From: TerryMoselaol.com

Subject: Mountaineering on Mars, Dunsink, Moon, ISS, Meteorites, Sun Talk, Space contest

Date: 18 September 2012 18:16:21 BST

Hi all,

ˆà

1. IAA LECTURE: "MOUNTAINEERINGˆàON MARS", Wed 19 Sep.

The opening lecture of the IAA'sˆànew season will be given by none other than the renowned space expert,ˆàbroadcaster, lecturer, journalist & character, Leo Enright. It'sˆàentitledˆà"Mountaineering on Mars". ˆàLeo will take us into the canyon-lands of Gale Crater on Mars,ˆàto scale the summit of a mountain taller than Mont Blanc. ˆàUsing the latest pictures from the Curiosity rover,ˆàhe will guide us through the most breathtaking scenery ever witnessed on the surface of another planet. ˆàWe expect that some of the pictures for this talk will have arrived on Earth just minutes before Leo speaks,ˆàso this will truly be the latest news from the surface of Mars.

ECLIPSE CHASING BOOK: For those of you who missed the launch of 'Total Addiction' at QFT last Saturday, the author, Dr Kate Russo, will; bring along some copies of the book to this meeting, and will autograph them for purchasers on the night.

VENUE: Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Main campus, Queens' University, Malone Road, Belfast. Time: 7.30 p.m. Doors open from about 7.10. Admission Free, including light refreshments. All welcome.

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2. Dublin City Cultures Evening in Dunsink Observatory,ˆà Dunsink Lane,ˆàˆàˆà Castleknock,ˆàDublin 15, on FRIDAY 21st SEPTEMBER,ˆàas part ofˆàtheir public outreach program.

The evening will be run as a meet and talk evening event throughout the whole evening.ˆàThere will be an exhibition in each of the rooms on the ground floor plus the South Dome out in the grounds.

There will be three talks on the evening @ 19.00/20.00/21.00 hrs in The Meridian Roomˆàon different topics within the area of Astronomy.

Admission free, but you must pre-book a place:

Date: FRIDAY 21st SEPTEMBER 2012. Time: 17.00ˆà- 23.00 hrs. (doors open from 16.30). Free Parking.ˆàTelephone ++353 1 66 21 333 or E-Mail:ˆàhodcp.dias.ie

ˆàˆàˆà Please note there has been a lot of MAJOR ROAD WORKS in the areaˆàin relation to the restructuring of the Blanchardstown Roundabout,ˆà(J6) on the M50,ˆàand surrounding area, so allow extra travel time for the journey. Also, please note that there is very little signage in the area at the moment.

DIRECTIONS: We are situated just off the M50 at the Main Blanchardstown (J6)ˆàRoundabout / Intersection situated over the M50 itself.

ˆàˆàˆà Come off that roundabout heading in the direction of the City Center, Going towards the NEW Main Auburn/Navan Road INTERSECTION, Dunsink Lane which is situated beyond the NEW RIVER ROAD beside The Travel Lodge Motel (now a traffic light junction), off the NEW Main Auburn intersection. SIGNPOSTED FINGLAS/DUNSINK,ˆàwhich appears very soonˆàwhen coming off the Main Blanchardstown Roundabout over the M50.

ˆà ˆàPlease note that on Dunsink Lane it saysˆàthat the lane is closed to through traffic, though Dunsink Obs is up that lane just before where the lane itself is blocked off.

ˆàˆà PLEASE ONLY APPROACH DUNSINK OBS ON DUNSINK LANE FROM THE NAVAN ROAD END

3.ˆàInternational Observe the Moon Night, Sep 22:

Saturday, September 22^nd, is when telescopes world-wide will be pointed at our lovely space neighbourˆàfor members of the public to observe the Moon. More details later.

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4. The International Space Station (ISS) commenced another series of 'Morning Passes' over Ireland today. See www.heavens-above.com for details.

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5. "Meteorites Tamed" Lecture Series, Ulster Museum, by Dr Mike Simms
Mondays at 7.30pm, 22nd October òÀÓ 26th November 2012
Free. Booking for each lecture essential: Go to www.nmni.com, Telephone 028 9044 0000
(Lines open Tue òÀÓ Sun 10am òÀÓ 6pm), Email: ulstermuseumreceptionnmni.com
SYNOPSIS: Every year visitors from Outer Space arrive on Earth. These are meteorites, messengers from beyond our planet. This series of six lectures from Dr Mike Simms will explain what meteorites are, where they come from, how they get here, and what they can tell us about the far reaches and earliest history of our Solar System.ˆà

6. QUB/IAA PUBLIC LECTURE: The next in the QUBˆàMichael West Public Astronomy Lecture Series is entitled "The Sun", andˆàwill be on October 17.ˆàIt will be given by well known astronomer Dr Lucie Green (you probably saw her on Stargazing Live on BBC, and she has previously given a lecture to the IAA in Belfast). She is a recognised expert on the Sun, and her talk is sure to be fascinating.ˆàThese lectures are held in conjunction with the IAA, and form part of our regular fortnightly programme. However, due to the larger than usual numbers expected, it will be held in the Larmor Lecture Theatre, also in the Physics building, instead. Admission is free, but places must be pre-booked. see: http://tinyurl.com/MichaelWestLectureSeries2012

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7. ODYSSEUS SPACE CONTEST FOR EU SCHOOLS: (From Robert Hill): This is a nice challenge for schools in Ireland, North and south. See

http://www.odysseus-contest.eu/

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8.ˆàINTERESTING WEBLINKS:ˆà

SIGNS POINT TO INTERSTELLAR SPACE FOR VOYAGER 1 PROBE: More than 35 years after launching from Earth and now at the frontier of the solar system, NASA's Voyager 1 probe may be tasting interstellar space for the first time, according to scientists analysing fresh data from the distant explorer. See: http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1209/16voyager/

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/09/14/nasa-testing-heat-shields_n_1883282.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/09/17/mars-rover-opportunity-iron-spheres_n_1889344.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2201997/Dark-energy-mystery-solved-Researchers-claim-99-996-sure-real.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2205020/Is-best-self-portrait-ISS-astronaut-gazes-Earth-planet-reflected-visor.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2121475/Habitable-planets-orbiting-red-dwarf-stars-galaxy--billions-including-100-door-solar-system.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2121808/Far-The-amazing-image-billion-stars-Milky-Way-took-astronomers-decade-capture.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2122034/EPFL-rocket-thruster-travel-moon-1-10th-litre-fuel.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2122616/Einstein-proved-right-universe-General-theory-relativity-correctly-measures-rapid-expansion-space-driven-mysterious-dark-energy.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1389206/Dark-energy-DOES-exist-increasingly-driving-universe-apart-scientists-claim.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2201997/Dark-energy-mystery-solved-Researchers-claim-99-996-sure-real.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2203313/CERN-starts-cracking-particles-plasma-soup-existed-second-Big-Bang.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2204476/Photographer-Texas-reveals-stunning-image-eclipse-stunned-America-May.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2204417/The-DIY-space-project-set-send-1-000-school-experiments-marriage-proposals-edge-space-ping-pong-balls.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2204596/Starlight-BILLION-years-ago-First-images-received-worlds-powerful-digital-camera.html

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9. TWITTER:ˆàthe IAAˆànow has a twitter account:ˆà IaaAstro

10. BBC THINGS TO DO WEBSITE: See theˆàforthcoming IAA events on ˆà

http://www.bbc.co.uk/thingstodo

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11. JOINING the IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION is now even easier: This link downloads a Word document to join the IAA. http://irishastro.org.uk/iaamembership.doc. If you are a UK taxpayer, please tick the 'gift-aid' box, as that enables us to reclaim the standard rate of tax on your subscription, at no cost to you.ˆà See also www.irishastro.org.ˆà

ˆà

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley

mob: (0044) (0) 7979 300842

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