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

[Astronomy Ireland] Eclipse Watches, Summer Lecture, Star-B-Q Offer, IYA Booklet, ISS
by AI Secretary 30 Jul '08

30 Jul '08

1. Solar and Lunar Eclipses As all those of you who get our magazine every month will already know, August is Eclipse month. A solar eclipse will occur on the morning of Friday August 1. We have a number of Eclipse Watches throughout the country (Carlow, Clare, Dublin, Donegal, Wexford, see our website). Although the path of totality passes through parts of Canada, the Arctic, Russia and Mongolia, about one quarter of the Sun's disk will be covered by the New Moon as seen from Ireland. Fifteen days later at Full Moon, the Moon will rise in the evening already partially eclipsed as it passes through the shadow cast by planet Earth. Mid eclipse, when the Moon will be almost totally eclipsed, occurs just after 10pm. Again, Astronomy Ireland is planning to organise a number of Public Eclipse Watches throughout the country. Keep checking www.astronomy.ie for details of locations as they become available. If you would like to hold a Watch in your area please write to sec(a)astronomy.ie and we will organise everything for you. We will publish a major report on this eclipse in our magazine so we want everyone who sees it to email observe(a)astronomy.ie but remember to heed the safety warnings in the magazine and on the website when viewing the solar eclipse. 2. August Lecture (and DVD) "The Key to Understanding the Universe" Our August Summer Public Lecture will now be held in association with The Irish Times and Discover Science & Engineering, so it is sure to attract a lot of attention, especially as it is being delivered by none other than the President of the Royal Astronomical Society, Prof. Michael Rowan Robinson, and it is going to explain how we know how big and how old the universe it. RAS members spend over a billion euro a year on astronomy so their President is an important figure on the world stage. Due to the foreseen demand we have booked the large Ed Burke Theatre in TCD to cope with the demand for tickets. Prof. Robinson's talk is aimed at the general public and it is a great honour to host such a prestigious speaker for our August Public Lecture. To avoid disappointment it is advisable to book Prof. Robinson's talk on how we measure the distances to star's and galaxies by going to www.astronomy.ie/lecture200808.html The lecture will be held on Monday August 11th at 8pm. Note: The Irish Times will run a feature article on July 31 so you should book before then. For all of you who cannot get to Dublin you can order the DVD of this lecture now at the webpage above. Can you help? This is one of the biggest public lectures we have ever organised - can you forward this to all your friends who might like to know how the universe works? 3. "Star-B-Q" - Ireland's Biggest Annual Star Party Our main fundraising event of the year, our annual Barbeque-Under-The-Stars, or Star-B-Q will take place under the dark skies of Roundwood, Co. Wicklow on Saturday August 30th. Some of the largest telescopes in the country will be there for you to gaze through at the wonders of the Universe. The evening will also feature talks, workshops, craic, oh and food too of course. Remember, booking before July 31 entails a 25% discount. More details at www.astronomy.ie/sbq This is a great evening out for the whole family so please tell all your friends and get them all to come along. 4. International Year of Astronomy 2009 Next year has been designated The International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations. 2009 will mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo first using a telescope to study the night sky. Astronomy Ireland has been quietly working behind the scenes, in conjunction with other astronomy groups, universities and the IAU, to plan a series of events throughout the country that will endeavour to get everyone on the island of Ireland to get involved in some way or in some event. A whole series of events and projects are being proposed. The success of our plans will depend to a great extent on the volunteer effort and the funding obtained. 2009 promises to be an exciting year from an astronomical point of view at least. If you would like to help by running events in your area please email director(a)astronomy.ie and we will send you a full colour booklet on IYA 2009. 5. See International Space Station until Aug. 3 As announced in the Sky Diary pages of our magazine the International Space Station, with three astronauts on board, has been blazing across the sky since July 18th. Thousands of you have already seen it and you can still see it until August 3rd. You can get predictions from various websites, but make sure they are updated regularly as ISS's orbit was recently boosted. Or call our Newslines, 1550-111-442 in Republic (95cent/min) or 09001-88-1950 in N.Ireland/UK (60p/min). Or, to get reminders on your mobile phone text SPACE to 57003 and never miss ISS again as we will text you the exact time to watch a couple of hours before it flies over (texts cost 1euro per day). Background details to ISS are at www.astronomy.ie/iss so please tell all your friends and get them to email observe(a)astronomy.ie every time they see it for the report we're doing in our magazine. 6. Membership If you like and approve of our efforts to promote astronomy and science throughout Ireland and you are not already a full member of Astronomy Ireland, please support us by becoming a full member and subscribe to our 48 page full colour monthly magazine. Annual membership costs only 48 euro and you can join HERE You can also obtain more information about what we do HERE Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club and Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] STOP PRESS: Summer Public Lecture moves to bigger theatre tonight
by AI Secretary 14 Jul '08

14 Jul '08

STOP PRESS! Summer Public Lecture Bigger Venue [ NOTE: This is our major event of the summer and we have spared no expense in bringing these two speakers in from the U.K. so please bring all your friends to either the Dublin or Cork lectures or order the DVD if you cannot come in person. ] Due to the demand for tickets for our Summer Public Lecture in Dublin tonight we have moved to a large lecture hall in a different building. (Cork Lecture venue and details for tomorrow night remain unchanged.) Heather Couper (the female answer to Sir Patrick Moore!) and Nigel Henbest (astronomy TV producer) will now speak in: THE WALTON THEATRE ARTS BUILDING TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN Monday July 14 at 8:15pm. We will start 15 minutes later to give people who do not see this notice time to get seated. So start time is now 8:15pm (sharp). The signing of their beautifully illustrated book "THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY" will still begin at 7:30pm at the new location, and there should be time to get signed copies after the talk (approx. 9:30pm to 10pm) also. ORDER BOOK: If you can't make it you can order the book (free delivery in Ireland) at www.astronomy.ie/book If you did not hear our two speakers on the Pat Kenny Radio Show this morning try listening on RTE website here: or if this doesn't work check out our own 'media archive' later today at: www.astronomy.ie/audio So, bring all your friends and family to Dublin and Cork and we'll see you there for a very exciting evening indeed! More details at www.astronomy.ie ALL WELCOME. Admission 7euro (5euro members, students, under 18s, OAPs, unwaged) Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club and Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Summer Public Lecture/Book/DVD, Tutors Wanted, Two Eclipses, Summer Programme
by Astro Irl Director 10 Jul '08

10 Jul '08

1. Summer Public Lecture, Book Launch, & DVD (July 14 & 15) RTE TV wanted them, The Gerry Ryan Show wanted them, but The Pat Kenny Show was first and they got them. They are, of course Heather Couper (the female version of Sir Patrick Moore!) and Nigel Henbest. These are two of Britain's best astronomy communicators. For decades, you've seen all their TV documentaries on Discovery Channel, ITV, BBC etc narrated by the likes of actor John Hurt, and now they are coming to Ireland to launch their new book THE HISTORY OF ASTRONOMY with two Public Lectures, in Dublin and Cork at which they will gladly sign copies of their book. So, tune in to the Pat Kenny Show on Monday morning (July 14 or check our 'media archive' www.astronomy.ie/audio later that day) and then come and see them in person. If you can't make it to Dublin or Cork our volunteers will make a DVD which you can order below (and get their book also). This is one of the highlights of our SUMMER PROGRAMME (see item 4 below) and the authors are taking a break from their 30 part BBC Radio 4 astronomy series Cosmic Quest to come to Ireland so don't miss our Summer Public Lectures: BOOK TICKETS and get more details here: DUBLIN or CORK ORDER DVD HERE ORDER BOOK HERE (only 40euro including postage) 2. Evening Class Tutors Wanted We are looking for people to give our Evening Classes ( www.astronomy.ie/class ) in more venues all around Ireland. We have the course fully designed, we just need tutors with a good knowledge of astronomy. Email director(a)astronomy.ie especially if you live in: Kerry, Carlow, Sligo, Galway, Dundalk 3. Events for August's Two Eclipses August will be an incredible month with two eclipses (Solar Aug. 1 and Lunar Aug. 16 - details in our August magazine) and then Star-B-Q Aug. 30 - the biggest Irish astronomy event of the year. We want you to run two Eclipse Watches in your town on August 1st and 16th. We will do all the work organising your Eclipse Watches so all you need to do is show up on the day. Email director(a)astronomy.ie now please and let's raise interest in your area. 4. Summer Programme Coming Events, loads to see and do: July 09 Jupiter at its best for 2008 (loads to see with telescope[shop], see July magazine) July 10 Saturn-Mars conjunction (best for 102 years, see July magazine) July 14 Lecture/Book Launch & DVD in Dublin (speakers on Pat Kenny Radio Show) July 15 Lecture/Book Launch repeated in Cork July 18 I.S.S. blazes across evening skies for 2 weeks, see ISS page July 23 Disney WALL-E Private Screening July 31 Last chance to get 25% off Star-B-Q tickets www.astronomy.ie/sbq Aug. 01 Partial Eclipse of Sun (see August magazine) Aug. 11 President R.A.S. Lecture & DVD Aug. 12 Perseid Meteor Shower (see August magazine) Aug. 16 Partial (nearly Total!) Eclipse of Moon (see August magazine) Aug. 30 Star-B-Q Ireland's Biggest Annual Star Party www.astronomy.ie/sbq www.astronomy.ie/sub Loads more astronomical events in the Sky Diary pages of our magazine www.astronomy.ie/class Enrol now for Evening Classes nationwide Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club and Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )

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[Astronomy Ireland] Exclusive Wall-E Giveaway
by A.I Press 03 Jul '08

03 Jul '08

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