Deirdre Kelleghan  skysketcher@gmail.com
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Mars Science Laboratroy Launch #NASATweetup Blog #2 Thanksgiving - Endeavour - Saturn V - First Day Tweetup

12/7/2011

 
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The Astronaut Memorial at KSC
_ On Thanksgiving Day we returned to Kennedy Space Centre . Jane @jhjones wanted to share with  me the memorial wall to fallen space explorers.  This magnificent structure of polished granite reflected the blue sky, white cumulus, and the American flag amongst the Astronaut names which were pierced by sun beams of remembrance.   



Our morning included a pseudo trip to Mars, the Exploration Space experience, and of course mini Tweetups with pink tagged busy Tweeps including  @bphuettner @Conductor222 .

Lunch with  the enigmatic #labcoatbear in the rocket garden was unmissable, another opportunity to enjoy some Florida rays and good conversation.   

Afterwards a long walk on Cocoa Beach was fresh, warm and therapeutic.  Somehow I resisted urges to run into the sea which was so inviting. This beach is like a gigantic version of Keel on Achill  in Ireland, it included formation flying pelicans adding a Jurassic feel to the wildness.

Flounder with lots of Florida shrimp at the very Hemmingway 'ish   Sunset Waterfront Bar & Grill completed our day, we were joined by some of Jane’s colleagues just after the sun bowed out 
spectacularly on the space coast.

 NASATweetup at the Twent Friday November 25th

At the badging office  circa very early  I met two of the dynamic Stephanie’s @schierholz  and  @stephist  with  
@doug_ellison . Then I introduced myself to  the other foreign nationals  including @FailedProtostar for transport to the NASA base.

Fully processed and complete with @LockheedMartin souvenir sweatshirt I came to stand within a few yards of the VAB. The Tweetup Twent was huge and accommodated tightly the 150 Tweetup worker bees :-)  many of whom were already tweeting away at a rate of knots.  Within a short while I had access to KSCCOMM- PRESS Wi -Fi  via my encryption key - my Twitterportal  to the world was open for business. Trent Perotto @NASA and @NASAJPL gave a welcoming talk and he was followed by Dr Jim Green, and a host of other NASA/ JPL  science and engineering glitterati.  My Tweeting was too my delight being picked up and RT'ed at home in Ireland , in the UK  and USA.  A fast  lunch before an amazing tour of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the VAB, and my  ’ have to see’ moment the Saturn V rocket.

Bus 2 was my ride for the afternoon, our guide was a wonderful passionate young woman Kimberly Goudace. I have to admire the professionalism of all NASA and JPL staff who together made the Tweetup event an unforgettable experience. If any of them had to be at their work at 4am, 5am, 6am they were on duty with a smile and a positive attitude even if they were in unfamiliar time zones.   Kimberley did not even have a job; she was a former Space Shuttle engineer who still carried out her work to the n’th degree.

As we walked through the VAB her enthusiasm and knowledge filled the enormous void as she led us to the penultimate surprise, a close up view of Endeavour. This shuttle was being prepared for  its museum 'shelf life
after space' trip to California.

The Saturn V experience for me was joyous and profound, nothing could have prepared me for the encounter and size of this lets go to the Moon vehicle.  My first reaction was how will I get this into my camera? Then I made a spontaneous unscripted video
( below) where all my knowledge of the rocket went out the window as years of anticipation poured out forever.

At launch pad 34 we were kindly allowed to walk around and ponder the loss of life at this place.  The past’s devastation visible in deconstructed remains of tormented concrete and twisted metal.

The beautiful sunset light yellowed the bareness and touched our souls as crepuscular rays created nature’s memorial to the Apollo 1 astronauts lost to a fire in the challenge of exploring space. LAUNCH COMPLEX 34Friday, 27 January 1967  18:31 Hours



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Crepuscular Rays viewed from launch pad 34

My spur of the moment Saturn V encounter video :-) I was 12 again in a second.

_A few images below , check them out !!!

Mars Science Laboratory Launch NASATweetup trip Blog #1

12/4/2011

 
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A Saturn 1 B rocket on dispay in the Rocket Garden at KSC
_ Beaded drops of Irish rain rolled of the wing as the Airbus 330 lifted off destination, Orlando International Airport Florida. An unusual blue November 360 sky received the plane as the Sugar Loaf mountain receded below  on the horizon.  To Bach’s Oboe Concerto (D minor) I watched the wing flex in turbulent air as the journey continued somewhere over the Atlantic. Clumpy clouds echoed lunar landscapes below as I browsed the available in-flight entertainment.

At MCO airport near the Hertz car pick up point I met with my long time friend Jane Houston Jones @jhjones a lovely warm welcome full of joy and smiles.  Our hotel was close to Kennedy Space Centre, the heat was most appreciated by me coming from a cold Irish winter. November sunshine instantly set my vitamin D levels on the rise, the Florida sun and my face met at every available moment.

Kennedy Space Centre Day 1 Wednesday 23rd

As I was a foreign national (an alien) I had to get extra official badges from NASA so I could participate in the Tweetup (Friday /Saturday) and have the right to be in very restricted areas at the launch site , accompanied by NASA personal.


At the KSC I wandered in the Rocket Garden and yes I was in the zone, walking down the gantry as if I was going to enter the Apollo capsule  for real. Visually there was a riot of textures and shapes that took my eye into future paintings celebrating the power of rockets that leave this planet for other worlds.   Christmas trees, Christmas carols and Christmas wreaths around NASA logos in the heat seemed surreal as I explored the attractions of all things space.

One of the most engaging was the Hubble 3D IMAX movie narrated by
Leonardo DiCaprio, oh boy that was fantastic. It included several images of M16 the pillars of creation in 3D which for me was super. I had being drawing it several times  for kids at my  @ScienceWeek workshops STARSAREUS just before I left Ireland.  The movie showed me more detail than I’ve ever seen before, now it’s parked in my head forever. The air conditioning was cold in the theatre I could not wait to get back outside to the bright light and  cosy heat.

I met and chatted to several Tweetup people on my walk around , we all had pink badges so we were very visible to each other anywhere we went.  Beside a full size model of Curiosity I met a lovely couple, the Lanza’s.They had a daughter who had worked on the Chem Cam on MSL. They were very proud of this fact, we engaged in conversation about the incredible adventure ahead of this robot and how important the science will be for future manned missions to Mars.  I took  instant delight in the wheels of Curiosity, Opportunity and Sojourner, beautiful engineering, visually stunning space architecture, well displayed at Exploration Space.

Jane kindly got me a ticket to the MSL Guest  Briefing at 4:30pm, just before that we met Scott Maxwell i.e. @Marsroverdriver Scott drives the Mars rover Opportunity from planet Earth!!!  Off planet driving :-)

At the MSL @MarsCuriosity  briefing I was proud to stand for the first time in my life to the singing of the American National Anthem.  Excellent NASA speakers outlined the mission, its tasks, goals and mechanisms.  Excitement levels climbed as the reality of my visit began to hit home with several days left to the launch.

We enjoyed, no actually enjoyed is too bland a word for the pleasure of eating rock shrimp for 
dinner that evening  at Florida Seafood   all washed down with some American beer. Sleep came later to the sound of palm trees blowing in the wind.
A few images below from that first day , check them out !!!

 


 

 


A few images from Day 1 Mars Science Laboratory Launch Tweetup  buildup

Deirdre gets invited by NASA to the Mars Science Laboratory Launch at Cape Canaveral - What's Up for November 2011 from Jane Houston Jones

11/6/2011

 
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Back in April 2011 I told my mam, that I had put her name on a spacecraft called Curiosity for a journey to Mars.  She said ‘what good will it do me?  I told her that her name will travel approximately 150 million miles into space and land on the red planet in August 2012. Her name will join millions of forward thinking people who have been inspired   to send their names on this adventure into the future.

 I have a vision I said to her, that when in time humans build a sustainable habitat on Mars, a museum housing the pre pioneers will display their names along with the robot explorers.  She looked at me after I explained the mission and its purpose and she said to me as she often did

 ‘You’re mad ' but she had her little bird smile on and was soon sleeping peacefully.

We can only imagine that a display many hundreds of years ahead will be spectacular. The future is ours to dream about, dreams are our nets cast forward in time to pull us along and help us grow.

Mara Science Laboratory aka Curiosity ,  is one of our best chances to date to find evidence for life on another world. What an incredible twist that would be in our human trials and tribulations to understand our Universe.

Mam died from cancer on July 16th, 2011, on November 25th Mars Science Laboratory  will launch from Cape Canaveral carrying a special tiny payload, a microchip of names and dreams.  I think my family would agree with me that it is more satisfying and uplifting that we look  at Mars and think of her going into the future instead of being in the past.  4990 Irish people (including me) put their names on Curiosity out of 12,464,445 people worldwide.

I feel totally blessed that I have been invited to what is called The Mars Science Laboratory Tweetup. This adventure will tick the box on one of my top ten bucket list, must do in life things.

With weeks to go to the launch and months to the landing we will be widely informed about this spectacular mission.  August 2012 will see the cruise stage punch into the Martian atmosphere to deliver mankind’s heaviest robot to the  surface of the red planet. MSL will land at Gale Crater hopefully to the silent applause of rock locked microbes ready for their moment in history


An interesting fact was put my way by my dear friend Jane Houston Jones. On Mars there is a crater called Wicklow named after the county in Ireland where I live.  Jane and I will meet up once again at the MSL launch; it’s been five years since Jane visited me in Wicklow. It is so poignant that we should meet at this event, one of the most important missions in robotic space exploration and science. 

 Apollo 11 on TV was the first watershed eye opener toward my continued interest in space exploration. To be actually at the MSL launch and to also see a Saturn V rocket for myself will be my second booster shot / watershed for the future.

The MSL entry decent and landing sequence planned for 2012 has to be the most exciting landing ever conceived in the history of robotic advantures. It reminds me of Space 1999 a TV series by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson that I loved back in the 70’s (they used sky cranes).  It also has all the drama of an action thriller. Oh if only a camera was in place at Gale crater to bring us live coverage of this historic space epic. I cannot wait, to see how this mission and my visit to Cape Canaveral unfolds you can follow my visit via my Tweets.   

Deirdre Kelleghan is  @skysketcher   follow also   @MarsCuriosity and @NASAJPL and  @NASATweetup 

What's up for November 2011 from Jane Houston Jones - Mars Science Laboratory





World Space Week Deadly Moons Rockets and Robots in Walkinstown - What\'s Up for October 2011

10/13/2011

 
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Mars Science Laboratory aka Curiosity Launches on November 25th 2011
October 5th 2011 St Peters Boys National School Walkinstown Dublin 12

Clare Mercier from the Schools Completion Programme invited me to do two workshops at St Peters for World Space Week.  As usual I was warmly welcomed at this school which is close to where I grew up as a child. I set up my gear in the community room and soon 41 boys from fifth and sixth classes trundled into the room and took up what seemed like every single space available.


They listened carefully to all my tales of Moons far and near, they commented freely and enjoyed the images.  At one point the sun shone a beam through a slit in the blinds and took Titan down to a ghostly glow on the screen.  A cheer went up when the dark clouds of Earth closed down the light and Io then on screen was revelled in its structured wonder.

Moon drawing ensued on tables, chairs and benches. Calls for Our Moon, Enceladus, Titan and Europa were interspaced with calls for white pastels and longer views.

Ever helpful boys cleaned up and also helped me to get my gear upstairs for the next workshop.

Third and forth classes came together for Rapid Rockets Wicked Robots, an interactive white board was available and very welcome.  This workshop is about the history of space exploration via drawing, from Sputnik to Mars Science Laboratory also including the recent JUNO and GRAIL space explorers.  Some boys took pride in knowing the names of a least two of the Apollo 11 astronauts, and all got very busy producing their choices of rockets or robots on paper.

JUNO was popular, as was the privately built Virgin Galactic Spaceship 2. I had included the Lunar Electric Rover even though it’s not a robot or a rocket. This moon truck   has such a sense of adventure look to it and I was pleased that two boys did drawings of it. There were far to many drawings created to take photo's of them all , a selection are in the slideshow below.

All the Deadly Moons produced and all the Rockets and Robots produced are now on exhibition in the school hall.  Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork, the National Coordinator for World Space Week will honour St Peters with a participation certificate for their efforts.




 Jane Houston Jones  - This month it's more about Moons. Not only our Moon,
but you can also see Jupiter's four moons.
Click here to read about my adventures in Tipperary for Chinese Moon Festival and  Drawing workshops in Bluebell

Irish childrens paintings BOUNCED to the Moon and beyond on Radio Waves - What's Up for April 2011 - Saturn

4/4/2011

 

Moon Bounce was Live on Sunday April 10th


Paintings via radio waves to the MOON and back in 2.5 seconds
The paintings were be converted into radio waves , each colour in the paintings equals a note in music
its a Newton idea.  The paintings  traveled 500,000 miles and  returned as altered versions of themselves with individual sound signature files unique to each painting created in the process.

The paintings were  sent to the Moon via large radio antennas in Brazil , the UK and Switzerland and received
in The Netherlands by a 25 Metre radio telescope in Dwingeloo all online to music created by Marty Quinn Sonifonics a NASA developed sound out of images software .
Send me your colour by Deirdre Kelleghan
 

Earth calling Moon ................... come in over

Moon calling Earth ....................receiving you loud and clear

Earth:  Is anybody there?

Moon:   Not a soul

Earth:   Are you lonely?

Moon:   Not much going on here, so yes a bit lonely

Earth:  How about we send you some paintings to brighten up your surface?

Moon:  Wonderful, I will look at them and then send them back because I have nothing to hang them on. So how about I BOUNCE them  back to Earth?

Earth: Sounds Good

Moon:  Yes I look forward to all the colours as I am many shades of grey.

Earth:   Here they come OK?

Moon:  Ooooooooooooh ......................       boy I can feel the colours, all the colours of the rainbow. Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue,  Indigo, and Violet  . Wow !! ............... a lovely LRO false colour Moon painting by Paul Byrne , one of my very round young craters.  Oh and now a beautiful SDO First Light sun painting by Lucy Grier , I love the sun.  Here comes ................. oh yes indeed ......... it’s another moon Saturn’s Enceladus by Diarmuid  Moran . That Moon has an ocean exploding out of it!  Now I feel the  SDO Solar Flare painting by Liadh  Farago  oh my ,so gorgeous. 

Hold on the next wave brings a little painting of the sun and a big painting of Saturn and Cassini by Deirdre. I feel them all in my craters and maria. I think I can feel some sounds, some music too.


The colours swirled around my craters, over my rays and up my mountains . How special colours are , how exciting to bind them up in radio waves and send them into space to visit me.

How fantastic radio waves are!!!  I felt six bouncing paintings what a great experience. Do come back and colour my face again soon. The Earth Moon connection is so exciting, from now on when I bounce the suns light to Earth I will try to feel the colours every day.


Read more about Deirdre's paintings click here

For more technical information visit OPTICKS link below

Thanks to  OPTICKS Daniela De Paulis , Jan van Muijlwijk
, Deirdre Kelleghan, Paul Byrne , Diarmuid Moran, Lucy Grier, Liadh Farago , Astronomers without Borders, Stillorgan Gold Pack Brownies, St Cronans National School Bray, Solar Dynamics Observatory, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Cassini.

False colour ? What is it ?
Inside light there are seven colours , we can see them sometimes in rainbows.
The colours tell us information about the light
When scientists use "false colours" over an image of something in space, the colours tell them
and us more about the picture.


More here on False Colour and Radio Waves Mission Science


Stillorgan Gold Pack Brownies IGG attended Deirdre's workshop The Suns Massive for OPTICKS

St Cronans Star Gazers attended Deirdre's workshop Deadly Moons for OPTICKS


What's Up for April 2011 from Jane Houston Jones - Its Saturn check it out

Two Paintings one of Saturn one of the Sun OPTICKS GAM2011 Moon BOUNCE via Radio Waves

4/4/2011

 

Moon Bounce was Live on Sunday April 10th

Deirdre Kelleghans painting of Saturn inspired by Cassini images
Any questions ?  skysketcher@gmail.com
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Image credit Bernard Kelleghan

My Saturn/ Cassini painting is inspired by many of  the magnificent images taken of Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft. In particular I really love the images in which the shadows of the rings are cast over the planet by sunlight.  Many of the black and white images are extremely beautiful impactful pure ART


This painting  is 3 feet 3 inches by 3 feet 3 inches , mixed media on canvas.
Acrylics, Pastels, Metallic Gold Fabric Paint, Metallic Gold Paint, Metallic Gold Particles
Feathers, and the Wind.

In the painting we are viewing Saturns Rings edge on , the shadows of the rings are cast over the gas body of the planet.
  Cassini has taken iconic images on its journey around Saturn. The spacecraft is custom covered in a golden protective blanket. In 2017 Cassini's exploration of the Saturnian system will  most likely end and the spacecraft will be directed into the planet.

Its protective  blanket will no longer be needed, but Cassini will leave us with a golden legacy that is unprecedented in science and beauty. My painting includes gold particles disseminated  throughout the work.  Cassini is merging into Saturn in particles , just as
Saturn merged into Cassini through its outstanding  visual exploration.

How the painting developed February  22nd - April 3rd 2011

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Image credit Bernard Kelleghan

My Solar Painting is inspired by the first light images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory in space 22.300 miles above the Earth.  The painting  is 8 inches by 8 inches in Acrylics and Pastels on canvas,one of a series inspired by different  wavelenghts expressing knowledge about our star.

The paint is used thickly and energetically in order to somehow  emulate  the energy created in and exploding out of our star. When I paint I try to be in the subject , thinking about the sun from the inside out. Thinking about the subject helps me find ways and methods to produce it in paint.
SDO images are very strong visually , they tell the story of the sun in many wavelengths many different forms of light. 

Light is so much more than it seems
Light is an educater
Light is energy
Light has particles.

Both paintings will BOUNCE off the Moon on April 10th 2011 at 7pm during a performance art event  called OPTICKS GAM2011 Read about the project here

Look deep, deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein

SUN EARTH DAYS 2011 - We looked at the sun, had lots of fun, learned a lot and created amazing drawings

3/23/2011

 
 
Sun Earth Day 2011 for St Cronans Star Gazers - Slideshow  and Drawing Winners below

“The earth has received the embrace of the sun and we shall see the results of that love.”
Sitting Bull


March 14th 2011 – A lovely blue sky day greeted my eyes. At St Cronan’s Boys National School That morning I delivered a short talk on the features we see when we observe the sun in a h- alpha telescope.  This was followed up by showing the boys a DVD supplied by NASA Goddard “Journey to the Stars” narrated by Whoopi Goldberg.


The boys who answered my sun questions after the presentation received “Looking through the Solar Atmosphere” images.  We then went outside to have a look at the sun for real in my special solar telescope. We were very lucky to have a clear view of an Active Regions 1166, 1169, and 1172, on the solar disk and several prominences around the limb. 

March 15th I ran my solar drawing workshop “The Suns Massive” for forty nine of the boys in Mr McGovern’s classroom. So many boys turned up to take part that some of them ended up working happily on the floor.  We took a close look at some of the magical images taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (a NASA telescope out in space). We learned a little bit about the suns explosive outbursts, prominences, solar flares, and CME’s. We looked at the sun in different wavelengths of light and we looked at the magnetic atmosphere of our nearest star.


Over the course of the workshop we made a lovely colourful mess in Mr McGovern’s class, but the children created some astonishing drawings in the process.  The best drawing will be honoured by being featured on the Solar Dynamics Observatory site, and a package of solar outreach materials from NASA Goddard will be presented to the winning child.  Many thanks to Mr Dodd for helping with the solar viewing on the 14th and facilitating the SDO drawing workshop on the 15th.  Thanks also to Karl O’Broin for technical assistance on the day.

March 19th was actually Sun Earth Day 2011 – I took my solar telescope to the green at Sans Souci Wood to share the view of Active Region 1175 on the solar disk. Members of the astronomy group turned up and I also shared the view with some neighbours and parents who came along. Sun Earth Day posters and NASA STEREO fridge magnets were give to each attendee.

Earlier that morning I had observed the largest prominence I have ever seen on the western limb of the sun. I shared that sketch with the children and adults that arrived to give them some idea of the awesome power of the sun that can be seen if you have the correct equipment.




You must never ever look at the sun if you do not have totally safe equipment. The sun is dangerous; never take a chance looking at it by eye or with an ordinary telescope. You will be bringing the all the suns light and heat into your eye and will be blinded for life.

The winners of my Solar Drawing Workshop are these fantastic works , check them out !
Play the slide show

The Big Moon Ball Project - What's Up for March 2010 from Jane Houston Jones - My Solar Painting on NASA Solar System Exploration What's Up Page

3/3/2011

 
The Big Moon Ball Project – A work in progress

The Moon? The Moon? How on Earth do you explain the Moon to small children?  In many other talks I had done so in graphic from and with images but wanted to try something different. I figured I would have a go at  an interactive workshop in a field, as one would of course .


Made me a Moon ball and put it on a stand , borrowed a super two million candle torch , put it on a stand.  Then I invited my new astronomy group St Cronans Stargazers to join me at our usual place.  As it was midterm a small but smiling group turned up, perfect for a first run!  We pretended the torch was the sun and the children were the Earth and I became the Moon.  For the first orbit of the Earth I spoke about the phase they see from the Earth as they looked at me ( the Moon Ball)  moving from New to First Quarter, then Full, then Last Quarter , then back to New.

The children got the idea very quickly as the sun ( torch) illuminated the phases while they ( the Earth ) turned in unison in the field at the end of my road. The Big Moon Ball beamed the moons phases into their eyes.  Clip boards and paper were provided for the second orbit of the Earth .The children sketched the four main Moon phases as they happened and wrote down the names . The parents were very helpful  ,standing at the points of the phases and also helping the children see their clipboards and their drawings  in the dark.

Of course this workshop would be so much more powerful if the Moon was in the sky at the same time . I am continuing to develop the activity , it suits the Irish cloudy sky syndrome and is also an indoor workshop.  Every child wanted to hold the Moon Ball and help put it in the car afterwards . A whole bunch of fun was over in a blink , the children had lovely practical drawings for their folders , and were on their way to understanding the Moons movments.

The Big Moon Ball Project  was welcomed by Engineers Ireland as part of Engineers Week 2011

Huge thanks to my husband Bernard for help with the sun and for taking the photographs.
The Moon Ball is getting an upgrade , the far side is being painted in now and the near sids is developing more details , craters, rays and mountains.

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I am so pleased and totally knocked out  that my dear friend Jane has included one of my Solar inspired paintings on her What's Up page this month. 

My painting is 8 inches by 8 inches
acrylic and pastel on canvas.
It was inspired by the images of  the Solar Dynamics Observatory.

You can see the image more clearly on the link below here and find many interesting solar system connections  too.


Solar System Exploration

Waning Gibbous Moon - Drawing Exhibition in Bray - St Cronans Star Gazers Adventures in Astronomy - What's Up for February 2011

2/4/2011

 
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Waning Gibbous Moon
Bray, Co Wicklow Ireland
January 28th 2008
200mm dob/FL 1,200mm/25mm eyepiece/48X
Lunation 19.60 days 01:35 – 03:42
Pastels and conte on black paper


On Feburary 20th 2011 the waning gibbous moon will make a lovely triangle with the Planet Saturn and the star Spica.

Here in Ireland look east at 22:30 and you should be able to see this visual delight for your self.




If you have a telescope , have a look along the terminator find Mare Crisium
( the sea of crisis) It should look awesome as the terminator will be right through the middle of it. The moon will be 17.84 or almost 18 days past new. In my sketch the waning moon was 19.60 days past new .  Crisium was already engulfed by nightime on the lunar surface and not visible.


Our Moon has no light of its own, what we see is the sun light reflecting back to our eyes.
The Moon is said to be waning when it is moving toward new. Each waning night it has less light shining on its lovely near side as we look at it.

Our Moon is said to be waxing when it is moving from new to full. Each waxing night is has more light shining on its lovely near side as we look at it. The Moon is filling its near side with sunlight until it is full of light as we view.

Our  Moon is said to be waning when it is moving from full to new. Once again it has less light shining on its lovely face as we look at it. This cycle continues each lunar month, the more we observe it, the more we understand it.




My waning Moon sketch will be on exhibition with other drawings at The Signal Arts Centre in Bray Co Wickow from February 15th to February 27th . The exhibition is called Myriad Visions

do drop in and see all the work.

I look forward to sharing Saturn at public viewings during March and April when Saturn will be higher in the night sky earlier in the evening.  A date for your diary is March 12th when we will be looking at Saturn from Glendalough , the upper lake car park .  7pm - A talk on the Cassini Mission to Saturn at the Education Centre  followed by a viewing of the planet WEATHER PERMITTING OF COURSE.

Also during March I intend to  hold several public Moon and Saturn  viewing sessions here in Bray , details to follow. All are  weather permitting.






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I am very proud of my new astronomy group here in Bray , St Cronans Star Gazers are a great bunch of enthused children , parents and teachers who delight in learning a little bit of astronomy . You can read about our latest adventures by clicking on the link .

Whats Up for February 2011 from Jane Houston Jones - enjoy !
Forward>>
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    Author


    Deirdre Kelleghan is amateur astronomer,
    an artist and also  likes to write.

    "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lighted"
    Plutarch

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