TV3 will be interviewing Dr Brian Cox on "Ireland AM" on Tuesday morning. Tune in around 7:45am or record the whole show in case the schedule changes (7am to 10am). Dr Cox will give our April Public Lecture tonight Monday April 14 at 8pm in Trinity College Dublin. A huge number of tickets have been booked and we will record the lecture on DVD for all those of you outside Dublin so please place your order now at www.astronomy.ie/lecture200804.html
After viewing his lecture you
will understand
why they issue the
Nobel prizes for work like this,
why this story will hit
the news in the summer when they turn on LHC
why it is necessary
to spend billions on physics
It should be a very special night, after all we've never had a talk by a:
-Pop-star!
-Probable Nobel
Prize Winner
-BBC Horizon presenter!
See you there (or on the DVD!) and watch TV3 in the morning.
2. Nationwide Saturn Watches
Tomorrow night (Tuesday April 15) everyone in Ireland will get a chance to see the rings of Saturn through some of the most powerful telescopes in the country.
The date has been chosen because Saturn will be spectacularly close to the Moon.
Saturn will be the bright 'star' just above the Moon that night - see the diagram on page 22 of our April magazine. This will be plainly visible to the naked eye from every part of the country so please email observe@astronomy.ie and tell us if you see it.
This is also the best time of year to see Saturn as it is very high up around 9pm meaning it will be very well seen in the telescopes at this convenient and sociable evening hour. All Watches around the country are at 9pm and we will be there regardless of weather so at least come along for a chat.
Check www.astronomy.ie to see where the nearest venue to you is. So far Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal and Phoenix Park Dublin are confirmed venues.
There will be several other Watches this year and we can get venues (shopping centres and the like) in almost every town in Ireland, so, if you have a telescope and would like to bring it out for this or our next Watch please email director@astronomy.ie and we will do all the work leaving you just to show up on the night and enthral people in your area interested in space - it's great fun, we wouldn't do it if it were not.
3. Kerry Lecture
On Thursday 17th April at 8pm in the Manor West Hotel Tralee, the Kerry Astronomy Club are having a talk by well known Space journalist Leo Enright. Leo will be talking about the exploration of Mars and the comparisons with the exploration of Earth's south pole by Kerry explorer Tom Crean. Admission is free and everyone is welcome so do go along. Many members of Astronomy Ireland are members of the Kerry Astronomy Club also and we should all support each other as much as possible if we are to truly promote interest in astronomy nationwide.
4. Grand Opening - Prices Slashed
Last Saturday lots of you visited and called our new-look Astronomy Shop. Prices on all telescopes have been slashed.
So successful was the event that it is to be repeated on May 10th to give those of you who missed it a chance to visit.
Also, the new low prices are to stay in effect until then, so you can call and have your telescope delivered anywhere in Ireland.
A photo report of the Grand Opening will appear on our website later today: www.astronomy.ie
And you can order at the new prices ONLINE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at: www.astronomy.ie/shop
With Saturn at its best, Jupiter moving into evening skies during the summer and thousands of star clusters, galaxies and the rest of the universe to view there has never been a better time to own a telescope.