'One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for the Film
Director' : Moon - Landing Hoax Theories Revealed
Award winning painting by Dearbhla Mulligan
(St Dominic's High School, Santa Sabina, Dublin)
of the infamous foot-print on the moon. She is
the second prize winner of the National Astronomy
Competition
The Armagh Observatory is hosting a
public lecture with guest speaker Dr. Martin A. Hendry of the Department
of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow.
When and Where:
The lecture, entitled "Did we Really
Land on the Moon?", will be held at 8.00 pm on Thursday, 13th May in the
Rotunda Theatre, St Patrick's Trian, Armagh.
Speaker Biography:
Dr. Martin A. Hendry currently holds the post of
Senior Lecturer in Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy
at the University of Glasgow. He is a member of the Astronomy and
Astrophysics research group, led by Prof. John Brown (Astronomer Royal
for Scotland). He heads a research team working in cosmology which is
the branch of astrophysics concerned with the large-scale properties of
the Universe as a whole: its origin, evolution and eventual fate.
His main research areas are:
(1) Precise determination of the size and
age of the Universe.
(2) Testing theories for the formation and
evolution of galaxies.
(3) Exploring new applications of gravitational
lensing. His work explores the use of lensing to probe the atmospheres
of stars and 'image' their surfaces - revealing e.g. star 'spots' - with
further application to detecting extra-solar planets.
Public Talk Summary:
More than 40 years after Apollo 11 there are a
surprising number of theories around - in books, documentary programmes
and the internet - that Neil Armstrong's famous "One small step" was an
elaborate hoax, filmed in secret here on Earth. Conspiracy theorists
point to a range of "evidence" to support their claim, including waving
flags, strange shadows, no stars in the sky and deadly solar radiation.
In this talk, using real Apollo video footage and a series of simple
demonstrations, we will take a closer look at the science behind "moon
hoax" claims, and ask whether we really did land on the Moon.
Armagh Observatory brief history:
Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh
founded the Armagh Observatory in 1789. The observatory was the second
to be established in Ireland (the first was Dunsink Observatory near
Dublin 1783). The Armagh Observatory is the oldest scientific
institution in Northern Ireland. The "New General Catalogue (NGC) of
Nebulae and Clusters of Stars" to give it its full name, is one of the
most important contributions to science to have come from Armagh
Observatory. Even though it was compiled over 100 years ago it remains
to this day the principal catalogue of nebulae and galaxies used by
astronomers around the world. Meteorological recordings have also been a
fundamental area of research at the observatory and versions of Thomas
Romney Robinson's "Robinson Cup-Anemometer", invented here and used to
measure wind speeds, can be seen all over the world. The Observatory's
archives contain meteorological observations going back to 1794; soon
after the founding of the Observatory. The meterological recordings,
which are continued to this day, represent the longest series of
continuous weather records in Ireland. This is a valuable resource for
the climatologists and historians of the future.
Further information:
For free tickets to this public lecture and light
refreshments afterwards, please contact Mrs Aileen McKee at the Armagh
Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG. Tel: 028-3752-2928, E-mail:
ambn
arm.ac.uk.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Eamon Scullion at the Armagh
Observatory, Tel.: 028-3752-2928; FAX.: 028-3752-7174; e-mail:
ems
arm.ac.uk
Last Revised: 2010 April 28th
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