Is Ireland any good

Stupify

Hey everyone.

I've been thinking of getting into astronomy recently and was just wondering, is Ireland any good for astronomy. Where would it rank in terms of worldwide recognition?

slade_x

Stupify wrote: »

Hey everyone.

I've been thinking of getting into astronomy recently and was just wondering, is Ireland any good for astronomy. Where would it rank in terms of worldwide recognition?

I am unsure as to what you mean, do you mean observations in astronomy made from ireland relating to who discovered what?

Regardless of nationality astronomers /cosmologists can book time with sophisticated equipment if they so need to

For a list of irish astromers that discovered what i would suggest a search engine would serve you well for example (from 2012)


Irish astronomer discovers supernova 120 million light years away



Irishwoman who discovered the 'lighthouses of the universe'



A look at Stone Age Astronomy in Ireland may be of interest to you also:
http://www.mythicalireland.com/astronomy/starstones/starstones.html

Also:
http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/life-society/science-technology/Discoveries-and-invention-1/astronomy-(cont.)/

As well as Individuals like William Rowan Hamilton

Tomk1

Stupify wrote: »

Hey everyone.

I've been thinking of getting into astronomy recently and was just wondering, is Ireland any good for astronomy. Where would it rank in terms of worldwide recognition?

Do you mean hobbie-like Astronomy done for pure pleasure, spending many hours in the freezing cold looking through a telescopes (so ranking doesn't count as everyone that does that is no.1) or the conditions for obsevation, low alt montains, clear skys etc.

Or do you mean Astrophysics, where every Uni has some-type of 3rd-level course. Blackrock Castle observatory in Cork is ran by CIT, as most astophysics research is done through a PC using radio-astronomy and remote robotic telescopics, a comfy chair is needed.

Stupify

Tomk1 wrote: »

Do you mean hobbie-like Astronomy done for pure pleasure, spending many hours in the freezing cold looking through a telescopes (so ranking doesn't count as everyone that does that is no.1) or the conditions for obsevation, low alt montains, clear skys etc.

Or do you mean Astrophysics, where every Uni has some-type of 3rd-level course. Blackrock Castle observatory in Cork is ran by CIT, as most astophysics research is done through a PC using radio-astronomy and remote robotic telescopics, a comfy chair is needed.

My apologies I wasn't clear in my question.

My intention was to inquire about conditions in Ireland for hobby-like Astronomy, as you have mentioned, and where we would rank compared to other parts of the world.

Again my apologies, my question was worded poorly.

ZeRoY

Stupify wrote: »

My intention was to inquire about conditions in Ireland for hobby-like Astronomy, as you have mentioned, and where we would rank compared to other parts of the world.

There are dark sites in Ireland, like pretty much any countries so no bother - in any case, even with light-poluted skies you can get much pleasure in viewing or astrophotography!

Stupify

ZeRoY wrote: »

There are dark sites in Ireland, like pretty much any countries so no bother - in any case, even with light-poluted skies you can get much pleasure in viewing or astrophotography!

Thank you for your response. I will have a further look into it.

Kersh

I suppose it depends how far you are willing to drive to get truly dark skies.

Weather wise, you just gotta be ready to get out when the clear nights present themselves

Stupify

Kersh wrote: »

I suppose it depends how far you are willing to drive to get truly dark skies.

Weather wise, you just gotta be ready to get out when the clear nights present themselves

How far outside a town would you have to drive to get a truly dark sky?

Kersh

Sugarloaf is a popular site, and also Trooperstown up near Roundwood.

Some of the users from http://www.irishastronomy.org organise meets up there.

Im between Balbriggan and Julianstown, and I see some great skies. So you probably dont have to go too far outside a major town to see some improvement.

ps200306

Those places in the lee of the Wicklow mountains get a lot more cloudy weather than elsewhere. I've always found it a bit odd that people go there for sky watching. On the east coast, north of Balbriggan is good, and south of the Arklow bypass (but not on the main street of a big town like Arklow or Gorey).

Scroll down this page to the "Night Sky Simulator" -- a light pollution meter of the British Isles. You can zoom in to any location on the map. We've got some very good skies in Ireland outside the big towns:

http://www.need-less.org.uk/#ukatnightsim

Stupify

ps200306 wrote: »

Those places in the lee of the Wicklow mountains get a lot more cloudy weather than elsewhere. I've always found it a bit odd that people go there for sky watching. On the east coast, north of Balbriggan is good, and south of the Arklow bypass (but not on the main street of a big town like Arklow or Gorey).

Scroll down this page to the "Night Sky Simulator" -- a light pollution meter of the British Isles. You can zoom in to any location on the map. We've got some very good skies in Ireland outside the big towns:

http://www.need-less.org.uk/#ukatnightsim

Thats a great site. I'm located on the west coast myself, do you know if the burren area is good for star gazing?

ps200306

Stupify wrote: »

Thats a great site. I'm located on the west coast myself, do you know if the burren area is good for star gazing?

Sorry about that -- I didn't realise the light pollution map was unceremoniously chopped off west of the shannon.



Here's a low-res image from NASA's "Black Marble" mission. I think it's good enough to show that the Burren area is pretty dark. Unfortunately it can't give you a "limiting magnitude" reading like the light pollution meter.

You can make you own limiting magnitude observation by downloading Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). You can set it up to show stars only above a certain magnitude. Then compare it to your actual view of the sky on a clear night. A limiting magnitude of 6.0 is the theoretically absolute perfect night, viewed with perfect eyesight. A poor surburban location would have a limiting magnitude of 4 or less. The real problem of light pollution, though, is what it does to the view in the presence of partial cloud or haze. These light up and spoil your view so that a location where you could theoretically see magnitude 4 stars allows to see only stars of first magnitude. (Lower is brighter on the magnitude scale). Remember to give your eyes plenty of time to adjust to the dark -- at least 5 minutes, but up to half an hour for best viewing.

Stupify

ps200306 wrote: »

Sorry about that -- I didn't realise the light pollution map was unceremoniously chopped off west of the shannon.



Here's a low-res image from NASA's "Black Marble" mission. I think it's good enough to show that the Burren area is pretty dark. Unfortunately it can't give you a "limiting magnitude" reading like the light pollution meter.

You can make you own limiting magnitude observation by downloading Stellarium (www.stellarium.org). You can set it up to show stars only above a certain magnitude. Then compare it to your actual view of the sky on a clear night. A limiting magnitude of 6.0 is the theoretically absolute perfect night, viewed with perfect eyesight. A poor surburban location would have a limiting magnitude of 4 or less. The real problem of light pollution, though, is what it does to the view in the presence of partial cloud or haze. These light up and spoil your view so that a location where you could theoretically see magnitude 4 stars allows to see only stars of first magnitude. (Lower is brighter on the magnitude scale). Remember to give your eyes plenty of time to adjust to the dark -- at least 5 minutes, but up to half an hour for best viewing.

Thank you, thats a great help.

Hotblack Desiato

The Dublin spot looks bigger than Liverpool or Manchester, and nearly as big as Paris. If that's accurate, then we're pathetically bad at limiting light pollution.