C.O.R.Y. gets to work, exploring the skies

CORY (Image: Blackrock Castle Observatory)

After receiving hundreds of entries to their Name the Big Dish competition, Blackrock Castle Observatory have chosen a winner. Drum roll please....

Rebecca Cantwell from Regina Mundi in Douglas, Cork came up with the winning name: C.O.R.Y., which stands for "Computer Operated Radio Yoke".

BCO said in a statement that the name "shows not only Rebecca’s Cork wit but also her knowledge of astronomy and science".

Rebecca joined NASA astronaut Greg Johnson in activating and lighting up CORY last night when it officially began receiving visual and audio signals from space - making it the largest radio dish available for educational purposes in Europe!

The 32 metre dish is based at the National Space Centre, at Elfordstown Earthstation near Midleton in Co. Cork and was originally constructed in 1984 to carry transatlantic telephone calls from Europe to the US. It was retired from this function in the mid 90's when underground cables were laid.

Now, in a partnership between the National Space Centre and Cork Institute of Technology, the dish is being refurbished to act as a state-of-the-art educational and research tool.

Minister for Research and Innovation, Sean Sherlock TD with CORY (Image: Blackrock Castle Observatory)

Dr Niall Smith, Head of Research at CIT, who outlined Phase I and Phase II of the project said that “This project will see a €10m radio telescope brought back to life for less than €10,000 thanks to the partnership between National Space Centre and CIT. It’s a great example of using world-class infrastructure in the most cost-effective way to reach out into the community and to embed our growing scientific heritage alongside our world-renowned culture.

It will excite students in schools who will get to listen in on the radio signals from outer space; it will be a testbed for engineering and science projects from primary through to PhD; it will be available to researchers from across Ireland and beyond; it will be an iconic structure only minutes from the famous Jameson Distillery, which we hope in the future to open to tourists and public alike.”

Phase 1 of the project to refurbish the telescope is now complete and next year it is hoped to see the further refurbishment of the dish allowing it to turn and slew as it originally did, along with the installation of new sensors and receivers.

The dish is capable of detecting a host of cosmic phenomena including:

    the emission of giant slow moving hydrogen clouds
    the violent explosions of stars
    eruptions of the solar surface
    storms on Jupiter
    enormous galaxy-scale jets of quasars

The switch-on ceremony took place as part of Science Week, which continues until next Sunday.

Maths - It Is Rocket Science

Taking place in the Armagh Planetarium between August 22nd and 26th ‘Maths – It Is Rocket Science', a Department of Education & Skills approved course for primary school teachers from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, will provide participants with specific techniques and insights in using the theme of Space as a key learning aid in the classroom. 

The course is being run by ESERO Ireland, the European Space Education Office working to inspire and engage students in science and technology subjects and in making Ireland’s burgeoning space industry more accessible to students and the public.

With research having shown that Space related matters can be used as key interest points for children in the teaching of maths, science and geography the course in the Armagh Planetarium is the perfect opportunity for teachers to increase their knowledge in this area.

Teachers interested in taking up a place on the course should note that ESERO Ireland is offering a limited number of bursaries, worth up to €250 in total, to cover the costs of travelling to the course from outside the normal commuter range. The bursaries are to be set aside to cover the cost of fuel and accommodation for the five day duration of the course.

The Armagh Planetarium is the ideal location for the course, dedicated in its work in astronomy education at all levels and providing an atmosphere conducive to the teaching of Space in the classroom in progressing with a number of different STEM subjects.

The focus of ‘Maths – It Is Rocket Science’ will be on enquiry based learning, beginning with a hands-on session based around the Discover Primary Science and Maths programme run by DSE.

Primary teachers who have taken part in the course over the past few years have spoken of how the Armagh Planetarium is an ideal venue for sparking ideas and debate – and on a more practical level of how the course has enabled them to put lesson plans with a Space influence into place which have received a great reaction in the classroom.

Places on the course are limited to 20.

For further information on the Armagh course, you can contact;

Colin Johnston TEL:  048 3752 3689  info@armaghplanet.com

A similar event takes place at Blackrock Castle Observatory, Cork on July 4th-8th. See here for more details.

Last lunar eclipse for 4 years

The last lunar eclipse viewable from Ireland for over 4 years will take place on Wednesday.

The moon will rise tonight fully eclipsed by the Earth's shadow. As the moon rises over the eastern horizon, Astronomy Ireland say that those watching in the east of the country will see the moon rise covered in a deep red colour.

Observers in the west will see most of the moon obscured by the Earth's shadow.

"The Moon gets darker and darker, and almost completely blacked out. But instead of turning black it begins to glow an eerie red colour. This is due to red light curving through Earth's atmosphere - like a sunset - and shining on the Moon. All other colours don't curve in the same way, so only red is seen."

The eclipse will begin at 10pm and last until around midnight. Total eclipse will be visible just after 10pm.

More on the eclipse from Blackrock Castle Observatory.

Science Snapshot Five: California and Cork Link Up

Science Week is ongoing in Ireland and continues until the 14th. For more details of events taking place around the country, you can visit here.

Here on Communicate Science, for the duration of Science Week, along with our usual posts, we'll be posting a 'Science Snapshot' every day. If you have a Science Snapshot you'd like to share, you can email here and we'll post the best later in the week.

Today's snapshot comes from the Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) in Cork. It features scenes from their recent "First Friday at the Castle Open Night" which took place on Friday last (5th November) and kicked off Blackrock's programme for Science Week.

The image above captures the scene in the packed interactive theatre at BCO. Ben Burness, astronomer at Chabot Space & Science Center (CSSC) in Oakland California can be seen on the screen to the right on a live video link from the dome of one of Chabot's telescopes.

The left hand screen in that image shows transition year students at BCO creating cool astronomy images from data supplied directly from the telescopes in California.

The image below shows the magnificant Chabot Space and Science Center at night. BCO has already featured in one of our Science Snapshots this week and is well worth a visit!