From: TerryMoselaol.com
Date: 28 January 2008 23:06:55 GMT
Subject: TV Progs, Science Gallery, ASTEROID Flyby, Lectures, IYA 2009, Books

Hi all,
á 
T.V.
1. Monday 28 January (tonight), BBC2, 23.20 - 00.20. "The Atom". Series about the building blocks 
of the universe.
á 
2. Tuesday 29 January, BBC2, HORIZON: 21.00 - 21.50. "What on Earth is wrong with Gravity?" 
Physicist Brian Cox attempts to define just what gravity is. (I'm voting for 'MOND', BTW, but 
that's just a personal preference!)
á 
3. SCIENCE GALLERY: Aá new public venue is due to open in Trinity College, Dublin next week, 
called Science Gallery.á It launches with a festival called LIGHTWAVE andá a lectureá called 
"Solar Voyage" by leading Irish astrophysicist Peter Gallagher,á on Sunday 3rd February from 
16.30 - 17.30.á á Sponsored by the Royal Irish Academy, Peter Gallagher takes us on a journey 
exploring the sun's influence on the solar system from the innermost planets to the Voyager 
spacecraft at the outer bounds of the Solar System. With incredible 3D projections of the 
sun, a pair of 3D glasses for everyone in the audience and an insight into our neighbourhood 
star, Solar Voyage is set to be an eye opener. 
á á á  To book tickets or for further information on the LIGHTWAVE festival please see 
link. 
CONTACT: Elizabeth Allen, Programme Manager (Events), The Science Gallery, 
Trinity College, Dublin 2. Tel: +353-1-896 4010. 
Email: elizabeth.allensciencegallery.com
á 
4. ASTEROID FLYBY:á  Asteroid 2007 TU24á flies past Earth this week at a distance of only 
334,000 miles (1.4 lunar distances).á  There is no danger of a collision, but it will be close 
enough for amateur astronomers to photograph through mid-sized telescopes. At closest approach 
on Jan. 29th, the asteroid will glide through the constellations Andromeda and Cassiopeia 
glowing like a 10th magnitude star.á  Visit spaceweather.com 
for celestial coordinates and a low-resolution radar image of the approaching rock.

5. HALO BONUS:á  A photographer in Finland has captured the long-sought "Kern arc", a rare 
sun halo created by triangular ice crystals.á á  Experts are calling it the "halo photo of 
the decade" and it is featured on today's edition of spaceweather.com.
á 
6. IAA PUBLIC LECTURE: Wednesday 6 February, 7.30 p.m. Dr Aaron Golden, NUIG: "Periodic Radio 
Flares from Brown Dwarfs: the missing link between planets and pulsars?" The Bell lecture 
Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast. Admission free, including light 
refreshments. All welcome.
á á  The IAA lecture programme is held in association with the School ofá Mathematics and Physics 
at Queen'sá University Belfast. See: www.irishastro.org
á 
7. IYA 2009: The countdown to 2009 is now ticking every day and I hope it will find us well 
prepared iná less than a year!
á á  The Irish website is now up and running: http://astronomy2009.ie. 
As it is now, it is basically just a template that needs to be filled up. Any commentsá will beá 
welcomed by Dr Miruna Popescu (see below).á She writes:
á á  First of all, please letá me know if you agree with the basic 'template' and if you think that 
we need more 'chapters' á apart from the ones I have set up.
á  Second, please let me know if I have forgotten - or I got the web link wrong - for anybody 
under the links - local page. For example, I could not find the website for the Northern 
Ireland Space Office on the web.
á á  Thirdly, please send me anything that you would like me to include on it - stories, 
images, etc.
á I plan to improve the websiteá next week - hopefully with many things you will send me - and 
then begin to publicize it. Also, I did not tell astronomy2009.org about it yet as it is not 
quite ready. I will do that after receiving your feedback. Best regards, Dr. Miruna D. Popescu, 
Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh
Northern Ireland, BT61 9DG, http://star.arm.ac.uk/~mdp.
á 
8. BOOKS:
Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, Editor-in-chief Thomas Hockey, features 1550 
biographies of astronomers from the earliest times to the present. Published by Springer in 
two volumes, 1341 pages, 350 illustrations and available in hardback or online form for E329 
(until 31/1/2008).á  Every astronomy department should have a copy. See Print version; and Online version

"It's Part of What We Are" by Charles Mollan features 118 in-depth biographies of men and women 
(including a score of astronomers) who have contributed to the physical sciences in Ireland 
over the past three centuries. Published by the Royal Dublin Society in two volumes, 1875 pages, 
150 illustrations and available in hardback for €60 (plus postage and packing). Great value! 
See link
Finally, congrats to Galway Astronomy Club for another excellent Astrofest last weekend. Well 
done to all.
á 
Clear Skies,
á 
Terry Moseley

Last Revised: 2008 January 29th

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