1.  CEO of UK Atomic Energy Authority to Give Public Lecture
Nuclear fusion has become something of the Holy Grail in modern energy. With nuclear fusion, we will be able to end our reliance on fossil fuels, heralding a new age of cheap, clean energy. So what does this have to do with astronomy?

The Sun - like other stars - is powered by a vast nuclear engine at its core, in which hydrogen atoms are fused together to form helium. This process releases huge amounts of energy in the form of heat and light. In turn, this heat and light energises gas and material streaming from the Sun, forming giant plasma fields in space.

The core of a nuclear fusion reactor on Earth works by generating highly-energised plasmas in order to trigger a reaction. By studying these plasmas in our reactors, we can learn about how the Sun and its plasma fields work.

Professor Steve Cowley is the CEO of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, which operates the world's biggest nuclear fusion research facility in Oxfordshire. Prof Cowley will deliver Astronomy Ireland's Public Lecture in Trinity College Dublin on August 12th.

Stellar Astrophysics on Earth takes place in Trinity College Dublin on Monday, August 12th, at 8pm.

To book tickets or order DVDs, please click:

2.  The International Space Station
The biggest and most expensive spacecraft ever put in orbit, the International Space Station (ISS), is visible in our evening skies, and will continue to be visible until August 21st.

Each afternoon Astronomy Ireland will publish the times the ISS will be visible at www.astronomy.ie/iss and you can also receive daily reminders of this time by texting the word SPACE to 57003 (subscription service; one message will be sent each day the ISS is visible and it costs €1 per message received).