Royal Irish Academy talk "The Quantum Theory of Knots" by Prof Edward Witten
Oct 18th - Maths Week Café with Fernando Blasco … see www.mathsweek.ie
Oct 19th - IAA talk "What was it really like on Apollo 11?" by Seanie Morris
Oct 19th - IGA talk in TCD "Harnessing Earth's Heat for Energy" by Dr Mark Muller
Oct 20th - IAS/SDAS talk "Solar Activity and the Earth’s Climate" by Dr Ian Elliott
Oct 20th - IGA talk in UCC "Harnessing Earth's Heat for Energy" by Dr Mark Muller
Oct 25th - RDS Energy Lecture Series: The Energy Challenge by Prof Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith ( www.rds.ie )

Finding out more about what’s up in the sky this month

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The following web sites are a great resource for information about what’s on view in our skies during the month;

www.skymaps.com — superb charts you can download
www.jb.man.ac.uk/astronomy/nightsky/
www.guardian.co.uk/science/series/starwatch
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/nightsky/
www.nightskyobserver.com/the-sky-this-month.php -- news on astronomy and space from Gary Nugent
www.heavens-above.com — space station predictions
www.jodcast.net — monthly night sky tour for MP3 players
spaceflightnow.com — mission launches and other news
www.spaceweather.com – details of transitory events during the month as well as aurora alerts