1. Leonid Meteor Shower This Weekend

This weekend sees the Leonid Meteor Shower, which is due to peak between on Saturday night (November 17th), but meteors will be visible in the sky for several nights around this date, and we recommend viewing over the full weekend.

Meteor watching is a fun activity that does not need any special equipment. Not only that, but as meteors appear all over the sky, you don't have to worry about looking in the 'wrong place'!

Astronomy Ireland is holding a Nationwide Leonid Watch, where we want everyone to go outside over the coming two weeks, count the number of meteors seen in 15-minute blocks, and let us know the counts by emailing meteor@astronomy.ie.

Visit www.astronomy.ie to get more details and a map of the sky to help you with your observations.

Listen to David Moore on radio speaking about the recent Orionid Meteor Shower at www.astronomy.ie/audio

2. Weekly Telescope Nights

Astronomy Ireland's weekly free telescope nights have begun again, and take place each Friday night at 8pm at the Astronomy Ireland Shop in Airside Enterprise Centre, Swords, Co Dublin.

Members of the public are invited to come along, regardless of age or previous experience, making the telescope nights a fantastic evening out for all the family!

For details and a map to the Astronomy Ireland Shop, visit www.astronomy.ie/scopenight/

Note that these telescope nights are weather-dependent so be sure to check this webpage each Friday afternoon for a weather update and to find out whether the telescope night will go ahead that evening.

3. Man on the Moon Art Exhibition to be Opened by David Moore

Astronomy Ireland member, Frank O'Dea teams up with fellow Dublin artist, Pervaneh Matthews at Balla Bán Art Gallery, Westbury Mall, Dublin in November for an exhibition entitled Man on the Moon and will take place in conjunction with Science Week 2012 whose theme this year is everyday experimenting.

Perhaps the greatest experiment known to mankind was to put a man on the Moon and only twelve men have ever walked on the surface on the Moon. With the death of Neil Armstrong this year, only eight are still alive. One day in the near future there will be none: no one on Earth who has set foot on the moon. Artist, Pervaneh Matthews has encaptured the twelve men in her sepia watercolours on line board and these are complimented by a selection of lunar landscape oil paintings by Frank which also feature tiny pieces of actual lunar meteorite embedded into the artwork. So, not only can you have a beautiful lunar landscape hanging on your wall but also a piece of the Moon itself!

Come along for the official opening wine & cheese reception on Thursday, November 15th (5:30pm to 7pm) at the Gallery and Court Yard to be opened by Chairman of Astronomy Ireland, David Moore. Exhibition continues until the end of November.

Venue: Balla Bán Art Gallery, Westbury Mall, Dublin 2, Ireland
Dates: November 10th to 30th
Official Opening: Thursday 15th November 5:30pm to 7:00pm

For more information please visit the Balla Bán Art Gallery website at www.ballaban.net

4. RDS Public Lecture: The James Webb Space Telescope

On November 28th the RDS Speaker Series will host a talk about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). This telescope is the successor to the Hubble telescope; it will have almost 7 times the collecting area of Hubble and will be able to look farther away, and so farther back in time.

The talk will be given by Sandra Delamer who is Irish and was engaged in development of the Fine Guidance System (FGS) for JWST, which was delivered to NASA in July. Integration of the science instruments is currently underway at NASA Goddard, and the telescope will be launched in 2018. Come to find out why Webb will “see” infrared, not visible light, and why helium was used for cooling during testing of the FGS.

The talk takes place at 6.00pm in the RDS Concert hall. Admission free and open to the public. Booking through RDS website HERE or by calling (01) 240 7254