Professor Ronald Buta at Dunsink Observatory Ireland

Professor Ronald Buta delivered an exceptional talk on spiral galaxies during his visit to Dunsink Observatory in Dublin as part of Global Astronomy Month.

The audience of amateur astronomers   also included members from The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies and Women in Technology and Science .  Professor Buta was in Ireland researching at Birr Castle archives for his forthcoming book on Spiral Galaxies. He kindly agreed to come to Dunsink and share his talk and interests with an attentive audience.

His presentation had a richly woven interlacing on the roots of spiral galaxy study and Irish astronomy. The talk also featured many sketches produced by 19th century Irish astronomers and some of Ron's own work in spiral sketching.

Ron's sketch of The Great Looped Nebula ( NGC 2070)  was part of the exhibition running at the observatory on the night.

Cosmic Spirals
The Galaxies that Changed Our View of the Universe

Abstract:

The 1845 visual discovery of the spiral structure in M51 by the 3rd Earl of Rosse, using what was once the world's largest telescope,
is surely a milestone in the history of science. The mystique
of the Herschel and Messier nebulae was considerably enhanced by this
discovery, and it is interesting to contemplate how the discovery
would have been interpreted had Birr Castle been located at
20-30 degrees north latitude, which would have allowed the Leviathan
to view classical barred spirals like NGC 1300 and 1365, in addition
to M51. The discovery was important when we consider that it was
later research on spirals that led to the recognition that many
"nebulae" are galaxies: systems of stars, gas, and dust held together
into a single unit by gravity, and that the Universe is much larger
than anyone had conceived before. Today, spiral galaxies are still
the focus of much astronomical research, and through the Galaxy Zoo
and Hubble Heritage projects are more accessible than ever before to the general public. In my presentation, I want to talk about the spirals and the role they have played in our understanding of the Universe, ranging from the size of the Universe to what they tell us about how galaxies form and evolve, as well as the sheer joy of spiral galaxy morphology.

International Astronomical Sketching Exhibition at the observatory

Professor Ron Buta checks out the Grubb clock drive after his wonderful talk

A little observing for the audience after Professor Buta's talk