Category Archives: Education

Go Observe M42 again

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  Thinking about M42 again I was out looking at the sky on October 15th, the Milky Way was magnificent. However I was very tired so I did not get into drawing but I begin to plan for some in the coming weeks. During the night I looked out the window at Orion rising over the mountain.  M42 is always a wonder to behold by eye or in a telescope. Here is a previous blog on this stunning Messier Object in the sword of the hunter. Drawing M42 with an 8 inch telescope Back in December 2007 after a day of stormy winds and  rain the atmosphere seemed cleaner.  I had sketched comet 17/P Holmes for the last time. I  turned my scope to M42 in the magnificent sword of Orion. Every time I look at M42,my appreciation grows. Just to think that from my garden I can look and observe an object that is 1,500 light years away from … Continue reading →

NEOWISE went into Orbit

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Sky and Telescope The November issue of Sky and Telescope arrived in the post. Much to my delight one of my C/2020 F3 NEOWISE drawings is published on page 17. It takes up half a page, unusual coverage for a sketch. For the most part, astronomy magazines tend to use astrophotographs for their write-ups.  In the weeks after that, my drawing of F3 NEOWISE when into Orbit. More on that below. Sean Walker, associate editor of Sky and Telescope invited my drawing to be part of his article on the comet. In truth, I could not be more pleased as this publication is one of the world leaders in its field. It has a wide readership plus it comes in both printed and e-versions. Local people here were consequently very pleased to see Clare Island featured in an International publication. That fact plus the rare visiting comet brought smiles to the faces around the village including my own. F3 NEOWISE … Continue reading →

Young People Leaving the Church Because of “Science”

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Do young Catholics leave their faith because of science? Some data say they do. In 2017, St. Mary’s Press of Minnesota and Georgetown University’s Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate published Going, Going, Gone: The Dynamics of Disaffiliation in Young Catholics. This very short book was a report on a study done in 2015 of young former Catholics, ages 15-25 at the time. Those former Catholics would today be ages 20-30. The study involved a national survey that sifted through almost 4000 young adults (ages 18-25) and teens (ages 15-17) to find 184 young adults and 20 teens, all who self-identified as Catholic in the past but did not self-identify as Catholic at the time of the survey. The median age at which these folks abandoned Catholicism was 13 (that is, of the 204 respondents in the survey, half stated that they had left Catholicism at age 13 or earlier, half said they left at age 13 or later). … Continue reading →

International Observe the Moon Night

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Saturday September 26th InOMN 2020 In this very difficult year, the world needs global cooperation however small to help us cope with life. Every country on the planet is affected by the pandemic and its spiralling destruction of normality. International Observe the Moon night has a part to play even if it is considered tiny. The moon does not care about anything, it is a spherical rock in space.It is battered by impacts and scared by its journey to be our only moon. However, when most people look at the moon they are warmed by its beauty in the night sky. Its dark surface manages to reflect the light of the sun very well indeed. Our moon deals out its nearside face in increasing slivers as it waxes toward full every month of our lives. Moon Humans Our moon represents the only other body in space where humans have walked. Moments in time that have genuinely united world in awe. … Continue reading →

Lunar Drawing – Fracastorius, to Madler along the terminator

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Just this week I was sorting out some lunar drawings and this one has always stood out to me as a strong one. Therefore  here is a revisited blog about this sketch. Moon light Many astronomers are less than fond of the moon because its reflected light takes away from deep sky observations. Both the moonless and the moon full renditions of the sky are relished by me for different reasons. The deep dark sky for comets and messier objects, and specifically our moon for its outstanding contrast and detail. My attention is captured by the interaction of sunlight with the rugged landscape. Hence it is  often difficult to choose what feature of the moon to draw when your field of view offers several exquisite potentials. The theatre of the moon is almost impossible to ignore. Binoviewers Yahoo !! Back in May 2007 I had a loan of a pair of binoviewers. This sketch was the result of trying them … Continue reading →

Cassini – The Last Splendiferous Hurrah

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The 15th of September 2017 was the day a superb mission to Saturn ended in a spectacle which for the most part was for Saturn’s eyes only. I wrote the following blog back on September 12th 2017,it was updated here in 2018.  Its entitled  The Last Splendiferous Hurrah because it is about the demise of the Cassini Mission to the gas giant. One hopes Cassini 2 is on the drawing board. 2017  Blog The English language is lacking in  affirmations glowing enough to encompass the significance of the Cassini Mission to Saturn. Side winding its way into my mind in the effort to find the right words came a memory of an old TV variety show. In the show, the host announces the artists to perform by pronouncing very large words in rapid precision. Each word is preceded by a judgemental gavel blow. The hyperbolic introductions primed the audience to welcome the splendiferous offerings of the forthcoming show. The pulchritudinous … Continue reading →

The Origin of the Origin of Life

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Have you ever heard a scientific explanation for the origin of life? Carl Sagan discussed this in his famous “Cosmos” TV show, during the second episode, “One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue”: Now, let’s take a closer look at who our ancestors were. A simple chemical circumstance led to one of the great moments in the history of our planet. There were many kinds of molecules in the primordial soup. Some were attracted to water on one side and repelled by it on the other. This drove them together into a tiny enclosed spherical shell like a soap bubble, which protected the interior. Within the bubble, the ancestors of DNA found a home and the first cell arose. Sagan’s discussion remains current. You can find a more recent short video discussion of the origin of life by typing “origin of life” into a Google video search. You will get results something like what is seen below. The short videos consist … Continue reading →

In the Footsteps of Galileo

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In the Footsteps of Galileo In September 2009 an exhibition opened in the Science Gallery at Birr Castle in Ireland. The idea came to me in September 2007, it took two years to the month for it to come to fruition. Funding was forthcoming from The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork. In the Footsteps of Galileo had landed. There were over 50 sketches to frame, sent  from all over the world. The venues attracted some of the worlds best drawings produced by astronomers at the time. Having their work on display in what is considered to be the global home of astronomical sketching was truly joyous. Therefore I decided to call the exhibition In the Footsteps of Galileo. A bit presumptuous perhaps however, Galileo produced truthful drawings. Above all finding truth and accuracy drawing is what  most sketchers strive to achieve. Drawing exactly what you see through the telescope takes time to do right. … Continue reading →

Mars Earth Merge Painting

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When I first saw this image I thought it looked like petrified trees dotting the surface of Mars. Likewise the image could be  microscopic hairs on strange skin:-) However this amazing image is, in fact, a photograph which shows dark sand emerging on the surface of the red planet. This is  as a consequence of some of the ice-covered dunes melting in the warmth of spring sunshine. This classic view of Mars was taken by HiRISE one of the most incredible cameras working in space. The camera rides onboard the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. It subsequently produces feasts of data and true beauty to share with all of us.  A little Mars chat Earlier this  week I found a lovely NASA poster in my outreach box. It compares Mars to Earth in their similarities and differences. My grandson was fascinated by both planets even though he is only 3 and a half. We had a great chat about it all. As a … Continue reading →

Deadly Moons revisited

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“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  ― Benjamin Franklin Deadly Moons My workshop Deadly Moons has been presented on hundreds of occasions.  Thousands of Irish school children have taken part and learnt something interesting. The title of the workshop has its roots in the expression ‘that’s deadly’. This is  Irish street talk, which means, something is ‘Amazing’. Deadly Moons is built on a range of robotic space images coupled with some of my lunar sketches. From time to time I update the presentation to include images from Cassini, Mars Reconnaissance Obiter (MRO) and of course New Horizons. I realised early on in my outreach efforts that most children and most adults are totally unaware that other moons exist. In general, people are not able to recognise moon phases. They are also unable to  point out  features on our moon.  Our moon is in the sky for the duration of all … Continue reading →

Drawing the Perseids

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Drawing a meteor shower On several occasions in the past, I have drawn the Perseid meteor shower. I am not sure if anyone else has done this ? I might be the only mad woman to have tried. The Perseids are fast and are therefore in my opinion the most fun meteor shower of the year. With luck the sky is clear and the air is warm. You can sit back and be enthralled by the action of ancient pieces of comet debris hitting our atmosphere at 37 miles a second. Video about the method Because it is an enjoyable excercise,  I decided to share how I go about recording the meteors in the video above. The pencil drawings are done on the night in real-time. I use a clip board and an A4 sheet of paper.  The colour version is usually produced the following day. It is difficult to see colour properly in the dark. It is, therefore, more … Continue reading →

Dark Sky Painting Memories

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This week my mind is turing towards the Perseid Meteor Shower. I was reminded of a Space Camp for children that I did back in August 2018. The children helped to create several dark sky paintings, this one involved learning about the best meteor shower of the year. While Dark Sky Painting one deals with the impact of light pollution on bees and other insects. It also sought to teach children and viewers of the painting about the night sky. Dark Sky Painting two here, highlights  the effects humans have on our planets bird species and their habitats. On Earth, there are multitudes of birds in trouble from pollution and habitat issurs of all kinds. For this project, we focused on just two, Barn Owls and Swifts. The constellations Perseus and Cassiopeia feature as do some Perseid meteors. The workshop led up to the Perseid meteor shower. The children were prepared to view, should they have clear skies. They were … Continue reading →