HIPPARCHOSHIPPARCHOS The Hellenic Astronomical Society Newsletter Volume 2, Issue 5 ISSN: 1790-9252 THE UNIVERSE YOURS TO DISCOVER INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY Contents HIPPARCHOSHIPPARCHOS Volume 2, Issue 5 • February 2009 ISSN: 1790-9252 Message from the President .................................................4 Hipparchos is the official newsletter of the Hellenic Astronomical Society. BRIEF SCIENCE NEWS It publishes review papers, news and comments on topics of interest to as- Greek Astronomer photographs directly and for the first time an extra-solar planet .....7 tronomers, including matters concern- 21775 Tsiganis: An asteroid named after a young Greek Astronomer: ...............8 ing members of the Hellenic Astro- nomical Society. The Herschel Space Observatory is now ready for launch ........................ 8 Editor: Manolis Plionis The “European Astronomy Infrastructure Roadmap” has been released ............. 9 Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics National Observatory of Athens, REVIEWS Pendeli 152 36 Athens, Greece Probing the Obscured Universe Tel: +30-210-8109166 by Dimitra Rigopoulou ........................................................ 10 Fax: +30-210-8040453 E-mail: [email protected] The exploration of Titan and the Saturnian System by Cassini-Huygens Editorial Advisors by Athena Coustenis .......................................................... 15 • V. Charmandaris (Crete) • D. Hatzidimitriou (Crete) • K. Kokkotas (Thessaloniki) CONFERENCES • J.H. Seiradakis (Thessaloniki) Astronomical Data Analysis V • N.K. Stergioulas (Thessaloniki) Crete, 7-9 May 2008 .......................................................... 19 • K. Tsinganos (Athens) The 13th Conference “Recent Developments in Gravity” (NEB XIII) Printed by ZITI Publications • www.ziti.gr Thessaloniki, 4-6 June, 2008 ....................................................20 THE UNIVERSE The Central Kiloparsec: Active Galactic Nuclei and their Hosts YOURS TO DISCOVER Crete, 4-6 June 2008 ..........................................................21 The Cosmic Odyssey of the Elements Aegina, 23 – 27 June 2008 ..................................................... 22 Protostellar Jets in Context Rhodes, July 7-12, 2008 ........................................................23 Challenges in Infrared Extragalactic Astrophysics Crete, 15-19 September 2008 ..................................................25 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF ASTRONOMY AGN Advanced Astronomy School Pendeli Astronomical Station, National Observatory of Athens, 22-24 September 2008 ........................................................25 Cover photo: Editorial Logo of the International Year Dear members and friends of HelAS, Kokkotas. He managed to truly bring our of Astronomy I have been appointed by the recently newsletter to an international standard. Editorial assistance elected governing council of HelAS as the Being an editorial advisor, together with new editor of Hipparchos, substituting V. Charmandaris, D. Hatzidimitriou, J.H. Sei- is needed! Professor K. Kokkotas, who successfully radakis, N. K. Stergioulas, K. Tsinganos, I To improve the contents of completed two terms as a member of the hope that he will continue assisting our Hipparchos please provide us with council of HelAS. It will be a great challenge effort to provide the Hellenic astronomi- information related to your Insti- for me to contribute, at any significant level, cal community with a professional and in- tute or with exciting news from to the already up-grated and wonderfully teresting newsletter. your field of research. edited Hipparchos newsletter by Professor Manolis Plionis HIPPARCHOS | Volume 2, Issue 5 3 Message from the President Dear Hel.A.S. members, emphasize that everyone should realise Αρίσταρχος, Πυθαγόρας, Ίππαρχος, the impact of astronomy and other fun- Ερατοσθένης, Πτολεµαίος, etc laid the e have just started the 2009th orbit damental sciences on our daily lives, and basis of all what we understand today. of the Earth around the Sun since understand how scientific knowledge theW birth of Christ. This particular revolu- can contribute to a more equitable and tion of the Earth happens to be the 400th peaceful society. With 2009 just over the since Galileo pointed to the Heavens for horizon, a staggering 135 nations are col- the first time the newly discovered tele- laborating to “bring” the Universe closer scope and observational astronomy start- to Earth. The IYA09 activities will take ed to revolutionize our understanding of place internationally, nationally, and lo- the Universe. To commemorate this cor- cally over the coming 365 days and be- nerstone event in the history of science, yond, in a spectacle of cosmic propor- the United Nations Educational, Scientif- tions. Catherine Cesarsky, IAU Presi- ic and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) dent, says: «135 countries have commit- with its resolution of 20/12/2007 adopt- ted themselves to the Year, all pulling to- ed a proposal by the International Astro- gether toward the common aim of mak- nomical Union (IAU) to name the year ing astronomy accessible to the public. 2009 as the International Year of Astrono- IYA2009 will reinforce the links between my (in short IYA09). The IYA09 is a glo- science education and science careers, bal effort aiming to help the citizens of stimulating a long-term increase in stu- the world rediscover their place in the dent enrolment in the fields of science Universe through the observation of the and technology and an appreciation for night and daytime sky, and thereby engage lifelong learning.» With such a range of in a personal sense of wonder and dis- activities planned, now is the ideal time covery. In this way, everyone may realize to learn more about the cosmos and our the universal laws of nature that scientists, place within it. The International Year of over the course of centuries have enabled Astronomy 2009 promises to make the Accordingly, the international astronomi- us to better understand and which are al- Universe ours to discover. cal community, as expressed by the IAU, so a great incentive to contemplate and For what concerns us Greek astrono- has agreed to decorate the skies by the appreciate the Psalmist’s beautiful words, mers, we should always recall the contri- 88 officially named constellations whose «the heavens are telling the glory of God» butions of Hellenic Astronomy through- names are inspired by Hellenic mythology (Ps 19[18]: 1). out the last millennia of world-wide civi- and similarly is the case with the names The message of the IYA09 is “The lization. The great astronomers of antiq- of planets, satellites, galaxies, galaxy clus- Universe, Yours to Discover” in order to uity and founding fathers of Αστρονοµία, ters, nebulae, etc. Today, the Hellenic as- tronomical community continues the old and long tradition, by playing an important role in modern astrophysics and space physics, with several prominent astrono- mers and space physicists contributing to the advancement of the field, organizing international conferences and advanced schools in Greece, etc. Thus, it is natural that this festive and landmark year, the Hellenic Astronomical Society, the pro- fessional society of Greek astronomers, should undertake the initiative to coor- dinate a number of events for the IYA09 in the following broad areas: ¸ New developments in modern As- tronomy ¸ The role of Astronomy in our soci- ety ¸ The role of Astronomy in educa- tion. HIPPARCHOS | Volume 2, Issue 5 4 physics. In the Athens area, the Hel.A.S. Governing Council (GC) in collabora- tion with the Univ. of Athens and the National Observatory of Athens, is plan- ning the following set of lectures, which will take place at the central University (Propylaia) between the 15th and 17th of May 2009 (Coordinator K. Tsinganos): v Astrophysical jets: cosmic fireworks signal- ling the birth and death of stars and gal- axies, (K. Tsinganos, Hel.A.S. president) v The Sun and planets: their relation and importance to us (I. Daglis, Hel.A.S. GC member) v The search for extraterrestrial planets (P. Niarchos, Director of AAM section at the Univ. of Athens) v Searching for the truth through light in Credit: NASA, ESA, HEIC and The Hubble Heritage Team The Hubble Heritage HEIC and ESA, NASA, Credit: the Universe (V. Charmandaris, Hel.A.S. Secretary) v Χ- and and γ-ray Astronomy (Α. Μasti- chiadis, Hel.A.S. Treasurer) v Modern developments in Cosmology: dark matter and energy (M. Plionis, Hel.A.S. vice-president) v Cosmic accelerators: acceleration of charged particles in the Universe (L. Vlahos, Hel.A.S. GC member) v Optical observational astronomy (D. Hatzidimitriou, Univ. of Athens) v Black holes and gravitational waves: was Einstein right? (K. Kokkotas, N. Stergiou- las, Univ. of Thessaloniki) v The role of Astronomy in worldwide cul- ture (E. Theodossiou, Univ. of Athens). This event is under the auspices of the President of the Hellenic Republic. In particular, the following 10 action of the key goals of 100 hours of Astronomy items, are recommended by the Hellen- is to have as many people as possible look 4. Special edition of the Hel.A.S. journal ic Astronomical Society and are coordi- through a telescope, just as Galileo did for Hipparchos for the IYA09, including the nated by members of Hel.A.S.: the first time 400 years ago. Such activities above talks. (Coordinator: M. Plionis) will take place at the National Observato- 5. The astronomical question of the week: a 1. A dedicated TV programme launching ry of Athens and the