March 2008 - astronomy@lists.redbrick.dcu.ie

[Astronomy Ireland] Hubble Lecture, Earth Hour Watch, Pop Star Lecture, Observe, Event Calendar
by AI Secretary 27 Mar '08

27 Mar '08

1. Hubble Space Telescope - Public Lecture & DVD: There will be a fantastic atmosphere at the March 31st Lecture we are running as over 150 people have already bought tickets online to hear Lars Lindberg Christiansen from Germany describe his adventures using the most prestigious telescope ever built. We are running this Public Lecture in association with The Irish Times. to whom we are grateful for running an article about the event last week. In this lecture Lars will talk about the incredible 2 billion Euro Hubble Space Telescope which has increased our knowledge of the Universe beyond expectations. Hubble has allowed us to see further back in time to the dawn of the Universe. It helps in the discovery of new extrasolar planets. It has allowed us to accurately date the "Big Bang" at 13-14 Billion years old. A complimentary DVD "Hubble - 15 years of discovery" is available to all who attend on the night and also to all who order the DVD of the lecture. LECTURE DVD: For all those of you who can't get to Dublin on the night, you should order the DVD of this special lecture now, details are HERE BOOK TICKETS ONLINE HERE or come along early on the night - doors open at 7:30pm and lecture starts at 8pm in Hamilton Building, Trinity College Dublin. 2. Earth Hour Watch March 29th: This Saturday, cities all over the world will be turning off all unnecessary lights, Dublin is just one of those cities. We are encouraging you to do your part regardless of where you are. To coincide with Earth Hour, Astronomy Ireland will be running an Earth Hour Watch in the Phoenix Park. Where we will, under darkened skies, show you some of the most distant galaxies and other celestial delights which will be significantly more visible as a result of the lack of light pollution. Wrap up warmly and bring the whole family and all of your friends along to this free event and prepare to be amazed. We have a special page on our website for this event, which includes a YouTube video about Earth Hour. Click HERE for more details. If you live outside Dublin and own a telescope, why not run an Astronomy Ireland Watch for others in your location? Just give us a call and have a chat with our friendly staff, we'll then be able to let others know that there is a Watch in your area. 3. Public Lecture: Creating A Black Hole in Europe Not content with being a Pop Star, our April speaker is planning to create a genuine Black Hole in Geneva. Atom smasher and BBC Horizon presenter, Brian Cox, is working with a team of over 2,000 scientists from over 34 countries at CERN on the Large Hadron Collider which hopes to explain Dark Matter, Mini Black Holes any maybe the ultimate theory of the universe in one of the most expensive experiments ever devised by man. Read more about the experiment HERE His lecture "CERN - searching for dark Matter and mini Black Holes" is on Monday April 14th, 8pm Physics Building, Trinity College Dublin and you can book your tickets now for what should be a brilliant evening as he explains how the LHC will begin operation in May at an estimated cost of up to 10 billion dollars. LECTURE DVD : The lecture will be filmed and made available on DVD for those who cannot attend on the night and can be purchased HERE for just 5 euro plus 5 euro P&P. BOOK TICKETS ONLINE HERE or come along early on the night - doors open at 7:30pm and lecture starts at 8pm in Physics Building, Trinity College Dublin. 4. Get Your Telescope Out! We want more of you to write to us and tell us what you are seeing in the sky with those telescopes we have sold you. Carl O'Beirnes from North County Dublin reported incredible views of Saturn's cloud belts and rings in clear skies last weekend using his Celestron 14-inch telescope at 430 times magnification. Email observe(a)astronomy.ie and tell us what you see or call for advice on choosing a telescope to view Saturn. Remember, once we deliver your telescope you then have full time staff here 6 days a week for life to take your call to help you use your telescope so please call for advice. www.astronomy.ie/shop 5. Nationwide Coming Events: March 31 Public Lecture & DVD "Hubble Space Telescope" April 1 Astronomy Ireland Radio Show (AIRS) April 8 Astronomy Ireland Radio Show (AIRS) April 12 Grand Opening of our New Shop April 14 Public Lecture & DVD "Dark Matter, Black Holes, CERN" by pop-star! April 15 Annual Saturn Watch April 15 Astronomy Ireland Radio Show (AIRS) Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat Delivery Nationwide To subscribe/unsubscribe click here

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[Astronomy Ireland] Photographing the Eclipse with Sir. Patrick Moore - Lecture DVD available, Events, Viewing
by AI Secretary 22 Mar '08

22 Mar '08

Astronomy Ireland - bringing astronomy to the people Hi! We have a new DVD for you, that Hubble Lecture, a Grand Opening, a superb Cosmology' lecture, and Saturn Watches nationwide. See below. Why not give us a call this Easter Saturday? We're open 10am-6pm. 1. DVD now available - Photographing the Eclipse with Sir Patrick Moore Two of our very own members presented our March 10th lecture - "Shooting the Moon and planets with Sir Patrick Moore" which is now available to everyone in Ireland. Carl O'Beirnes and David Grennan, both long standing members of Astronomy Ireland, gave a very interesting talk on astrophotography, a hobby they both share. Sir Patrick Moore recognised their skill by inviting them to film the February Lunar Eclipse with the BBC for his Sky at Night - the longest running TV show in the world. The talk began with Carl describing the equipment needed for imaging the planets and took us step by step through the processing stage. He also spoke about the various programmes available (like RegiStax) and which of them he uses. He showed some of the images he has taken at various stages in their processing and "wowed" the crowd with the final results. David then spoke of his imaging techniques and told how he has managed quite successfully to photograph the International Space Station as it orbits the earth at a staggering 17,000mph. He described the equipment he uses and some of his techniques and how anyone with a 'goto' telescope can do this. The lecture was finished off with Carl and David both talking about their recent visit to Sir Patrick Moore's home in south England for a special Sky at Night filming of the recent Lunar Eclipse. They showed photographs and some film footage of the night including hilarious impersonations of Sir Patrick and George Bush by TV comedian Jon Culshaw. This DVD is a must have for anyone thinking of taking up astro-photography as it is quite informative and demonstrated how easily it can be done with the right instruction and equipment. It is also an incredible insight for fans of Sir Patrick Moore and the BBC Sky at Night. Get this Lecture on DVD for just 5euro plus P&P ORDER TODAY 2. Nationwide Coming Events: March 31 Public Lecture & DVD "Hubble Space Telescope" April 12 grand Opening of our New Shop April 14 Public Lecture & DVD "Dark Matter, Black Holes, CERN" by pop-star! April 15 Annual Saturn Watch 3. Easter Viewing Highlights Spring has officially arrived with the Vernal Equinox on March 20. Did you know that Easter Sunday is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon (March 21) after the Vernal Equinox? You'll get great views of Saturn and Mars which are high in evening skies as well as the Moon in your telescope. Jupiter is in morning skies, low in the southeast before dawn, but it's getting better placed and will be the star attraction at Star-B-Q on August 30th. Call us if you need any advice on choosing or using a telescope for viewing these planets. Note: we are open Easter Saturday but closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday. The International Space Station is visible on March 29th - April 9th when it will pass in front of Mars and Saturn as seen from Ireland - we hope to have a new webpage for this next week. To get a daily reminder of when to see I.S.S. sent to your mobile phone text SPACE to 57003 (1euro each). Happy viewing! Don't forget to send your report/photos of any sightings to observe(a)astronomy.ie Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat Delivery Nationwide To subscribe/unsubscribe click here

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[Astronomy Ireland] Hubble Lecture, Arthur C Clarke, Easter Shop Hours
by AI Secretary 19 Mar '08

19 Mar '08

1. Hubble Public Lecture Astronomy Ireland is delighted to announce that our March 31st Public Lecture about the Hubble Space Telescope (with our speaker from Germany) is to be run in association with The Irish Times who will run an article in their Thursday March 20th issue. The last lecture that we ran with The Irish Times attracted 400 people so if you haven't already booked your seats, please do so now. Details HERE DVD: For all those of you who can't get to Dublin, you should order the DVD of this special lecture now, details are HERE 2. Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008): It is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Sir Arthur C. Clarke on March 18th at his home in Sri Lanka. He was a major figure in history, a scientist, writer and futurist who inspired a generation to advance our knowledge of science and technology. A master of science fiction, he will probably be most remembered for 2001, A Space Odyssey. A story which was made into a movie by Stanley Kubrick. He received a first class degree in maths and physics from Kings College, London after the second World War and he wrote many non fiction books on scientific subjects as well as the large collection of science fiction for which he is famous. He was also a futurist, predicting many scientific changes in our technological civilisation. He proposed communications satellites in geo-stationary orbits in 1945 (Astronomy Ireland has a copy of this article in its library) and the IAU recognised this by naming this the Clarke orbit. He built his first telescope when he was thirteen and was an active stargazer throughout his life. His legacy will not only be his collected works, but the generations of young people that he inspired to pursue careers in science and engineering. Hailed as one of the chief prophets of space exploration he commented on the Apollo Moon missions for CBS. He foresaw computer miniaturisation and our computer driven society. He was knighted for his services to literature in 1998 and he received innumerable international awards. He is famous for his "Three Laws". In 1956 he moved to Sri Lanka to pursue his passion for diving but lost his diving school in the 2004 Tsunami. He was even consulted by Gene Roddenberry about creating Star Trek. RTE Radio's "Morning Ireland" interviewed our Chairman David Moore who met Fred Clarke, Arthur's brother at Patrick Moore's Sky at Night 50th birthday celebrations last year, listen HERE For more information on Arthur C. Clarke see HERE Next week's A.I. Radio Show will do a special piece about Clarke. AIRS details HERE. If you would like to contribute a fact or point about Clarke, please email radio(a)astronomy.ie A full report will also appear in our magazine Astronomy & Space. Subscribe HERE 3. Shop opening hours for Easter: Our Telescope Shop will be open on Good Friday from 9:30am to 5:30pm and on Easter Saturday from 10am to 6pm. The Shop will be closed on Easter Sunday and Easter Monday but will re-open Tuesday March 25th 9:30am to 5:30pm as normal. If visiting Dublin why not drop in and see the huge range of equipment on display. Map and public transport details HERE Astronomy Ireland www.astronomy.ie Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine One of Europe's Biggest Telescope Shops Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat

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[Astronomy Ireland] Moon Watches and Hubble
by Astro Irl Director 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

1. Nationwide Annual Moon Watches Tonight, Wednesday 12 March at 8pm we'll be running our annual Moon Watches in Clare, Tipperary, Louth, Carlow and Dublin. Further details regarding exact locations are available on www.astronomy.ie . Let me know if you would like to run a Moon Watch in your area with your telescope or if you can help out at any of the planned locations. The Moon is an incredible sight in a powerful telescope so please tell all your family and friends, especially with the Pleiades star cluster nearby this year. 2. Public Lecture & DVD March 31 (Please note change of date and venue) Astronomy Ireland, in association with The Irish Times, will present on Monday March 31 at 8pm in the Hamilton Building Trinity College, Lars Lindberg Christiansen, Head of Communications ESA/Hubble. Lars will present a talk entitled "Adventures with the Hubble Space Telescope" See www.astronomy.ie/Events2008.html for tickets or DVD of this talk. Astronomy Ireland www.astronomy.ie Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine One of Europe's Biggest Telescope Shops Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat

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[Astronomy Ireland] Patrick Moore, Moon Watches,Hubble and AIRS
by Astro Irl Director 05 Mar '08

05 Mar '08

1. Public Lecture March 10: Shooting the Planets and Eclipse with Patrick Moore Astronomy Ireland's Carl O'Beirnes and Dave Grennan will report on their recent visit to Sir Patrick Moore to film an episode of The Sky at Night. A short clip of the programme featuring Carl and Dave can be seen here: www.astronomy.ie/video So if you want to: 1. See pretty pictures of the planets 2. See how pretty pictures of the planets are made 3. Hear a report about the eclipse 4. Hear about the AI trip to Patrick Moore's home 5. Know how the BBC's SKY AT NIGHT is made 6. Meet other members of the Dublin Branch of AI then you should definitely come along to the lecture or order a copy of the DVD Carl and Dave will show us examples of their excellent photographic images of the eclipse, planets, galaxies and nebulae and how these images can be obtained using relatively modest equipment. Admission: 5 Euro (3euro to members and concessions) For those who cannot make it to the venue on the night a DVD will be produced for 5euro (order now on website below) Tickets are available at the door, on www.astronomy.ie or call Astronomy Ireland on (01) 847 0777 2. Nationwide Annual Moon Watches On Wednesday 12 March we'll be running our annual Moon Watches in Clare, Tipperary, Louth, Carlow, Dublin and Cork. Further details regarding exact locations are available on www.astronomy.ie . Let me know if you would like to run a Moon Watch in your area with your telescope or if you can help out at any of the planned locations. The Moon is an incredible sight in a powerful telescope so please tell all your family and friends, especially with the Pleiades star cluster nearby this year. 3. Public Lecture & DVD March 30 On Sunday March 30 at 8pm in the Physics Building Trinity College, Lars Lindberg Christiansen, Head of Communications ESA/Hubble, will present a talk entitled "Adventures with the Hubble Space Telescope" See www.astronomy.ie/Events2008.html for tickets or DVD of this talk. 4. Astronomy Ireland Radio Show (AIRS) Keep up to date with the latest news and discoveries from around the Universe with AIRS, broadcast live every Tuesday evening at 8pm on 103.2 Dublin City FM or Worldwide via the internet. Previous shows are archived here: www.astronomy.ie/AIRS 5. Robert Hill: NI Space Office, Armagh Planetarium, IAA Astronomy Ireland has learned of the passing of Ronald Hill, father to Robert. We would like to convey our deepest sympathies to Robert and his family at this sad time. Astronomy Ireland www.astronomy.ie Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine One of Europe's Biggest Telescope Shops Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat

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