July 2003 - astronomy@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Astronomy Ireland]Astronomy 'job' in Namibia, Star-B-Q Last Day!
by Astronomy Ireland 31 Jul '03

31 Jul '03

We have just received the interesting job vacancy below. Remember, today (July 31) is the last day to book your Star-B-Q tickets at the reduced rate (20euro). >From tomorrow they go to the regular price 25euro (under 16s still 20euro though). Call (01) 847 0777 up to 6pm or see http://www.astronomy.ie/sbq.html and the booking form at http://www.astronomy.ie/SBQFORM22Aug.rtf ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mario Di Maggio" <mario.dimaggio(a)gsc.org.uk> To: "Planetarium" <Planetarium(a)gsc.org.uk> Sent: Thursday, July 31, 2003 12:57 PM Subject: More astronomers required in Namibia > Hello planetarium, professional and amateur astronomy community > > Below is a call for more professional/amateur astronomers to attend an > all-expenses paid (ie. apart from the air-fare) working holiday to a luxury > safari lodge in Namibia. This is for a six-week to three-month period, where > all you will be expected to do is show guests the glorious southern sky > through a telescope for approx. an hour each night. > > You will note from the advert below that Steve Owens from Glasgow Science > Centre was the very first to be selected for this privilege, working at the > lodge between April and June this year. > > Best of luck! > > Regards > > > Mario Di Maggio > Staff Scientist: Planetarium > Glasgow Science Centre > 50 Pacific Quay > Glasgow > G51 1EA > 0141-420 5010 x310 > mario.dimaggio(a)gsc.org.uk > > Provide ships or sails adapted to the heavenly breezes, and there will be > some who will not fear even that void - Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) > > --------------------------------------------------- > > > Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 19:19:20 +0200 > From: Claire Flanagan <flanaganc(a)planet.wits.ac.za> > Subject: Anyone want to do some astronomy in Namibia? > > I just got this e-mail from Antony Tooley, who is again looking for > astronomers to show their > guests around the skies at their lodge in Namibia. > > If anyone's interested in this, please contact Antony directly. > > Claire Flanagan > Johannesburg Planetarium > South Africa > > --------------------- > > Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge > Maltehohe > Namibia > > As you will recall we entered into a search for volunteer astronomers > earlier this year. We are now into the second two/three > month term and have had a hugely positive response from our guests to > the opportunity of watching the skies with qualified > people. That is an astronomer who is fully conversant with a > computerised "goto" telescope, ideally has had experience with > a Meade LX 200 series, has huge enthusiasm for astronomy and proven > presentation skills. > > The first astronomer was Steve Owens from Glasgow Science Centre > (steveowens23(a)hotmail.com) and the current is Professor George > Tucker from New York State (tuckerg(a)sage.edu) who will be with us until > the third week of August. At that stage Danny > Rosen from Western Sky Planetarium in Colorado arrives and will be with > us until November. > > We are now looking for further volunteers from November through to June > 2004. While the ideal tenure would be three > months we now realise that this is very difficult for most people and we > are therefore prepared to shorten this to around six > weeks. > > Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge lies approximately 320kms South East of > Windhoek and 340kms South West of Walvis Bay. > These are also the nearest medical facilities so it is important that > you are relatively fit. We do however have a contracted > medical air evacuation programme in the case of an emergency. > > We will provide return transport from Johannesburg to the Lodge and free > board and lodging for the duration of the stay > here. The position is entirely voluntary with no remuneration. > > The accommodation, which is fully furnished, consists of a large bedroom > en suite (private bathroom with shower) and a > sitting/dining room with a kitchenette. A veranda/porch, which overlooks > the desert, dunes and mountains in front of the > sitting room, will occasionally be shared with one or two visiting > rangers who have separate rooms in the same building. > > All meals are available in the Guest dining room and both Steve and > George have often joined guests for dinner, which we > encourage. The accommodation is about 100 m from the lodge and > observatory, which houses a 12 inch Meade LX 200 > telescope. > > Guests have been going up to the observatory both before and after > dinner for about 45 minute sessions. The keener > amateurs have taken up a lot more time. > > While we have accommodation for a total of 20 guests we try to limit the > numbers at the observatory to ten. As most guests > spend two to three nights with us we are able to schedule their visits > to the observatory. > > The clear skies, with less than 85mm rain per year and no industrial > activity for hundreds of kms makes for ideal viewing > conditions. > > The visiting astronomer also has the opportunity to join in on the > various activities offered by the lodge, which include scenic > drives, all terrain vehicle excursions into the dunes, drives down to > Sossusvlei and wonderful walks and hikes for anything > from an hour to a full day. Summer starts here during November and it > will remain warm to hot through to April/May when > winter starts. > > If you do wish to pursue this opportunity please reply to me at this > address. Occasionally you may have some difficulty due to > the server, in which case please use the phone or fax. I will be only > too willing to answer any other questions which you may > have. > > Looking forward to hearing from you > > Regards > > Antony Tooley > General Manager > Sossusvlei Mountain Lodge > Conservation Corporation Africa > Tel: +264 63 693 307 > Fax:+264 63 693 239 > Email: tooley(a)africaonline.com.na

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[Astronomy Ireland] BBC Sky at Night; Star-B-Q offer ending; Mars Watches; I.S.S. going
by Astronomy Ireland 30 Jul '03

30 Jul '03

1. BBC Sky at Night This Sunday night August 3rd Astronomy Ireland member Sir Patrick Moore presents his monthly TV show "The Sky At Night" at 12:30am on BBC 1 N. Ireland (technically Monday morning) with a repeat on Saturday August 9th (usually within a couple of hours of midday). This month's show is "Mars: The Next Frontier" and features interviews with Arthur C Clarke and Beagle 2 champion Colin Pillinger (possibly coming to Ireland soon - we'll let you know!) For more details click here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-perl/whatson/prog_parse.cgi?FILENAME=20030803/20030 804_0030_4221_60073_40 Once the show is aired you should be able to watch it on the net (and previous shows right now) at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/spaceguide/skyatnight/proginfo.shtml 2. Star-B-Q offer ends tomorrow Remember today and tomorrow are the last days to book tickets for Ireland's biggest annual astronomy event at the reduced rate 20 euro (includes food, soft drinks, use of scopes etc). >From Friday August 1st the full ticket price of 25 euro will apply and we will start advertising the event to the general public. So hurry if you haven't already booked. Further details, with photos from past Star-B-Qs at http://www.astronomy.ie/sbq.html To book call (01) 847 0777 up to 6pm Monday to Saturday inclusive. Or print the booking form at http://www.astronomy.ie/sbqform.rtf GOT A BIG SCOPE? This will be the biggest Star-B-Q ever and extra effort is being put in to the preparations. With the increased numbers we are seeking more volunteers who can bring scopes. If you have say a 4-inch refractor/6-inch reflector or larger and want to help the society please email info(a)astronomy.ie 3. PUBLIC MARS WATCHES ANNOUNCED See the new announcement on our website (www.astronomy.ie) about the 11 (and counting) Mars Watches being run by Astronomy Ireland on August 27. Or go directly to the page: http://www.astronomy.ie/marswatch.html. Not all venues are set yet as some people are on holidays - so check this page regularly! If you want to run a Mars Watch in your area email mars(a)astronomy.ie In the meantime, Mars is a stunning sight in a good scope with Syrtis Major, Hellas and the South Polar Cap all visible from our part of the world until Friday as explained on page 28 of the August - see Mars map caption. 4. International Space Station on view until Sunday You've probably seen I.S.S. blaze across the sky several times so far. We're getting a lot of calls about it so our publicity is working. We've still got until Sunday (inclusive) to get our last glimpses of it with Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko on board. Read the I.S.S. column in the magazine every month to find out what they're getting up to. We have 2 books dedicated to the I.S.S. in the Astronomy Shop if you want to know more. Tell all your friends to call 1550-111-442 after 12 noon each day for the time to watch that evening (after sunset). In N.Ireland/Britain call 09001-88-1950 ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm & Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland]Star-B-Q; Mars and Mars Watches! I.S.S. interviews
by Astronomy Ireland 28 Jul '03

28 Jul '03

1. STAR-B-Q NEWS If you were intending to come to Astronomy Ireland's Star-B-Q on August 22, Ireland's biggest gathering of astronomy enthusiasts, first the bad news. All 200 tickets sold out since I warned you of heavy booking in our last Star-B-Q email! Now, the good news. We have found a NEW VENUE that can cater for thousands of people. It's near Roundwood, just a few minutes drive from the site we have been using for a decade. We'll have the same dark skies (in fact, slightly darker) and much better facilities - power, toilets, lecture hall etc. We are very excited about this new venue as this is the biggest fund raising event for the society each year. So tell all your friends - Star-B-Q bookings have re-opened. Call (01) 847 0777 Monday to Saturday up to 6pm for details and credit card bookings (or post cheque/postal order/bank draft to P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5). Tickets include all food and telescope use including Ireland's largest portable telescope - the 21-inch Millennium Telescope. UNTIL JULY 31st ONLY: you can book as many adult tickets as you wish at the reduced rate of 20 euro, but after July 31 the full price of 25 euro applies. Under 16s (who MUST be supervised by an adult) tickets are 20 euro at all times. Everyone in Ireland, north and south, is invited. Ireland's biggest annual gathering of astronomy enthusiasts, our Star-B-Q, just got bigger and better! 2. MARS! And MARS WATCHES I spent a couple of hours last Monday night in Wicklow mountains under crystal clear sky with Celestron 8-inch SCT. Milky Way down to the horizon and Sagittarius Teapot nicely visible. Actually Tom Finnegan and I were checking out (astronomically) the new venue for Star-B-Q on August 22. Saw I.S.S. on all 3 passes that night! For the second pass, at 1:24am we were in the mountains. ISS was very high, passing right thru the middle of the Summer Triangle. It was brighter than Mars (mag. -2). Viewing I.S.S from a dark rural sky is THE way to do it! Back at Mars: As I say in the August issue Sky Diary (see caption for the surface feature map) "July 20 to August 1" are the dates when Syrtis Major and Hellas are on view. Viewing in Celestron 8-inch at 290x with W25 (deep red) filter we could clearly see the small but bright south polar cap. Seeing was not great with Mars often 'dancing' all around the place at high speed but it did settle down for an instant every once in a while and I could see Syrtis Major coming on to the disk. Then at around 1:40am BST (Central Meridian longitude 311degrees) I glimpsed Hellas. Those dust storms Parker et al saw in late June/early July would have just been on the limb. Certainly nothing covering Syrtis Major (yet!). All in all a very rewarding nights observation despite the poor seeing (of course Mars was only 15 degrees up in the southeast). Mars' disk was 20.5 arc seconds, about as good as it got in June 2001 but it was much lower then so I was getting my best views since 1988 (23.8") when I bought the C8. Looking forward to better seeing and absence of global dust storms! Have you stayed up late to watch Mars yet? We've had a couple of photos in but surprisingly little for how big Mars disk is (23" this week!). Astronomy Ireland will be running at least 10 PUBLIC MARS WATCHES all around the country on the day Mars is closest to the Earth - Wednesday August 27. A new page will shortly announce the details on our website www.astronomy.ie. If you have a scope and can help out please email info(a)astronomy.ie 3. I.S.S. INTERVIEWS Some of you may have heard me being interviewed by David Hanly on RTE Radio 1's prestigious MORNING IRELAND show this morning (July 28). You can still hear the interview online at http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0728/morningireland/morningireland10a.smil I am also due to be interviewed on Cork's Red FM at 9:40pm tonight Monday July 28. I believe you can listen in online at www.redfm.ie See what you think! Don't forget, you can still see I.S.S. every evening this week until Sunday August 3rd inclusive. Call our 1550-111-442 newsline each afternoon for the exact time to watch that evening (09001 88 1950 in N.Ireland/Britain). I did lots of interviews last week on radio and to the press, including The Irish Times, DEN TV, etc. so hopefully the whole country is watching I.S.S. blaze over every evening. If you see any pieces in the print media please post me a cutting (including the name of the paper and the date - tear out the whole page if you can) to: P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5 (I'm especially interested to know did the Irish Times publish their piece yet - did you see it?). ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Mars Night on Discovery Channel Sunday 8pm; Morning Ireland
by Astronomy Ireland 26 Jul '03

26 Jul '03

1. Sunday July 27 at 8pm is MARS NIGHT on the Discovery Channel (satellite TV). Could find no details on their website but only had a short time to search as getting September issue of A&S to the printer in the next few days. It's sure to be a good show. I think someone else told me it is a series, on every Sunday? 2. Morning Ireland were to interview me about the International Space Station blazing across the sky (until August 5th) on Friday just before 9am but they ran out of time and want to do it Monday morning instead (though I've a feeling it may slide to Tuesday morning. Tune in to RTE RADIO 1 or listen live on the net at http://www.radio1.ie/ I saw I.S.S. again last night. It was an amazing sight even from heavily light polluted Dublin, magnitude -2 or -3 as it glided gracefully through the summer triangle. The next crew were just announced - Mike Foale and Alexander Kaleri, both space veterans with 7 previous space flights between them totalling nearly 600 days in space. They will be launched on a Soyuz on October 18 for their 6 month tour of duty. Keep calling 1550-111-442 (or 09001-88-1950 from U.K.) every afternoon for the prediction of when to see ISS each evening some time after sunset. And please pass this number on to friends! Give Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko a wave! Don't forget to listen in to Radio 1... ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland]Lecture online; I.S.S. on view
by Astronomy Ireland 24 Jul '03

24 Jul '03

1. JULY 14 LECTURE ONLINE Our July lecture is now online for members all around Ireland (and indeed the world!). Go to our website www.astronomy.ie and click on "webcasts" on the sidebar at the left. Then click on "July" (you can of course also click on any of the previous 10 months too!). We have sorted out the sound problems we were having and the recording looks and sounds great! You will need to install RealPlayer to view the video (which you can download from www.real.com if necessary). "A Home-Built Observatory" was the subject of Astronomy Ireland member Kevin Sweeney's July 14th lecture in Dublin City University. In it Kevin gave an excellent account of how he build an observatory for his 10" SCT using a wooden shed (purchased without a roof!). It was very inspiring and very simple. I can see loads of them springing up around the country. At the end he also shows how he does his 'remote' imaging using CCDs. Our August Public Lecture in D.C.U. will be given by Lynn Moran on "Gamma Ray Bursts" which she studies as a researcher at U.C.D. Everyone who can make it is welcome to come along to the Henry Grattan Building in D.C.U. for 8pm on Monday August 9th. For our members outside Dublin it will be available on our website a few days later. You can call to book seats on (01) 847 0777 Monday to Saturday up to 6pm as 2 lectures last year were almost sold out. 2. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION I saw I.S.S. blazing across the sky last Monday night from the Wicklow mountains - still an incredible sight, even though I've seen it hundreds of times before. I.S.S. was brighter than Mars (magnitude -2)! On board at present are Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko. I.S.S. can be seen every evening soon after sunset from July 19 until August 5th. To get the latest times to see it tell everyone you know to call our Newsline on 1550-111-442 any time after 12 noon for the time to watch that evening (by leaving it so late our network of I.S.S. observers have beaten the internet sites that use old orbital details and give wrong predictions when they boost I.S.S. orbit - which is about to happen). >From U.K. dial 09001-88-1950. Let's get Ireland out watching space! Please pass the Newsline number on to everyone you know, and get the whole family out watching I.S.S. on every clear night from now until August 5th. See Dave McCann's excellent monthly article on what's happening aboard I.S.S. in Astronomy & Space magazine - sent to all paid-up members of Astronomy Ireland. If you don't already subscribe to Ireland's only full colour astronomy magazine then do so here and support IRISH astronomy: click here www.astronomy.ie/sub ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland]Re: Celestron's NEW SkyMaster binoculars
by Astronomy Ireland 16 Jul '03

16 Jul '03

----- Original Message ----- From: "Greg Rosenstock" <greg(a)bluefeather.ie> To: "'Astronomy Ireland'" <info(a)astronomy.ie> Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2003 2:19 PM Subject: RE: [Astronomy Ireland] Mars+Moon; Celestron's NEW SkyMaster binoculars (and VistaPix) > Thanks for the reminder, David! > At the risk of sounding stupid, how would the 20 x 100 binoculars > compare in magnification and effectiveness to, say, the Celestron > Firstscope 70? > All the best, Binoculars and telescopes are a bit like cars and motorbikes in that both cars and motorbikes are used for transport but they have obvious advantages and disadvantages! With binos and scopes the pros and cons are not as obvious to the beginner so I thought I'd CC this message to everyone on the AI emailing list, though this will be the last such message on this subject as we don't want to clutter the list with too much correspondence on one particular subject. Binoculars and telescopes are really separate entities. Binos are dead handy to just grab and use. They have a wide field of view and are great for deep-sky use, watching planets close to the Moon (eg tonight!) etc. Telescopes give much closer views and will show much more detail on bright objects like planets, the Moon, double stars, etc. even if they don't collect as much light as a given pair of binos. Some objects look great in binos and useless in telescopes e.g. Pleiades, Beehive star cluster, Andromeda Galaxy are better seen in big binoculars than in big telescopes, and vice versa - you'll see no detail on Jupiter or Mars even with 25x100s. So you really have to get both if you want the best of both worlds. To answer your specific question. 25x100s have two 100mm lenses and therefore collect the same amount of light as a 142mm lens (close to our CR150-HD 6-inch refractor!) So big deep sky objects that do not need more than 25x magnification will be better in the 25x100mm binoculars than the FS70EQ. I have seen detail on the surface of Mars in 2001 using the FS70EQ but the 25x100s will NOT show any detail on Mars, 25x is just too low magnification. So you have a difficult choice, get a great pair of binos and rule out planetary surface detail viewing for the time being, or go for the scope and suffer a little in the deep sky department. Of course, once you get one of the two instruments you can immediately start saving for the other! You should own both a good quality scope and at least one good pair of binoculars. If you have the budget get both, if not together, then within a short period of one another. Hope that answers your query. Don't forget the Moon and Mars tonight! P.S. If you haven't booked your Star-B-Q tickets yet for August 22 and you intend coming then I would do so very soon, about two thirds are already sold and I'm beginning to wonder if we'll have any of the 200 left by the end of the week, which is a good complaint! See http://www.astronomy.ie/sbq.html and the booking form at http://www.astronomy.ie/sbqform.rtf or just call. ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] Mars+Moon; Celestron's NEW SkyMaster binoculars (and VistaPix)
by Astronomy Ireland 16 Jul '03

16 Jul '03

1. MARS near MOON tonight! Don't forget that tonight Wednesday July 16th is the night that brilliant Mars (mag. -2) will rise close to the nearly Full Moon. It should be a spectacular sight to the naked eye. Look over in the East-to-Southeast just before midnight as the pair rise above the horizon - do not go to bed without checking out the view which should be an awesome sight. Mars will be blazing just to the left of the Moon all night. (From the southern USA and parts of South America they will see the Moon pass in front of Mars!) See the diagram and write up on page 23 of the July issue of A&S. Have you seen Mars yet? As I say in this week's Newsline (Call 1550-111-442 RoI; UK: 09001-88-1950) "If you haven't got a good quality telescope, or high power eyepieces and filters to see all this Mars detail yet please call for advice now so you won't miss, literally, the view of a lifetime.". Do let me know what you see. 2. NEW BINOCULARS ----- Original Message ----- From: campbell family To: info(a)astronomy.ie Sent: July 14, 2003 11:15 PM Subject: sky master binoculars > I would appreciate if you could forward me the price list for the new sky master range of binoculars- the 15by70's and the 20by80's. > > thanks, > Brian. > briancam64(a)eircom.net 25 x 100mm are 799euro 20 x 80mm are 599euro 15 x 70mm are 299euro INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNT: We are offering a special introductory discount of 100euro off the 25x100s, and 50euro off the 20x80s and 15x70s. We were surprised at the low (standard) price of these Celestron binoculars and the introductory discount represents outstanding value. Insured delivery anywhere in Ireland is 10euro. We are taking orders now but stock will not be available until some time in September. We only mentioned the binoculars in passing in a Letter to the Editor in the August issue. It's obviously a very well read section as we have had loads of calls about them! If they all place orders then I expect there will be none available at the introductory price by the time the stock arrives! For technical details see: http://celestron.com/prod_pgs/bino/skymaster.htm To order just call with credit card as usual or post cheque/postal order/bank draft to P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. The introductory offer has to be on a first come first served basis until our supply at that price is exhausted. P.S. Just to let the cat out of the bag further, we also have a sample of the new Celestron VistaPix binoculars. These are much smaller binoculars that include a digital camera and USB port. Not for use in astronomy except on bright objects like the Moon (or perhaps pointing into the eyepiece of a telescope when looking at a planet - MARS!?) but great 'gadgets' nonetheless! Technical details at: http://celestron.com/prod_pgs/bino/vistapix.htm . We will be getting quantities of these this month, so no delay like the SkyMaster. Just thought u might be interested. ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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[Astronomy Ireland] July 14 lecture; Star-b-q news; A&S out; Skt at night; Mars dust storm
by Astronomy Ireland 11 Jul '03

11 Jul '03

1. Monday July 14 Astronomy Ireland Public Lecture and WebCast. "My Home-Built Observatory" by Kevin Sweeney. 8pm in main lecture hall of the Henry Grattan Building, Dublin City University. Doors open 7:30pm. All welcome. SUMMARY: Astronomy Ireland member Kevin Sweeney will describe how and why he built an inexpensive observatory at his home in Co. Meath to house his 10-inch telescope and CCD equipment. Kevin is managing director of Agilent Ireland (Hewlett-Packard's former test and measurement division) which can keep him very busy so grabbing a quick chance to observe when skies are clear means being 'ready to go' all the time - hence an observatory. Also, many telescopes do not get used after the initial excitement of acquiring a scope wears off, probably due to the daunting effort of unpacking, setting up, and re-packing, usually at night after a hard day's work when you are tired. An observatory solves all this and need not cost an arm and a leg as Kevin will explain. So, whether you want to consider building an observatory or just want to enjoy seeing how amateurs do it, make sure you get along to Dublin City University next Monday. There is ample parking in the multi-storey car park just a very short walk from the Henry Grattan Building. Excellent public transport too. Everyone is welcome so do bring friends. WEBCAST: If you are one of our many members who live outside Dublin then the Lecture will be video-taped for you to watch on our website a few days later: go to www.astronomy.ie and click on "Webcasts" on the left-hand side-bar. Then click "July" (note: the "July" link will not work until the Lecture is put online, which we will announce with another message to this list in due course, but you can watch the past 11 month's lectures by clicking on any other month. Install RealPlayer if you do not have it installed already). This is a unique service offer by Astronomy Ireland to the Irish astronomy community and we are most grateful to our friends at D.C.U. for helping to make this happen. 2. Star-B-Q News About 100 people have already bought tickets for our August 22nd Star-B-Q - Ireland's biggest annual gathering of astronomers from all around the country. This is already a record breaking number given how much time is left to go. Remember, you can book tickets at the reduced rate only until July 31st. This year Mars being closer than at any time in the past 60,000 years is an added attraction to the wonders of the universe we will see in Ireland's largest portable telescopes. All tickets are sure to sold out in the next few days or weeks (2,000 booking forms have just been posted for instance!) but we are seeking a new larger venue in the Wicklow mountains so we do not have to limit the numbers to 250 as in previous years, but don't wait to see if this happens, book your ticket now to avoid disappointment as there will not be another Star-B-Q until summer next year and then you have to wait 284 years for Mars to come closer than this summer! Further details and pictures are on the Star-B-Q page (click the Star-B-Q link on our home page www.astronomy.ie) Booking details (and a booking form) are available on that web page or just call the number below Monday to Saturday up to 6pm. 3. The August issue of our magazine "Astronomy & Space" was posted last night (July 10). Paid-up members should get their copy by Monday July 14. We have a lot of news about Mars, from observing details, Ireland's involvement in the Mars Express mission now on its way to the red planet, and some amazing recent images from amateur astronomers. If you don't get the magazine yet, or have let your subscription expire, then click on www.astronomy.ie/sub and support Irish astronomy by continuing to be a member of Astronomy Ireland. 4. Sir Patrick Moore's "Sky at Night" television programme was broadcast last Sunday night, but you can still catch the repeat on Saturday July 12th at 12:45pm (that's for BBC N.Ireland - if you receive a different region then check time variations on the main BBC website www.bbc.co.uk ). You can watch the programme online at www.bbc.co.uk/skyatnight (usually! I just checked and the link is broken, and so is June's episode, but I could watch May's programme - I have reported this to the BBC so it may be fixed by the time you read this). This month's programme is "Space Scouts" and is about all the probes on their way to planets - inspired by the recent launch of Mars Express and Beagle 2 no doubt. Just so I don't forget to tell you in time, the next episode is on Sunday night August 3 on BBC 1 and repeated Saturday on BBC 2 August 9. Mark your diary now - I just did! P.S. Remember that because Sir Patrick is an honorary life member of Astronomy Ireland we are offering his new auto-biography "80 Not Out" at 23% off normal price - just 25euro. See the ad in the July issue (page 32) and the review in the June issue or call the number below 6 days a week. 5. Reports of a dust storm brewing on Mars have been confusing me. Several dust storms have been seen this year so far (see the Mars Global Surveyor website www.msss.com and browse around all the images there) but one reported by ace amateur astronomer Don Parker on July 1st got a lot of press recently. It appeared between Syrtis Major and Hellas and the fear is that it could spread planet-wide and spoil our views closer to perihelion around late August. I don't think this will happen. Most people seem to think that such a planet-wide dust storm is more likely in September. Let's hope so. In the meantime watch Mars every chance you get. It now rises soon after midnight and several people who have seen it with the naked eye have remarked on how bright it looks already. The disk is 19 arc seconds across by the time of next Monday's lecture and 20 arc seconds a week later (maximum will be 25.1 arc sec on August 27). So get your scopes turned Mars-ward soon in case this dust storm gets any worse. In 2001, the last time Mars was close, it only took 1 month for a dust storm to complete cover the entire planet. If you haven't got a good quality scope yet then call us for advice. Don't delay! 6. I hope to see many of you on Monday at Kevin Sweeney's lecture, but don't forget that the rest of you can watch the lecture at http://www.astronomy.ie/webcast.html hopefully by end of week Then I hope we will see ALL of you at the August 22 Star-B-Q. Best regards and clear skies, ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info(a)astronomy.ie

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