News
New Year's Eve Lunar Eclipse
In the last day of the International Year of Astronomy (early evening of 31 December 2009), the Moon had the smallest partial eclipse that we have seen in Ireland and the UK for 40 years: the Moon was 8% covered by the Earth's shadow. Incidentally, this was also a "Blue Moon" - the name given for the second full Moon within a calendar month.
This photo was taken at 7.30 pm, a bit after the eclipse's maximum phase, from my backyard in Armagh.
Have you got your pictures of the eclipse? If you would like to share them please send them to us.
Happy New Year!
Miruna
Partial Lunar Eclipse: 31 December 2009
In the last day of the International Year of Astronomy - in the early evening of the 31st December - the Moon undergoes the smallest partial eclipse that we have seen in Ireland for 40 years - in that the Moon will only just dip into the umbral shadow of the Earth. At mid-eclipse (19:23) the lower right of the Moon may just be seen to have a faint ruddy colour as indicated in the diagram. The Moon begins to enter the penumbral shadow at 17:17, and will thus begin to darken. A small part of the Moon at its lower right enters the umbral shadow at 18:52 and leaves it at 19:52 withÁ€¦
Beautiful October Morning skies in Ireland
Things to see in the morning skies, from Terry Moseley, IAA:
ISS IN MORNINGS: The International Space Station is making a series of morning passes at the moment - see www.heavens-above.com Look out for it when it passes close to.....
BRILLIANT MORNING STAR VENUS: Venus is still the brightest object in the morning sky. It currently rises in morning twilight, preceded by much fainter Saturrn, and followed by Mercury, which is about midway in brightness between Saturn and Venus. But both Mercury and then Venus will soon move too close to the Sun to be seen, so look in the next few morningsÁ€¦
Armagh astronomer made today's highlights around the world
Armagh Observatory astronomer Dr David Asher made highlights around the world with a new study he presented at the European Planetary Science Congress in Potsdam, Germany, on Monday 14 September.
The research was led by David's colleague Katsuhito Ohtsuka of the Tokyo Meteor Network, Japan. Their team showed that sixty years ago, Jupiter had a "brief encounter": it carried on a 12-year fling with an extra "moon" then casually cast it aside.
Their calculations show that comet 147P/Kushida-Muramatsu entered Jupiter's neighbourhood from the outer solar system in 1949 and dallied in a highly Á€¦
Two Irishmen are Astronomy Photographers of the Year!
Out of the Four prizes given in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition, organized by the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, two of them went to Ireland!
Michael O'Connell won the category prize for "Our Solar System". Michael's image, "Blue Sky Moon", is an unusual picture of the Moon - simple, well composed and framed, of outstanding quality and on a blue sky background.
The "Young Astronomy Photographer" section was won by Ireland, again: 14 year-old Paul Smith won this category with "Occultation of Venus". Á€˜It was amazing to see Venus disappearing and then reappearing from behindÁ€¦
Irish Astronomer Gets Prestigious Award for Outreach
Deirdre Kelleghan gets The Astronomical Leagues Master Outreach Award one of 25 given out this year and the first International one :-) Presented by Dr Mike Reynolds Outreach Chair for the League. "I do not do outreach for awards , but it was nice to get one. There are only 25 people in the world getting the Master award this year and I am the first European to be given one . The Astronomical League is the largest organisation for amateur astronomers in the world.I am a Member at Large for many years." said Deirdre. More info on her blog.
Possible Perseid Meteor Outburst on the morning of 12 August
Although the major northern hemisphere Perseids are badly affected by the last quarter Moon near their best this year, there is the possibility they may produce somewhat increased rates. The usual maximum is due around August 12, 17h30m-20h00m UT, but Esko Lyytinen suggests we may encounter the 1610 Perseid trail earlier on August 12, around 9h00m UT (í»o = 139á°661). This could produce activity additional to the normal Perseid ZHRs then of a few tens, maybe up to a hundred. Mikhail Maslov confirmed this but for 8h00m UT and with only 10-15 meteors per hour. Both reseachers further suggest thatÁ€¦
Jupiter to occult star on the night of 3 to 4 August
From Terry Moseley, IAA: "There will be quite a rare event on 3 August, when Jupiter will occult the 6th magnitude star 45 Capricornii, at about 23.50 BST (the exact time depends on your location). The star is one of the brightest that Jupiter will ever occult during our lifetimes, so this will be interesting to watch, and video. The star will be a bit fainter than Callisto, the faintest of the 4 Galilean moons. It will disappear behind the Southern limb of the planet, at about the position of the SSTB (South South Temperate Belt). Jupiter will be only 11 days before opposition, so the phaseÁ€¦Observing Jupiter
The observing season of Jupiter's Galilean satellites (Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto) occultations start in Ireland on the 24th of July and end on the 11th of November.
The occultations are seen from Earth only once every six years.
This is a special IYA project. See the page dedicated to the observers who never made such observations.
Think you're up for it? Continue reading and get prepared. See example of good observations by Hristo Pavlov.
An even more rare event (the following will be visible from Europe in more than 200 years from now) happens on the night of the 3rd to the 4th ofÁ€¦
IYA Solar Eclipse: 22 July 2009
In the special year of IYA 2009, on Wednesday 22 July 2009, a total eclipse of the Sun is visible from Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar and China. A partial eclipse is seen within the much broader path of the Moon's penumbral shadow, which includes most of eastern Asia, Indonesia, and the Pacific Ocean.