Leading astronomers are in Dublin next week with the latest cosmological findings, reports Dick Ahlstrom
Earth orbits the sun through a swarm of boulders, any one of which could have our planet's name written on it. But how likely is it that we will be struck by a deadly rock?
All will be revealed next week, when the UK's annual National Astronomy Meeting comes to Dublin Castle. The five-day event will include presentations by some of the world's leading astronomers and astrophysicists, delivering the very latest findings on a range of astronomical topics.
It is the first time the premier astronomy meeting has left the UK, according to Dr Jacqueline Mitton of the Royal Astronomical Society, which organises the meeting with Britain's Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. It is coming to Dublin, she explains, following an invitation from the Astronomical Science Group of Ireland, which was formed in 1974 to foster collaboration between astronomers and physicists working in the Republic and Northern Ireland.
The decision has found particular favour with members, says Mitton. With 550 registrations, the meeting ranks as one of the largest yet held.
"I don't think there was any hesitation, and I think it was a good idea, because there has been a record sign-up. It looks like a record registration."
Established in 1820, the society has always held regular meetings in London, but it instituted what it called the out-of-town meeting to bring findings in astronomy around the UK. The National Astronomy Meeting grew out of this.
The current format, with a week-long list of presentations involving leading British, Irish and international speakers, was put in place in 1992, Mitton says. "A decision was taken to raise the status with a bigger profile."
The meeting will provide a valuable showcase for Irish astronomers, according to Prof Tom Ray of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, who is chairman of the Astronomical Science Group of Ireland. The group is the official host of the meeting, under the auspices of the institute and Armagh Observatory.
In 1999, Ray raised the possibility of the meeting coming to Dublin with Dr David Williams, who was then the society's president. Dr Williams was enthusiastic. "We have close links with the UK in our research programmes," says Ray.
The meeting next week will cover a broad range of subjects, from the search for planets outside our solar system to what conditions are like inside the sun.
There are sessions on the impact, real and figurative, that asteroids and comets have had on Earth and its life forms. The sun features large, with talks on solar activity, an important area of research given recent findings that variability in solar output may be influencing global warming.
The influence of "space weather", including how it can affect satellites and Earth-based communications, will be discussed, and Irish researchers will present new data on gamma-ray bursts, the most spectacular and energetic explosions known to take place in the universe.
What to expect when galaxies collide and studies of the motion of galaxies will also be presented, with details about a planned comprehensive study of what, precisely, the moon is made of.
There is also a talk about mid- Ulster's stone circles and rows and their archaeological associations with the moon and sun. A Dublin Institute of Technology researcher has a related paper on the Loughcrew Neolithic passage tomb cemetery. A detailed archaeo-astronomical investigation of the Loughcrew tombs and other monuments in the area has already begun to uncover Loughcrew's secrets.
The presentations, at Dublin Castle, are open only to registered delegates. There is a major public lecture as part of the programme, however, by Dr Steven Beckwith, director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates the Hubble Space Telescope. It is already fully booked.
Out of this world Hearing about Hubble first hand
The remarkable Hubble Space Telescope has produced some of the most dramatic images of the universe. Its unprecedented reach has given us views of planets, galaxies and even the origins of the universe.
The director of the Space Telescope Science Institute, which runs Hubble, delivers a free public talk in Dublin next week entitled The Beginning Of Time: Looking Back With The Hubble Space Telescope. The lecture, by Dr Steven Beckwith, right, will be illustrated with some of the striking images captured by the orbiting telescope.
The talk, which is part of the National Astronomy Meeting, was organised by the Royal Irish Academy and The Irish Times, with the support of Depfa Bank. The event will give the public the chance to hear first hand about Hubble and what it tells us about the earliest days of the universe.
Dr Beckwith, who is also professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland, will begin his talk at 7.30 p.m. in the Burke Theatre, part of the arts block of Trinity College in Dublin, on Wednesday. If you don't yet have a ticket, you're too late: the event is fully booked.