Public Lectures
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British cosmologist and astrophysicist Martin Rees sees space as the realm of robotic exploration, not human colonisation. A handful of privately funded thrill seeking adventurers will probably settle on Mars but the idea of mass emigration there, proposed by some as the solution to Earth’s problems, he views as a dangerous delusion. Martin speculated the universe might be beyond… “read more”
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Senior Astronomer at the SETI Institute Seth Shostak joined us by Zoom from California to discuss the failure so far to detect extra-terrestrial intelligence by searching the sky for artificial radio signals, and new initiatives being developed or under consideration. We are likely to encounter alien robots before alien biology, he thinks. Seth spends much energy on outreach activities,… “read more”
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Vatican astronomer Bro Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory – Specola Vaticana, joined us by Zoom from Tucson, Arizona to talk on the harmonious relationship between science and religion. Bro Guy argued that logic and reason must always start with assumptions, and the assumptions behind science are, at their root, religious assumptions. Our core beliefs not only determine how… “read more”
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To coincide with the Mars opposition Kevin Nolan gave a talk on past, present and near-term future Mars exploration. What have we learnt, what can we hope to learn? Looked at the present and continuing unmanned program for Mars which commenced in 1996 with Pathfinder and will continue into the future at least until a sample return mission in 2031… “read more”
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Opening our new season of public online lectures, Frances McCarthy and Danielle Wilcox of Blackrock Castle Observatory’s outreach team talked about observing and photographing the night sky’s largest and most changeable object, the Moon. We learnt that the word “moon” is connected with words for to measure, reflecting the fact that from earliest times the Moon’s phases have been used… “read more”
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Our 2020/21 season of public lectures was held remotely using Zoom due to the Covid-19 public health emergency. Mon 14th Sept 2020 “Observing and photographing the Moon”─ Frances McCarthy & Danielle Wilcox, Blackrock Castle Observatory Outreach Team. Mon 12th Oct 2020 “Mars, a Cosmic Stepping Stone” ─ Kevin Nolan, Author of Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone: Uncovering Humanity’s Cosmic Context… “read more”
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For our February lecture, UCC Professor of Physics and Astronomy Dr Paul Callanan talked about those mysterious and exotic objects so fundamental to astronomy, black holes. The date was 10th Feb 2020. Understanding the nature of black holes remains one of the great challenges of modern astronomy. More than 100 years ago, Einstein produced a remarkable theory which could… “read more”
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At our January lecture, Master Mariner and nautical science lecturer Bill Kavanagh demonstrated his sextant. We learnt how traditional methods were used to obtain a ship’s position by observing astronomical objects, and how such methods are being used again today in an era of global navigation satellite systems. GPS and other satellite navigation systems (including the not yet operational European Galileo… “read more”
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Barrister Laura Keogh, a specialist in space law, gave an overview of space law and then focused on weaponisation and the legality of owning asteroids. LauraShe began by outlining the framework of international space law, starting with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which forms the basic framework, and then identified three challenges for space law – militarisation, space mining,… “read more”
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For our November lecture, Trinity College space weather scientist Dr Sophie Murray looked at solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and auroras. All this is called space weather, and she discussed its impact on the Earth’s upper atmosphere, and potentially on human civilisation. Dr Murray referred to the 1859 Carrington Event, which gave us the first alert that solar flares can… “read more”