The ASG

About Me

The ASG (Astronomical Society of Glasgow) is the biggest astro society in Scotland with over 150 members. Here's what we are up to!

Blogs I follow:

1. (More) Citizen Science Projects

   Sky at Night Magazine had quite a nice article this month on the proliferation of ‘citizen science’ projects.  I’m sure that most of you are familiar with the concept and have maybe even participated in one or two: SETI@home, Galaxy Zoo and the new Solar Stormwatch for example. There was, however, an omission in my opinion.  One that is close to the ASG’s heart:  Einstein@home.

   Einstein@home has been running for a few years and follows the model of SETI@home.  You download some software to sit and crunch data in the background, or when the screensaver is deployed.

   So that is how you get it running, but why?  What is it doing?

   Einstein theorised the existence of gravitational waves, but as yet no one has directly proved their existence.  There are currently two detectors using laser interferometry to try to detect them but, understandably, they are producing a lot of data to be analysed.  And that is where you come in…  it is this data that Einstein@home is processing.

   And why is it close to our hearts?  The University of Glasgow (with whom we do so much work) is at the heart of this research with their Institute for Gravitational Research.  We are fortunate to have close ties with Dr Martin Hendry - through lectures and outreach work.  And during the 2010/2011 season, we are very proud to be hosting a lecture by Prof. Jim Hough - a man who has devoted many years to tracking down the elusive gravitational waves.  

   So go on - give Jim a hand.  Download the software and get crunching!

2. Looking up at those looking down

   Now that we are getting closer to summer, the nights are getting much lighter.  At least here in Scotland they are.  It doesn’t make observing impossible, just a wee bit harder to see fainter objects and you have to stay up very, very late.  So what to do?

   Well, last night I watched a very bright object overhead - the International Space Station (ISS).  It’s a fun thing to do and it is amazing to think that there are people up there looking down on us.  It is quite a feat of engineering.  Anyway, to find out when you can see the ISS passing, go to Heavens Above, enter your location and it will show you the predictions of when it will pass for the next 10 days.  There’s loads of other great info on there about satellites, comets and minor planets.  And once you have had a look at it passing overhead, you can go to the mission page at NASA and see who has just flown over you!

   One of the best known astronauts up there just now is Soichi Noguchi, a Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut.  He has been taking lots of photographs from the ISS and posting them on Twitter.  You can follow him or just look at the incredible pictures he has taken.

   I hope you get some clear skies to see it over the next few nights.

   theASG

3. It’s been a while…

   Sorry we haven’t posted much recently, but unfortunately we haven’t had the skies here in Glasgow to do much observing.

   It’s not like we haven’t been trying.  We have had several nights at the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow (we had to cancel one due to heavy snow in December), and we have been at the Acre Road observatory and our darker skies site every month, but the weather has not been co-operating.

   ‘Wait’, I hear you say, ‘There have been clear nights this winter!’.  And while this is true, most of them have been around the time of a full moon, which introduces a lot of light pollution.  There is a wonderful example of this on one of our member’s own website (I think it is image 9) where you can clearly see the effect of the full moon on the long exposure shot.

   Anyway, here’s hoping that late winter and early spring will bring us much better weather and more news to bring you.

   TheASG

4. A Sunny Day in West Glasgow

   Today was our first public event of the astro season - Sun over the Botanics.  We had our solar telescope set up to view the Sun and were treated to some fantastic views of prominences all afternoon.  We also had a spectroscope set up to show how the light from the Sun is comprised of many different colours.

   We spoke to lots of people about astronomy in general and specifically what we had planned for the coming year.  Lots of members dropped in to help, or bring telescopes to learn how to set them up.  Passers by picked up information about our lectures and public observing evenings and asked all sorts of questions.

   All in all, a successful, fun and tiring day in the Sun.

   Clear skies,

   The ASG

5. New session, first night

   On Thursday night we had Robert Law visiting from Mills Observatory in Dundee, talking about Observing with Small Telescopes.

   This was a more varied talk than I had anticipated, as he incorporated a history of small telescopes, including the influence of Charles Frank as a maker and supplier of small telescopes in Glasgow and Scotland as whole.  He then went on to point out the benefits of using a small telescope, particularly wide field of view and suitability for lunar and planetary observing.

   He also gave some tips for observing with small (and cheap) telescopes:

   • Learn the night sky first.  Know your constellations and how to find objects
   • Buy good eyepieces
   • Get some help and advice on how to set up your ‘scope and how to use it.

   And on that last note, we’ll be at the Botanic Gardens in Glasgow tomorrow to do just that - show people how to use telescopes (amongst other things).  Come along and join us (more details here)

   Clear skies.

   The ASG