Nova Eridani? Probably not…
Originally believed to be a possible Nova, a variable object was discovered by K. Itagaki and imaged by Joe Brimacombe .  Below is the latest quote from the AAVSO. You can get more technical details from Universe Today. Possibly interesting observing for those in Photometry…I must admit I thought of Blackrock Observatory when I read this one. AAVSO Special Notice #182: “This new variable object in Eridanus, originally called a possible nova in CBET 2050, is most likely a WZ Sge variable. It matches closely the coordinates of GSC1.2 05325-01837, li

Galway Astronomy Festival 2010
Observing the Moon Keep you calenders free for the Galway Astronomy Festival 2010 which will be held this February 12th to 13th at the Westwood House Hotel on the outskirts of Galway City. This is the seventh annual event and it is very popular amomg Irish astronomers. The atmosphere is highly i

“Our Place in the Cosmos” video by symphony of Science
Our Place in the Cosmos - Credit Symphony of Science Whow! You have to watch this video. Symphony of Science produced an awe inspiring 4 minutes of images and words featuring Carl Sagan among others. “Our place in the Cosmos” is just wonderful. Thanks to Justin for sending on the link! Enjoy.

Cassini/IBEX redefines the shape of the Heliosphere
Only a short month ago I posted an article discussing our current understanding of the shape of the Heliosphere and how the Sun keeps up safe from cosmic rays. The Heliosphere is the area around the Sun that repels the majority of dangerous cosmic rays. It is actually a bubble produced by the Solar Winds emitted from our Sun. A slight aside, but it should be noted that the Solar Wind is also hazardous to human life and one of the reasons why trips to the Moon, Mars and other destinations have consider health risks associated with them. We recently believed that the shape of the Heliosp

A visit to the Blackrock Castle Observatory Cork, Ireland
It was with considerable excitement that I boarded a train in Dublin on my way to the Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) in Cork to meet with Dr Niall Smith head of research in Cork Institute of Technology. The meeting had been arranged by Kevin Nolan, a mutual friend, with the purpose of sharing research ideas and having an informal chat about educational outreach in Ireland. Believe it or not, this was my first trip to an observatory.  Sure I’ve looked through some big telescopes, with the best experience being an astronomy stargazing event in Australia near Uluru. (Ayers Rock) but this was a first for me. Since the visit was a daytime event, there was no expectation of stargazi