We must apologise because due to a technical error at the Ely House internet system we are unable to broadcast this event on Zoom tonight. However we are recording it and will make it available here on our website.
Voyager and Beyond
by Kevin Nolan (TUD)
Monday, 25th September 2023 at 20:00 at Ely House, 8 Ely Place, Dublin 2.
Please note this talk is held at our traditional venue Ely House (not UCD).
You can also join the meeting online a few minutes before the event by clicking on this Zoom link. Time: 20:00 IST or 19:00 UT.
For our first public lecture of the new season we are pleased to present this talk by Kevin Nolan of TUD and the Planetary Society. He will explore "where we're at" in relation to engaging the outer solar system and beyond over the coming years and decades. He will also look at Pioneer, Cassini, New Horizons and then a plethora of projects from the space telescopes searching for near by exoplanets to the proposed missions far into the Kuipter Belt and even to Proxima Centuari.
Kevin Nolan lecturers in Technical University Dublin, he is a scientist, composer and the author of the popular book Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone. He also represents the Planetary Society in Ireland.
All welcome, no charge.
Sky-High update
Notes on the Long Period Variable star V Boo and Jupiter's Great Red Spot is given in Sky-High Extra.
Total Solar Eclipse 20 April 2023 from Australia
Angela O'Connell reports:
Eclipse expedition onboard the P&O ship Pacific Explorer. The solar eclipse was a hybrid (i.e. annular at the beginning and end of the central track and total in between). The ship anchored in the Exmouth Gulf, within sight of the North West Cape and the town of Exmouth in Western Australia. Here, the spectacle of totality lasted just 60 seconds, but it was a wonderful breath-taking sight. The photo show a wide-angle view during totality at 11:30 (local time), taken with a Canon EOS R50 on an automatic setting.
For a fuller report, see the article "Sun, Moon, Sea & Stars in Western Australia" in the July 2023 issue of Orbit.
Spring Sky into Summer Sky 2023
This spring and early summer Venus dominates the western evening sky. In this photo, taken back in April, the Pleiades star cluster hangs off the brilliant planet to its right. Picture courtesy of Michael McCreary with his IPhone. Click image for larger version.
Venus was a lovely sight near the Crescent Moon. Photo by Barry Pickup at 23:15 IST this evening in the west with a Canon 350D DSLR and 50 mm f/1.8 lens.
Aurora April 2023
With solar activity increasing there is an increasing chance of spotting an aurora. Here one was from Finland. Photo by Nicola Fletcher (Canon R6 with 14 mm lens, 5 sec exposure).
Jupiter and Venus approach February 2023
Venus and Jupiter are now approaching each other in the dusk sky. By March 1st they close with half a degree of each other.
Member Barry Pickup photographed the scene on 2023 February 22 when the crescent Moon was between the planets. Canon 500D DSLR with a 50 mm lens used. Jupiter (mag -2.1) is above the Moon and Venus (mag -3.9) to the bottom right.
Sky-High 2023
Our yearly almanac Sky-High 2023 is now available. It is now in its 31st year.
Sky-High has articles on upcoming events regarding Planets, Asteroids, Comets, Meteors, Eclipses and Variable Stars. It has a detailed Diary tailored for Irish Observers. It includes a handy table of sunset and twilight times as well as Moon phases. It also features a number of guest articles.
Please see more details, that includes information in obtaining a copy.
Please note that paid-up IAS members have been mailed a free copy. Sky-High 2022 has been added to the free Archive.
Celestial Calendar 2023
Member John Flannery has produced a Celestial Calendar for the IAS. It includes sky events and historical events. Each month has a colour image.
Please note that paid-up IAS members have been mailed a free printed copy by the IAS.
Mars just before its Lunar Occultation 2022
Photograph by our President Michael McCreary on 2022 December 8. Canon 600D DSLR on a C11 (28 cm SCT).
