boards.ie visit to Dunsink on Wed, April 13th, 2016

jfSDAS

Hi all,

Happy St Patrick's Day if you are reading this on March 17th!

Boards.ie members, their families, and friends, are welcome to visit Dunsink Observatory on the night of Wednesday, April 13th, 2016. The evening will feature a history of the Observatory, an astronomy talk, and also a tour of the building along with a chance observe with the historic Grubb refractor if the sky is clear.

Proceedings will kick off at 8pm and the gates will be open from 7:30pm onwards. Refreshments will be available throughout the evening too.

With the hour change (and also the time of year) it means sunset isn't until after 8pm, with Civil Twilight ending just before 9pm. Still, we'll see the Moon just a day before First Quarter and later on, Jupiter quite prominent.

If you are interested in going then either send me a PM through boards.ie or post a reply on this thread. Let me know how many will be in your group as we are limited to 70 people due to the size of the lecture room.

Directions to Dunsink Observatory are on the pdf at https://www.dropbox.com/s/w6brzl2gcp1onoq/DunsinkObservatoryDirections.pdf?dl=1

Hope to see you there!

Earlier that night, The Royal Irish Academy is hosting a talk by Prof Richard Ellis (University College London) titled "Gravitational Lensing: Einstein’s unfinished symphony". The lecture is at 6pm so people should be able to take in the RIA event and then visit Dunsink afterwards. More details about Prof Ellis' talk can be found at https://www.ria.ie/events/gravitational-lensing-einsteins-unfinished-symphony

John

edgy987

Hi John,

This sounds great, I'll be going for definite with a friend. Do you need names? I'll PM them if you do.

So 2 Places.

Thanks.

jfSDAS

Hi edgy987,

Great that you can make it along on the night. PM me the names and I'll add the details to a list. Some people from a group which missed out observing due to a cloudy sky on their last visit may also join us but I've to hear back from them.

Chat soon,

John

Veloce

Hi John

I can literally see the Dunsink Observatory from my apartment but have never got the opportunity to visit. I would be interested in attending if that is ok.

Thanks,
Veloce

jfSDAS

Hi Veloce,

No problem to come along on the night. Amazing that you live so close.

Solarfest, a day of talks at the Observatory about our Sun, is now scheduled for Saturday, June 11th, and is worth adding to the diary too. The speaker line-up isn't ready yet but should be sorted by mid-May.

John

rolion

Nice one, thanks.

May I make a suggestion, please:
Can we send an official or non-official friendly invitation to Gill Broussard to come over that day and do a presentation, FAQ or an AMA with the group !?

I'm willing to pay 16% of the expenses if other people are interested and willing to pay for the difference of his expenses:that could be flights, accommodation, food and a small thanks present.
What do you think, Boardies !?

Of course....IF...

Pat Dunne

rolion wrote: »

Nice one, thanks.

May I make a suggestion, please:
Can we send an official or non-official friendly invitation to Gill Broussard to come over that day and do a presentation, FAQ or an AMA with the group !?

I'm willing to pay 16% of the expenses if other people are interested and willing to pay for the difference of his expenses:that could be flights, accommodation, food and a small thanks present.
What do you think, Boardies !?

Of course....IF...

A wee a bit early to be at the Sherry?
Or are you just simply Trolling?

jfSDAS

Hi Rolion,

Many thanks for the suggestion. The programme for the evening is more or less worked out unfortunately and we couldn't accommodate an extra speaker. In fact, the plan is for us to not spend too much time hearing the lecture if the sky is clear as the main purpose of the event is to see the Observatory and do some observing with the Grubb telescope. Kick-off time is 8pm not just because of the sky being bright 'til late, but also because a scheduled meeting with an Institute section is being held at the Observatory earlier in the day.

If interested in hosting an event at the Observatory with Gill Broussard then the idea should be forwarded through the official channels of DIAS (contact details on the web site www.dias.ie)

John

rolion

Pat Dunne wrote: »

A wee a bit early to be at the Sherry?
Or are you just simply Trolling?

Hi Pat,
Sherry ? Trolling !? You know me very well that I do not troll...
See you around for a chat !?

jfSDAS wrote: »

Hi Rolion,

Many thanks for the suggestion. The programme for the evening is more or less worked out unfortunately and we couldn't accommodate an extra speaker. In fact, the plan is for us to not spend too much time hearing the lecture if the sky is clear as the main purpose of the event is to see the Observatory and do some observing with the Grubb telescope. Kick-off time is 8pm not just because of the sky being bright 'til late, but also because a scheduled meeting with an Institute section is being held at the Observatory earlier in the day.

If interested in hosting an event at the Observatory with Gill Broussard then the idea should be forwarded through the official channels of DIAS (contact details on the web site www.dias.ie)

John

Thanks John,
Will be my pleasure to meet you there and thanks for your time.
Regards

Pat Dunne

rolion wrote: »

Hi Pat,
Sherry ? Trolling !? You know me very well that I do not troll...
See you around for a chat !?

Ah so it was the Sherry!

Pat Dunne

rolion wrote: »

Hi Pat,
Sherry ? Trolling !? You know me very well that I do not troll...
See you around for a chat !?

Ah so it was the Sherry

rolion

Pat Dunne wrote: »

Ah so it was the Sherry

Sorry for off topic...who/what/where is "the Sherry" !??

@John

Few Qs in advance, please:

1.How do you manage the light pollution in the area ?
2.I don't "know" how old is the technology there, any plans to fit new scopes or "other tools" !?
3.Do you have any campaigns to attract funds, are you private funded organisation ?
4.Any volunteer that may assist the organisation, if yes, how ?
5.Can we "share" the space inside for some private late stargazing or light will kill our scopes ?

Thanks.

jfSDAS

Hi rolion,

No problem to offer some answers to those questions. I must stress that I am an amateur astronomer and not a professional working at the Observatory, although I do a lot of talks there during the year for public open nights and other groups.

Q. How do you manage the light pollution in the area ?
A. The City has grown up around the Observatory so the sky quality is affected. The lights on the grounds are switched off though bar one near the residence. Some nights you'll see stars to magnitude 3.75 with it possible to go a bit deeper on others. It really depends on atmospheric conditions. For example, if the sky is very murky then the scattering of lights from Blanchardstown (and the Driving Range!) to the west can be significant. Other evenings I've been amazed at the clarity.

Q. I don't "know" how old is the technology there, any plans to fit new scopes or "other tools" !?
A. The dome on the roof has a modern 11-inch Celestron installed which replaces the original 10-inch reflector (long gone). There are plans for students to use it at some stage. There is also a couple of other modern instruments which can be hauled out on Open Nights though I always like to set up the Astroscan as it can give quick views of the sky to people as they arrive. The main instrument though is the historic Grubb refractor which dates back to the 19th century. An article by former Director Patrick Wayman about the telescope can be read at http://www.irishastrosoc.org/orbit/articles/grubb.htm

Q. Do you have any campaigns to attract funds, are you private funded organisation ?
A. The Observatory is run under the auspices of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) which is Government funded. The Office of Public Works carry out grounds-keeping as well as maintenance of the facilities.

Q. Any volunteer that may assist the organisation, if yes, how ?
A. The Irish Astronomical Society has for many years helped out on the public open nights at Dunsink. It's a voluntary body and runs meetings once a month in the City Centre (http://www.irishastrosoc.org/). We assist with parking on open nights, greet visitors, give either the main talk or an introductory talk on the Observatory's history, manage the Grubb refractor that evening, and bring along our own scopes for people to look at other celestial sights to ensure there isn't a long queue for the main scope.

Q. Can we "share" the space inside for some private late stargazing or light will kill our scopes ?
A. Feel free to bring along your own scope on April 13th. We'll be allowed stay on late on the grounds. Deep-sky stuff like galaxies and nebulae are nigh-on impossible to see, bar M42 in Orion or maybe Andromeda (M31) later in the year. Star clusters are reasonably well seen though despite the lights of Dublin. On the 13th we've have Jupiter and the Moon so we'll be spoiled by two stunning celestial objects!

jfSDAS

Hi all,

Just a reminder that we are still on track for our visit to Dunsink Observatory on Wednesday, April 13th. Gates will be open from 7:30pm and the tour + talk will start at 8pm.

Basically, I'll do the tour and talk, with people getting an overview of the history of Dunsink Observatory and Irish astronomy.

The main talk will be "How we pinned down Mercury" and should set the scene for the upcoming Transit of Mercury on May 9th. I'll explore how astronomers were tormented by Mercury's maverick motion for centuries and how the planet sparked a celestial wild goose chase (ultimately leading to a serendipitous discovery) before Einstein saw the answer as a consequence of relativity. It's one of the more fascinating episodes in the history of astronomy.

I'm out of Dublin from now until Sunday afternoon and will have no internet access during that time.

Hope to see you on Wednesday,

John

edgy987

Is their many going? What time is finish?

edgy987

Weather forecast from weather forum..............




Monday, 11 April, 2016

Forecasts for Ireland


TODAY ... New outbreaks of rain will be mainly confined to the north-central counties today where 10-20 mm seems likely, further south only a few brief showers and some opportunity for drying in partly to mostly cloudy conditions and milder temperatures of about 12-14 C. in moderate east winds 30-50 km/hr, and highs of 8-11 C.

TONIGHT ... Rain continuing in north-central counties, 5-15 mm likely. Foggy and milder than recent nights in south, lows for most regions 5-8 C.


TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY will bring somewhat drier conditions with the rain fading to showers in the north and just isolated showers elsewhere. Lows 5-8 C and highs 10-13 C.

THURSDAY and FRIDAY are now expected to avoid the repeat incursion of rainfall as the low is now more likely to shift east to Britain on its second rotation -- this may spare most if not all counties from anything more than scattered showers with temperatures slowly falling each day to about 8-10 C by Friday in east to northeast winds of 30-50 km/hr.

FURTHER OUTLOOK ... Colder with some further dry weather possible as arctic high pressure tries to push south, but the models do show a gradual return to the current pattern of a moist southeast flow, indicating the return of rain and gusty winds by about the middle of next week (around Wed 20th). At this time frame, we cannot be very confident about solutions especially when there has been such a shift from day to day.

My local weather on Sunday was partly sunny and a little cooler due to a stronger sea breeze, high was about 14 C.

jfSDAS

Is their many going? What time is finish?

About 10 boards.ie names so far and possibly a group from the OPW as well as a few stragglers

We should finish about 9:30pm to 10pm but if the sky is clear then people are free to stay around a little longer to use the telescope.

See you all on Wednesday!

john

Veloce

Hi John,

I should be good to attend this evening - but won't know until later today depending on how work goes and if I get out on time.

Thanks.
V

jfSDAS

No problem Veloce ... hope to see you along later.

Veloce

Unfortunately I got caught with work. Disappointed I couldn't make it as I really wanted to visit the observatory. I hope it went.

jfSDAS

Hi Veloce,

Clouds dashed any hope of seeing anything in the sky (despite Met Éireann's forecast for mostly clear skies) but hopefully those who came along enjoyed the visit. Sorry you weren't able to make it. Solarfest will be on June 11th and is an all-day event at the Observatory with talks about the Sun and a chance do some solar viewing with white-light and h-alpha scopes.

Chat soon,

John