Special Free Christmas Talk on Comets
On the 17 th of December Galway Astronomy Club and NUIG Astronomy Society will welcome Dr Jacqueline Keane for a special Christmas talk entitled "2013: The Year of the Long-haired Stars". The talk will take place in IT 250, IT Building, NUI Galway at 7.30pm.
In ancient times, "long-haired stars" inspired terror because of their sudden appearance, potentially great brightness, and large tails. Comets, long considered harbingers of doom, have been blamed for some of history's darkest times. About once a decade, a truly spectacular comet is visible even through the bright city lights. In 2013, it was predicted that we would see two "great" comets of the century, L4-PANSTARRS and ISON. Though these two comets did not disappoint scientists, they were not as bright as first predicted and were not visible to the general public. But what makes a comet "great" anyway? Come along and find out. This public talk will discuss what comets are and how comets help us understand the formation of the Solar System. A summary of the exciting world-wide Comet ISON observing campaign will be presented, with a special focus on the University of Hawaii campaign using numerous 10-meter telescopes at 14000 feet on the summit of Mauna Kea. The prospects of viewing comets in 2014 will also be discussed.
Jacqueline Keane is an assistant astronomer at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. After studying for a B.Sc. in Physics and a Masters in Astronomy at the NUIG, Jacqueline earned a PhD in Astrophysics at Groningen University (the Netherlands) working with Infrared Space Observatory observations of interstellar ice features and their formation via grain-surface reactions. After her PhD, Jacqueline moved to California to work at the NASA Ames Research Center where her work concentrated on understanding the composition of cold material in star-forming molecular clouds using the Spitzer space-based telescope. Jacqueline currently specializes in ground-based observations of comets and how they can be used to understand the conditions in the early Solar System.
Ronan Newman
Chairman
www.galwayastronomyclub.ie
Full details on our Astronomy Fest 2014 at
www.galwayastronomyclub.ie/index.php/31-...ronomy-festival-2014
  