The first meeting of the East Antrim Astronomical Society's new season will take place on Monday 1st September in Ballyclare High School, Ballyclare, Co. Antrim, commencing at 8PM.
September's guest speaker will be Colin Johnston, Science Communicator at Armagh Planetarium, talking on "Going to the Stars", looking at serious suggestions for space travel to the planets in the Solar System and those around the stars beyond.
I am pleased to announce our new programme for the new season 2008/2009.
1st September 08
Colin Johnston (Armagh Planetarium) - Going To The Stars
6th October 08
10 Minute Astronony (EAAS) - Favourite types of object to observe and the equipment I use to observe them.
3rd November 08
Dr Don Pollacco (QUB)
1st December 08
TBC - Beginners Night
5th January 09
NIAAS Launch Party
2nd February 09
Dr.R.T James McAteer (TCD)(NASA-STEREO) - The Sun-Earth connection
2nd March 09
Deidre Kelleghan (IAS) - Galileo? Galileo? Who on Earth was Galileo?
6th April 09
Dr Michael Simms (National Museums Northern Ireland) - Bovedy, Crumlin and other meteorites: Where did they come from and what can they tell us?
11th May 09
Michael O'Connell ( Chairperson TAS & IFAS )
As you may know the year 2009 has been designated as the International Year Of Astronomy.
So what is the International Year Of Astronomy?
What has your local club planned?
Find out by reading our exciting news here!
With the season rapidly changing to Summer, John Flannery from the South Dublin Astronomical Society takes us on a tour of other naked eye phenomenae we can see during the day or night.
May sees the beginning of the summer twilight which lasts until the end of July but that doesn't mean that night observing is over, far from it. Noctilucent clouds are a wonderful and amazing sight as they glow in the midnight sky. They are characterized by their herring bone and wavy patterns with average heights of around 80kms up. More info on our NLC observing page.
The International Space Station is visible for the next couple of weeks in the evening sky.
The predictions are as follows:
Date
Mag
Starts
Max. Altitude
Ends
Time
Alt.
Az.
Time
Alt.
Az.
Time
Alt.
Az.
14 Apr
-0.4
20:44:23
10
WSW
20:47:00
40
S
20:48:17
23
ESE
14 Apr
1.8
22:19:02
10
W
22:19:30
14
WSW
22:19:30
14
WSW
15 Apr
-0.6
21:04:19
10
WSW
21:06:59
46
S
21:07:42
36
SE
16 Apr
-0.5
21:24:18
10
W
21:26:57
42
S
21:27:00
42
S
17 Apr
-0.5
20:09:31
10
WSW
20:12:12
46
S
20:14:52
10
ESE
17 Apr
0.4
21:44:19
10
W
21:46:14
28
SW
21:46:14
28
SW
18 Apr
-0.4
20:29:26
10
W
20:32:05
43
S
20:34:12
14
ESE
18 Apr
1.5
22:04:29
10
WSW
22:05:24
15
WSW
22:05:24
15
WSW
19 Apr
0.0
20:49:23
10
W
20:51:55
33
SSW
20:53:20
20
SE
20 Apr
0.8
21:09:26
10
WSW
21:11:38
21
SSW
21:12:25
19
S
21 Apr
1.6
21:29:59
10
WSW
21:31:13
12
SSW
21:31:30
12
SSW
22 Apr
0.8
20:14:16
10
W
20:16:32
23
SSW
20:18:49
10
SSE
23 Apr
1.6
20:34:36
10
WSW
20:36:05
13
SSW
20:37:33
10
S
Be sure and have a look at this wonderful sight in binoculars or a telescope if you can track quickly as you may even see the shape of the space station against the night sky.
The Lyrid shower one of the oldest meteor showers known, first logged in Chinese astronomical records in 687 BC.
Consequently, the number of meteoroids has also diminished over the years. Nevertheless, observers can expect a peak ZHR of between 10 and 15 meteors. The meteors are bright and leisurely in motion, with the radiant near Vega, Lyra’s brightest star.
The moon is new on April 17th, so lunar interference on the 22nd hopefully should not be substantial, with a 30% Moon setting at 3am.
The EAAS will be doing a meteor watch on the night of Saturday April 21st, which is estimated to be the shower peak. We will be meeting at Killylane and having our annual barbeque to warm up what is likely to be a chilly night!
Everyone is welcome, so bring binoculars, burgers, telescopes, oxen, suckling pigs and warm clothing!
There may also be the chance to come across a few early Eta Aquarids. This shower, which is active from April 21 to May 12, originates from Comet Halley. With a ZHR of 35, the Eta Aquarids is one of the best springtime showers, producing bright meteors with yellow trails and the occasional fireball.
To find out about the Lyrids, check out our EAAS article below...
Just a reminder about our next meeting this Monday at 8pm at our new venue of Ballyclare High School. Directions are on our website at http://www.eaas.co.uk/location.html
Dr. Andy McCrea MBE (IAA) will be hosting our Beginners Night and Observing. The weather forecast for the evening is looking great so if you need help with setting up and using your scope or can stay around for some observing, please do bring your telescope or binoculars. Also, note that our AGM is scheduled for Monday 14th May.
The Irish Astronomical Association is also having their last meeting this incoming week on Wednesday 4th April. Ash McFadden (Greencastle Planetarium) will be speaking on "Selling Science" (i.e. selling young people on the idea of studying science) and "Comets in the Classroom"
Our annual Lyrid Meteor Watch and barbeque will take place at Killylane Reservoir on Saturday 21st April at 8pm. The shower is predicted to be around 20 meteors per hour under ideal conditions. We will also be taking the opportunity to have our last evening of observing together before the dark skies leave us from May to July.
Saturday evening saw one of the most spectacular lunar eclipses in recent years. After the threats of bad weather and being clouded out, Northern Ireland was treated to an evening of astronomical proportions.
The EAAS are holding a public Lunar observing event to coincide with the
Total Lunar Eclipse this incoming Saturday evening 3rd March. Everyone is
very welcome to attend and bring your telescopes or binoculars. We are
meeting at the Ballyearl Arts Centre, just 5 minutes from Corr's Corner, off
the M2. We kick off around 7:30pm with some observing. Following this, we
will retire to the Arts Centre where Dr Ed Barnett will give us a talk on
the Lunar eclipse and cover the broader interest that is astronomy. This
will be aimed at beginners and observers so there is something for everyone.
There will also be a competition and prizes. Please do come along and
support the society.
Our next monthly meeting will be on Monday 5th March when Robert Cobain from
Bangor will be speaking to us on "Setting up a meteor observing station".
Robert works in tandem with the Armagh Observatory watching for meteors and
tracing their origin and their final destination. He uses a home PC and a
video camera to do this and has the entire setup automated - it certainly
will be an interesting talk to see what he has discovered flying in the
skies above us.
On the bright and sunny morning of Saturday 9th December 2006, members of the EAAS met up at newly re-opened Armagh Planetarium for their new Christmas Show, titled "The Mystery Of The Christmas Star".
Rocket firing and meteor studying ensued along with three dimensional video presentations - it was quite a day!
EAAS RSS Feed
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On the bright and sunny morning of Saturday 9th December 2006, members of the EAAS met up at newly re-opened Armagh Planetarium for their new Christmas Show, titled "The Mystery Of The Christmas Star".