Deadly Moons

When is a week not a week ? When its Science Week 2016 of course !

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Deirdre KelleghanFebruary 20, 2018

Science Week 2016 was the 21st iteration of this infectious annual event . My involvement has been ongoing since 2007. A multitude of varied engagements are supported and promoted by Science Foundation Ireland. The aim is to stimulate interest in a broad range of sciences. Science Week makes the often complex world of science totally digestible to every person who embraces it. The programs are targeted towards school children and their teachers plus the public at large. Science Week touches almost everyone in this country via TV, Radio, Social media, publications and apps. Nationwide road shows, workshops and talks go directly to schools,libraries and other centres. The magic and wonder of many sciences shared with tremendous enthusiasm and smiles by a host of participants. This year my offerings were two drawing workshops Deadly Moons and Marvellous Mars plus a special Constellation session for local cub scouts. The workshops were attended by 800 children in 10 venues over 11 days in … Continue reading →

Space the final Frontier – World Space Week 2016

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Deirdre KelleghanOctober 16, 2016

This entry is part 1 of 12 in the series Exploring the Solar System

“Space: the final frontier. ” The opening line of the famous quote from Star Trek, the missions aim ” to boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. ” During Spaceweek 2016 I had the opportunity to take 360 children and their teachers on an exploration of moons in our solar system and the very topical planet Mars . Through listening and drawing they experienced a small awakening to the robotic images which are unveiling the beauty of other worlds, increasing our understanding with every single pixel. My workshop Deadly Moons now includes the stunning New Horizons image of Charon Pluto’s largest moon. The children loved the Star Wars names on its craters . They enjoyed linking Charon’s features to familiar books and movies. The workshop also showcases the incredable images of Saturn’s moons taken by the Cassini Spacecraft. In order to make my workshop Marvellous Mars extra interesting for the groups I made a model of Mars … Continue reading →

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Deirdre KelleghanAugust 6, 2016

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin My workshop Deadly Moons has been presented on hundreds of occasions by myself to thousands of Irish school children. Its title has its roots in the expression ‘that’s deadly’ an Irish street speak way of saying something is ‘Amazing’. The bones of Deadly Moons are built from 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,(MRO) Mars Reconnaissance Obiter and of course New Horizons. I realised early on in my outreach efforts that most children and in fact most adults were totally unaware that other moons existed. In general people are not able to recognise moon phases or point out any features on our moon. Considering our moon is in the sky for the entirety of all our lives,this is another issue that needs … Continue reading →

Christopher M. Graney October 16, 2019 at 10:22 am on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItThanks for the comments. A funny thing happened at the observatory: the ISS did not show up. A visitor there had an app on his phone, and that app did not show the ISS as passing by Saturn. I later went back to Stellarium, and Stellarium did not show the...
Jim Cook October 12, 2019 at 12:06 pm on Putting the Space Station Where You Want ItTwenty years ago, give or take, I had my telescope set up for a stargazing program at my local park. Earlier in the day, I had checked to see if there would be any bright satellites passing overhead. Back then, before there were satellite pass web sites like heavens-above.com, I...
Ed Yepez October 11, 2019 at 9:46 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I have enjoyed John Scalzi's work, but I must admit I would not recognize him. Let me know if you ever attend an orthodontic meeting. They won't know me either, but it would definitely encourage me to attend! The motion of planets and teeth?
Tracy Lunquist October 11, 2019 at 1:19 pm on ⓜ The day I almost met Buzz… Diary of 11 October, 2019I've had dinner with Buzz Aldrin -- a long-time friend of mine was dating him for a little while (yes, you can imagine my reaction to hearing that little tidbit of news). He is certainly a unique character, and I'm sorry you didn't get to meet him. But indeed, of...
Christopher M. Graney October 4, 2019 at 10:34 am on ‘Hot Jupiter’ Exoplanet Found with 18-Hour OrbitWow. Do we know *anything* about planet formation any more? Obviously, everything I was ever taught has turned out to be WRONG. This is such a cool area of discovery.
Robert Macke September 23, 2019 at 4:53 pm on Specola Guestbook: June 20, 1910 – Arthur L. DayEd Lindgren: Thank you for the correction and the additional information. It is nice to know that readers take an interest in this column. And there are more geologists/geophysicists yet to come!
Ed Lindgren September 22, 2019 at 12:41 pm on Specola Guestbook: June 20, 1910 – Arthur L. DayBr. Macke - Nice to see a geologist/geophysicist get recognition as a VO visitor. Just want to clarify the the Wollaston Medal is the highest award of the Geological Society of London. The first recipient was William "Strata" Smith, who received the Wollaston Medal in 1831 for surveying and preparing...
Tim Williams September 19, 2019 at 12:08 pm on Across the Universe: New Heavens, New EarthYou need to read the sacred hieroglyphs using the true decipherment of electricity into ancient scripture. Once you have deciphered positive and negative charge, the animals and plants explain how God powers the heavens. See my website GodElectric [dot] org for the answers ...
Christopher M. Graney September 11, 2019 at 10:56 am on The Lion King’s SkyThanks for the link to the star atlas. And yes, I see much as you do. An even bigger beef is how the sky in the image above is an almost uniform see of faint (but not-that-faint) stars. It is as if the entire sky is the Milky Way. (I...
Br. Guy Consolmagno September 9, 2019 at 5:14 am on ⓜ Million Miles Away… Diary of 8 September, 2019I had already posted this before I realized it was September 9 already! Well, I did write most of it the day before...
Jim Cook September 7, 2019 at 8:47 am on The Lion King’s SkyI have not seen the Lion King, so I will have to take your word for the other problems you've raised, but as far as recognizable constellations go, the night sky in the screen shot you've provided is kind of, somewhat accurate ... sort of. The four brightest stars in...
Br. Guy Consolmagno September 2, 2019 at 4:04 am on Specola Guestbook: May 4, 1910 – van de Sande BakhuyzenComet Biela was an important link in our understanding of the connection between comets and meteors. I wrote a chapter about this in a book published many years ago called "Cosmic Pinball"... here's the highlights: In 1772, the French astronomer Montagne had discovered a faint comet. It never grew bright...
Richard Hill August 31, 2019 at 12:30 am on Across the Universe: Clouds from Both SidesGuess I'll quit complaining about our monsoon weather!
Bob Prokop August 24, 2019 at 10:50 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceOh, I am far from defending the objection. Just reporting that I come across it all too often. My most effective defense against the idea that you can't be both interested in science and believe in God is, believe it or not, myself. As an amateur astronomer (I prefer stargazer),...
Christopher M. Graney August 24, 2019 at 9:16 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceTwo comments re Bob K's remark: 1) From my work, I find that such lists are of value to believers, who fear that science as it is portrayed today excludes them. Seeing that "people like them" made great contributions to science helps in this regard. And it then follows that...
Tina Graney August 24, 2019 at 8:59 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceJocelyn Bell Burnell is an example of a contemporary scientist of faith. Not to mention all of the scientists who are not listed, but are working at the Vatican Observatory right now!
Bob Prokop August 24, 2019 at 7:26 am on Caucasus triangleGreat image! My personal favorite Lunar mountains are the Montes Spitzbergen, on the floor of the Mare Imbrium. Especially when they're just emerging into the sunlight, surrounded by a pool of black. Pure magic!
Bob Prokop August 24, 2019 at 7:19 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceSuch lists, as wonderful as they are, generally do not impress nonbelievers (at least, not the ones I know personally), because they are primarily composed of people from past centuries. The usual answer I get when bringing up Copernicus or Secchi or Mendel, etc., is "Well, of course they were...
Ed Yepez August 24, 2019 at 6:23 am on Religious Scientists on Vatican Observatory Faith and ScienceGreat observations from an educators view! My impression so far, whether talking to Atheist or Young Earth Creationist, is that they wish to set up boundaries between science and religion (I probably do it too unconsciously!) in order to organize knowledge/ideas in both fields. But then I feel like I...
Fr. James Kurzynski August 14, 2019 at 4:33 am on What Was Your Experience Of Apollo 11?Incredible and personal response Jim! Thank you for sharing this. I completely forgot about the other "Summer of 69" events that made that summer truly historic for US history.