Sunday, July 28, 2013
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wide Awake in Texas by Deirdre Kelleghan
As I flew over Pennsylvania the pathways among the green hills and valleys looked like someone had sprayed them on with silly string, such was their random pattern, from my birds eye view.
The green fields soon gave way to the scorched dry plains of Texas, the ground below reminded me of those little watercolour blocks from my painting sets as a child. The colour and even the smell of Burnt Sienna came back to me. Texas is in a drought situation, there has been no rain for months, the cotton was scorched by the sun, in the barren Raw Umber fields of earth.
The water table had dropped, wells ran dry, and farmers were resorting to selling off cattle as they have little water for them. Cotton farmers have insurance on their crops but that would hardly make up for the loss.
The standard temperature for where I was staying had been consistent at 100 – 105 F for months, buildings were according to many Texans, overcooled. Air-conditioning was a very necessary and welcome tool in the effort to keep the population chilled.
The Astronomical League Convention was held at The University of Texas at Arlington.
The campus was huge and seemed very new. The many trees planted around the grounds were home to a population of grey squirrels that seem to be charging about everywhere I looked.
The welcome I received from the members of the Astronomical League was as great as the legendary Irish welcome. I was greeted with hand shakes, smiles, hugs and photographic moments. I felt very much at home right away, in this extension of the global astronomical family.
I was enjoying Kelly Beatty’s talk on the future of astronomy when half way through I was invited to go on a trip into Dallas. Mr Ed Flaspoehler from the Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas kindly drove Joanne Hailey secretary of the Astronomical League and I to an unforgettable tour of The Sixth Floor Museum in Dealy Plaza. This is a permanent exhibition about the life and untimely death of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
Downtown Dallas in the museum I stood reading the graphic hand written medical notes about JFK’s physical state when he came into the care of Parkland Memorial Hospital on November 22nd 1963. In the next section of the exhibit the Kennedy moon speech “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” was running on a screen. I did not expect to get emotional about it but I did. I had one of those full circle moments that keep happening with increasing frequency these days.
The Kennedy moon speeches are worth reading, for the spirit of exploration that they inevitably sowed in the minds of many people who were witness, like my self to the Apollo lunar program.
The brand new planetarium in Arlington University in Texas brought back memories of La Géode IMAX Cinema in the City of Science in Paris. In 1989 seated in the Parisian Géode I sailed the high seas on a virtual journey with Christopher Columbus to the Americas.
In America in 2006 in the UTA planetarium I was blasted from my seat to view our planet from space and travel to the edge of our solar system and beyond on a virtual tour that would probably be the closest that I will ever be to the real thing. At one point I was flying under Saturn’s rings just like Cassini, looking up through the rings at this magnificent ball of butterscotch gas.
After a brief sojourn to where stars are born the seated participants went into reverse warp drive, past the gas giants and Mars back to the Arlington campus dome, which was graphically reproducing exactly what was outside the building.
When we recovered from our awesome solar system tour, we were invited by Bob Bonadurer to have a closer look at anything in the virtual night sky. Terry Mann the new President of The Astronomical League requested a trip to Ireland for my benefit. The digital display projected the sky at 53.2000ºN,- 6.1000º W which was of course daytime in Ireland, so the programme showed the sun up but the sky as if it were night, a bit like an eclipse but for longer. Our next treat was the Southern skies from down under a very unique view that I had only previously seen in books.
That evening according to the many seasoned astronomers in attendance, the UTA planetarium show “The Stars at Night are Big and Bright “was the best show of its kind they had ever seen.
A public star party followed and Ed from TAS kindly let me use his Meade LX 90 to do a sketch from the University campus for my collection. I chose to do a quick sketch of Copernicus as it grabbed my attention in the hot Texan evening. Earlier I had picked up some great sketching paper called Rite in the Rain, it has lovely properties and takes pencil very well, and it is resistant to damp. I look forward to using it in the Irish winter where ordinary sketching paper buckles and messes up the work. So yes I bought paper that resists wet in a hot dry climate for a cold damp wet Irish winter.
I did not get to attend every talk over the two days, but the presentations I did attend were very interesting and informative. I found Dr Mike Reynolds presentation on Meteoritics particularly enlightening and humorous. On screen he showed many types of these space travelling rocks from his collection, some of which displayed extraordinary jewel like, but certainly extraterrestrial properties.
After the excellent Star Bar B Que, I was completely wrapped up in Marni Berendsen's very interactive and entertaining talk about the Night Sky Network. She demonstrated the tool kits which very simply explain the answers to very common questions in astronomy. She used a spoon, foam and some sticks to explain why objects are seen upside down in a telescope. An explanation I will forever remember and repeat many times.
She turned many astronomers there into hot Blue Stars, Planets, Extra Solar Planets and Sun’s, in her story of where habitable earth like planets might be, and why they would be in a certain position in relation to earth like suns. Yellow and blue cellophane, small white spheres on sticks and volunteers from the audience provided the visual explanation for this lesson.
These simple methods to explain astronomical ideas to the public are part of The Night Sky Network TookKits. Not available outside of the United States but a pdf download is here on
http://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/docs/0ScopeManual.pdf gives full instructions on telescope questions only and the bits and pieces are easily sourced. A keen amateur astronomer provided the link it is a large file (13MB) but it is very useful.
The Awards Banquet in UTA produced one of the best meals I have ever had at one of these events, and the whole convention was well run and well presented. The winners of the Astronomy Day award could not attend, but Kelly Beatty made a point of reading out many of the events carried out by The Iranian Astronomical Society. This included the lights of a large town being turned out for one hour to enable the population to see the night sky free of light pollution a great idea, one to emulate and a high bar set by the Persian astronomers for 2007.
Among many awards given that night I was delighted to receive on behalf of the Irish Astronomical Society an Honourable Mention Award for our Sun Moon and Stars for Chernobyl Astronomy Day Event in Dublin. I would like to see other Irish clubs joining in this global outreach event next year details on http://www.astroleague.org/al/astroday/astroday.html
The Texas Astronomical Society of Dallas were the warm hosts of ALCON 2006 I look forward to meeting them all again at some future get together of sky watchers.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Deadly Moons and Spacemen at Draiocht Arts Centre and Send a Message to Venus
Messages From Earth
Send your Message to Venus on Akatsuki
http://planetary.org/special/fromearth/akatsuki
ARTstronomy at Draiocht
If you are out Christmas shopping in Blanchardstown
drop into Draiocht Arts Centre to see Deadly Moons and Spacemen
This beautiful expression of work by local school children will really impress. Draiocht is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6pm admission is free
A video about this community art project is here below.
"I learned that Science and Art can mix"
A sentence written by one of the young
children taking part. Many thanks to Sarah Beirne
and staff at Draiocht for the very professional manor in which the work is displayed.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Deadly Moons Art Astronomy workshop
at Draiocht Arts Centre
One of the many beautiful images created in Draiocht Arts Centre just prior to Science Week . Scoil Oilibheir , St Frances Xivier NS , Scoil Bhirde Cailini in Blanchardstown took part .
This drawing of Atlas with its mother planet Saturn as a backdrop was drawn by a young child who attended my Deadly Moon workshop.
Using soft pastels this child reproduced with great visual intuitiveness one of Cassini's many images. Over 80 individual drawings were produced during the workshops. The same children had an opportunity to visit Dunsink Observatory during Science Week. Then they had a follow up series of arts visits by Anne Kelly who helped them produce 3D works based on the whole experience.
Feel free to visit this unique exhibition at Draiocht between Dec 14th and Jan 14th.
The launch is at 7:30 pm on Monday Dec 14th all welcome . 01 8852622
http://www.draiocht.ie/index.php
What's Up for December 2009
Many thanks to Jane Houston Jones
for these little gems throughout the year.
The beautiful Orion Nebula features .
Thursday, November 19, 2009
A peep into my Science Week
Our Moon in False color by a four year old
from Rathfarnham Educate Together Junior School.
A lot of color and energy in small children's work, they get on with the drawings and are delighted to produce something. Most children taking part in my workshops were between 8 and 12 years old.
November 9th to November 15th was Science Week 2009.
I offered my drawing workshops and talks. Hundreds of children
took part in my drawing events in various venues
mostly libraries, in Dublin City ,Dunsink Observatory, Monaghan , Drogheda ,Bunclody, New Ross,Malahide, Ballyfermot, Rathfarnham ,Blanchardstown,Oldcastle and Navan.
Here are just a few exceptional drawings that I would like
to share with you. They are wonderful for several reasons
either the child was very young or was particularly interested
and produced a great piece on the day.
In both workshops Deadly Moons or Rapid Rockets & Wicked Robots
the children only have half an hour for the drawing section.
Apollo 11 Splashdown
by an 8 yr old
in Malahide Library
during Science Week
All drawings in pastel
on black paper.
We share drawing methods
fun and learning together.
We shared our colors
We share our ideas
We share paper
We share our knowledge
A lot of children under 12
knew Neil Armstrong was
the first man on the moon.
A few knew Buzz Aldrin
and two children named
Michael Collins , amazing !!!
We talk about Apollo
We talk about LCROSS
We talk about ice on the moon.
We talk about future moon bases and vehicles.
We talk about viewing Jupiter
We talk about The European Space Agency
We talk about Our Sun , Our Moon , Our Solar System
We talk about Our beautiful Earth
A young child draws the Huygens Probe landing on Saturn's moon Titan at a session in Drogheda Library.I was really impressed by the attention to detail some children gave in the short time frame available.
Most children had never heard
of Cassini or Huygens.
Most children were not aware
that there are robots on Mars.
It is important to share space exploration
as it is happening .
One or two children knew about LCROSS
Most children knew about Galileo
but most had never heard of International Year of Astronomy 2009 . They have now.
Mars Science LaboratoryCuriosity by an 8 year old in Malahide Library You can join these little Irish space artists and send your name to Mars on Curiosity here
http://marsparticipate.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/participate/sendyourname/
Everyone who attended my talks or workshops were invited to send their names to Mars.
The New Lunar Exploration Rover
by a child in Navan LibraryHere is the link to the Constellation Program back to the Moon
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html
NASA has developed a rover to explore the Moon and Mars eventually.
Watch and be in TOTAL AWE
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAanalogTV
http://www.youtube.com/user/NASAanalogTV#p/c/E364BF268AC691BB/5/KdWGgialfjM
You can catch up on all
Science Week events here
http://www.scienceweek.ie/index.asp
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Interview with Dr Brian O'Halloran an Irish Scientist working on the Herschel Space Telescope
Dr Brian O'Halloran was interviewed by Deirdre Kelleghan
at Dunsink Observatory.Dr O'Halloran was the IAS guest
speaker on October 19th 2009, he kindly agreed to this
interview a few minutes before he delivered his presentation.
The interview was recorded with a mobile phone so
turn up the sound for best hearing.
The talk on the Herschel Space Telescope was excellent
and it was great to hear about Brian's work on SPIRE
You can follow Herschel at The European Space Agency here
You can follow Herschel on Twitter here
The interview will be broadcast on Phoenix 92.5FM
October 31st Saturday at 3:15 pm.
The station broadcasts to Dublin 15.
Irish Astronomical Society Events coming up
October 30th Free Public Observing at the Martello Tower Car
Park Sandymount 8pm - 10pm. Someone will be there to talk
to you no matter what the weather is like.
Telephone 0876398143
November 16th Telescope workshop
in Dunsink Observatory 8pm. If you want to get the best out
of your scope or have a new scope and
would like to get to know how to use it , come along and we will help you out.
The ESO education
and Public Outreach Department
The Jewel Box Star Cluster.
The combination of images taken by three exceptional telescopes,
the ESO Very Large Telescope on Cerro Paranal , the MPG/ESO
2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla observatory and the
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, has allowed the
stunning Jewel Box star cluster to be seen in a whole new light.
The release, images and video are available on
http://www.eso.org/public/
Whats Up for October 2009
The Andromeda Galaxy
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Stunning Mars Image for you - Herschel Exclusive at Dunsink
A wonderful explanation of this stunning image from the surface of Mars by Phil Platt
can be found here http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/category/astronomy/ click the link and read it.
Much more on the HiRSE website here http://www.uahirise.org/
The incredible Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter’s HiRISE camera took the image
What can I say about this image ? it shouts out a story, it seeks and deserves our
attention , it brings focus to our spirit , and helps us wrap ourselves in the fabric
and the beauty of the surface of this awesome planet.
If you are up early in the morning ( Oct 16th) Venus , Saturn and Mercury will join
a lovely crescent moon on the eastern horizon 07:00 enjoy
Don't forget Monday October 19th in Dunsink, e mail John Murphy
to reserve a seat . johnmurphy474@gmail.com
See you there
Deirdre
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Cassini Scientist for a Day Essay Competition
WOW !! A really cool competition open to all students in Ireland
(11 to 18 years).
Just 500 words on why Cassini should image either Saturn and its Rings, Tethy's and Saturns Rings or Titan Saturn's largest moon.
So if you are a teacher , have a good read and a good look at the video's and requirements.
Perhaps you have a budding scientist sitting in your class room ? Feel free to pass on this information to a teacher or a pupil you know .
Prizes include vouchers for Amazon, a trip to London and, if you’re specific target is chosen, Cassini itself will take an image of your chosen subject!
The Cassini Mission to Saturn and Titan is one of the greatest exploration missions of our time.
This is your chance to be part of this wonderful science experience.
Watch all the videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/
Deadline for submission in Ireland is 30th Oct
Good Luck
Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies - Statutory Lecture 2009 Oct 12th 2009 8pm UCD
All from Nothing: the structuring of our UniverseTelescopes are time-machines. They allow us to see into the distant past. Our deepest images show the Universe not as it is today, but as it was just 400,000 years after the Big Bang. At that time there were no galaxies, no stars, no planets,
no people, no familiar elements other than hydrogen and helium. The cosmos contained
nothing but weak sound waves in a near-uniform fog. Spercomputers can compress thirteen billion years of cosmic evolution into a few months of calculation to show how these sound waves
developed into the rich structure we see around us today. A study of their harmonic content gives clues to their origin. They appear to be an echo of quantum zero-point fluctuations occurring a tiny fraction of a second after the Big Bang. Thusour
entire world may be a consequence of the nature of this early vacuum.
In a very real sense, everything may have come from nothing.
Lecture Theater C005
Health Sciences Building
University College Dublin
October 12th 2009 8 p.m.
Professor Simon D.M. White
Director at the Max Plank Institute for Astrophysics
Irish Astronomical Society October Talk
- All welcome its free click on the image see it large
Lets DO It in the Park again
October 22nd - Wicklow Mountains National Park - 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm - Upper Lake Car Park
A call for telescopes and their people to help show our moon , Jupiter's moons
and the lovely Jupiter to the public in the park .
Our last major public outreach event 100 Hours of Astronomy brought amateur astronomers
in this country together to share the night sky with the public. What an incredible amount of public service astronomy went on that week in April .
We all learned from that very positive experience , and now we have the opportunity to to do it again and build on what we learned.
Let me know asap if you are taking part and what you intend to do in your area. No need to get complicated , just share the sky in your neighbourhood . Watch the IFAS forum for updates
http://www.irishastronomy.org/cms/
A familiar voice talks Stars
@365DaysOfAstro Sept. 30 podcast: The Delight of Stars by Brother Guy Consolmagno http://bit.ly/YYhpM
The Exhibition Gallery at Birr Castle Science Centre
Images by Bernard Kelleghan
In the Footsteps of Galileo an exhibition of astronomical sketches
has opened in Birr Castle Science Centre Co Offaly.
The exhibition displays 51 observational sketches by astronomers
from all over the world, and over 100 children's moon drawings .
A lovely mixed audience of astronomers, artists , educators , children
and the general public attended the launch .
Dr Carolina Odman International Program Manager for UNAWE ie Universe Awareness for Young Children opened the exhibition for me, and gave a talk on UNAWE's teachings to young children about the scale and beauty of the universe.
The Seventh Earl of Rosse spoke about the uniqueness of
the exhibition and said
"it's a pleasure to see In the Footsteps of Galileo
in the shadow of the Leviathan."
I said a few words on behalf of the contributors and also spoke
about astronomical drawing , why we do it ,
the learning through observation experience, that brings the subject to the page.
Sir Patrick Moore who has donated six sketches to the display sent
a message of good will with regrets for been unable to attend himself.
To my great delight Lord Rosse framed four original sketches from
his ancestor The 3rd Earl of Rosse .
These sketches include the world famous Whirlpool Galaxy
and the Crab Nebula sketched using the Leviathan.
The Seventh Earl of Rosse on his knees before
the Whirlpool Galaxy sketched by his ancestor
The Third Earl . Deirdre Kelleghan , Dr Carolina Odman
and Lady Rosse look on
Children's moon drawings from Dublin, Louth, Cork, Offaly
New York and elsewhere add to the International flavor
The Exhibition runs till November 1st 2009 and is
open everyday from 9 am - 6 pm
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Friday, September 11, 2009
Falling Man
Across the entire global community there seems to be no alignment of agreement on ethics in relation to the journalistic press or the photo journalistic press. There are varying degrees of guidelines and principles for all the strata of output in the media in the twenty first century.
The cultural evolution theory developed by the nineteenth century anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan is a stiff ethnocentric model that I found difficult to place over any society in the world. He put forward the idea that societies developed from the first stage of savagery onto barbarism then finally reaching civilization.
I found this view a little narrow and a little shallow until I began to focus on the microcosm of society that is the world’s press, in this context the model sat very well.
All aspects of Morgan’s cultural evolution theory reside in both the shallowness and depths of the worlds printed and broadcast media. From tabloids to broadsheets, from rolling news to in-depth reports directly from the centre of disasters and war.
The savage, the barbarian, and the civilized exist together. These various media formats feed us their view of world events static and unfolding. The savage paparazzi, who dive to lower and lower depths of unethical behavior to achieve images for reward. The barbaric photojournalism of war, human suffering and the occasional attempt at civility by the more ethically sensitive media. Some at least try to find a balance towards the honor of the individual and human dignity.
It is a fact that a picture paints a thousand words. A photograph is revealing to the viewer and revealing of its subject. One image still etched in my mind as regards ethical issues and the privacy of the individual is the 2001 image of “The Falling Man” .
This image appeared in newspapers across the globe in the day’s post 911; it is heralded as an iconic image in the same vain as the Unknown Soldier.
In a documentary made at the time, it was put forward as a heroic image of an American in an elegant gracefully fall.
The fact is, this is an image of a man in the last few seconds of his life. A very private moment stolen by the click, click, click, of a press photographer. The photojournalist job that day was to get exclusive graphic images to sell to the networks.
Now, one could argue that the latter was perhaps in the public interest or that the public has a right to know allowing ethical considerations being overridden.
Journalism and the freedom of the press has an ethnology all of its own. The victim falling to his death on 911 did not go to work to become an icon of a tragic day.
It is unfortunate how a murdered man becomes a reluctant hero in his dying moments and this somehow brings a badge of honor to the photojournalist who captured this barbarism.
The photograph was subsequently used to eventfully identify the man but that also brought up issues which evoked anger and shame. Somehow the people who fell from the twin towers that day became referred to as jumpers. This implied that they committed suicide which some people associated with shame.
Journalists and photojournalists have a responsibility to bring us news, to investigate on our behalf. They also have a responsibility to attempt to achieve equilibrium between their story gathering abilities and the right to the privacy and dignity of an individual.
Where is the point that people must relinquish their privacy as they perhaps become celebrities? If you rise your head above the parapet you are it seems, automatically relieved of autonomy over your private life. Moral sensitivity good taste and compassion are required on the part of journalists especially when they are reporting about victims of accidents or other tragedies.
If you die because of an act of terrorism and your dying image is captured on film you become an overnight celebrity, a hero, an icon, somehow transmuted from an ordinary individual to someone owned by the world? In your life perhaps you were an unremarkable person and in your death you become a moral dilemma, something to be honed and cooked up into a media offering for the masses to digest.
RIP to all victims of 911
Thursday, August 13, 2009
ALCON 2009 New York
Viewed from 37.000 feet the landscape of Canada was laced with thousands of steel blue pools. Meandering river channels etched life into a combat green background. Shoals of puffy cumulus raced beneath me in several layers, of white and grey. The Air Lingus shamrock tipped wing sliced through the atmosphere toward a New York landing.....................
Below are a few micro moments from my trip to New York for ALCON 2009
at The Astronomical Leagues Convention
in Hofstra University New York.
Deadly Moons will be part of Heritage Week at Newgrange
next Saturday August 22nd details to follow.
e mail skysketcher@gmail.com
The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.
Plutarch
Deirdre Linda and Galileo at Custer Observatory Long Island
The Amateur Observers Society of New York were my hosts
Linda Prince did a great job organising children from the
Science Camp at Hofstra and local children from her
young astronomers group to attend the workshop.
http://www.aosny.org/
A few images from my visit to ALCON in New York
Deirdre 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.
Apollo 19 LEM built but never launched to the moon
on exhibit at The Cradle of Aviation Long Island NY
Biggest highlight - Seeing the Apollo 19 Lunar Lander at The Cradle of Aviation
Biggest shock - The size of the empty space at ground zero
Best fun - The Star B Q at the Custer Institute Long Island
Most satisfying - The cross cultural success of Deadly Moons
Most interesting - Hayden Planetarium and The Natural History Museum
Best building - The Guggenheim
Most extraordinary fun - Meeting Twitter followers :-)
Most beautiful - a huge Stibnite Crystal from China in the Natural History Museum
Very classy - The collection of Poetry given to all at the Star B Que
compiled by Robert Chapin published by Harvey Miller.
Very pleased with the reaction to my other two talks.
Enjoyed - The people , the friendships, the children , the heat, the scopes , the city , the transport, the food, the laughing , the learning, the fun.
Biggest giggle , the role playing at Vivian Whites workshop ( sorry Vivian we collapsed )
good workshop tho :-)
The NY children's moons on exhibition at ALCON
alongside astronomical sketches from Sir Patrick Moore CBE
Deirdre , Jane Houston Jones , Michael Portuesi , and Bill Crispeno
The outstanding Guggenheim Museum
where I saw an exhibition of drawings by Frank Lloyd Wright
with Linda Prince and Stu Parker an astronomer from New Zealand
We had a hot dog picnic in Central Park before heading to
Ground Zero, and after dinner later I was happy to join in
Music Under the Stars , a public star party at an Irish
Concert in Massapequa . We viewed the moon
and Jupiter in a variety of scopes. I gave away Eyes in the Skies DVD's from ESA :-)
http://www.hellofromearth.net/
Send a message to Gliese 581d on this website
What's Up for August 2009
