1. Special Public Lecture in Donegal - Hanny's Voorwerp The first of our Special Lecture Series took place last night (June 15) in Trinity College Dublin. Hanny van Arkel, a world-famous amateur astronomer from the Netherlands, delivered a fascinating talk about the new and unclassified object that she found using the website Galaxy Zoo. Hanny, a school teacher, discovered the object which is a million, million, million miles across, catapulting her to international fame and leaving scientists and astronomers alike puzzled as to the nature of the 'Voorwerp, as it is now known. Hanny was interviewed by RTE Radio 1 - 'Drivetime', Today FM - 'The Last Word' with Matt Cooper, and 4FM the new multi-city radio station. You can listen to these interviews in our media archive HERE. Hanny also featured on the front page of the Metro newspaper, as well being the subject of their '60 Second' interview. To read our magazine article about Hanny's amazing discovery, click HERE. Hanny will give this exciting talk in Donegal (LYIT) on Wednesday, June 17 at 8 p.m. For more information and to book tickets click HERE. A report of Hanny's first lecture in Dublin will feature shortly on our website. 2. Scholarships to International Space University Announced On Wednesday, June 17 at 5pm in the Science Gallery (Trinity College Dublin), Leo Enright will announce the official winners of the Gogarty Scholarship to the International Space University. Featured at the event will be high-definition pictures from the launch of Endeavour (see below), and a mind-blowing video from the solid rocket boosters. All are welcome to attend. ENDEAVOUR LAUNCH The NASA space shuttle Endeavour, due to launch last Saturday, June 13, is now set to launch on Wednesday, June 17 at 10:40 a.m. BST. The original launch was postponed due to concerns regarding a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank, however the problem has now been rectified by technicians. The launch is scheduled to proceed as planned from Kennedy Space Centre, with favourable weather expected. The pre-launch preparations, and the launch itself, can be watched live on NASA TV at www.nasa.gov/ntv. 3. What to see in Irish Skies There are several special events in Irish skies for the next few days: a.. Saturn remains an excellent evening object with amazing views of its rings and moons. It is located in the South-West, just below the constellation Leo. b.. Jupiter and Neptune are in conjunction and appear on the South-Eastern horizon around 1 a.m., and will rise as morning progresses. Jupiter is very bright and easy to spot with the naked eye. Neptune is located over half a degree to the upper right of Jupiter and can be spotted with larger binoculars or a telescope. c.. The Moon is in its Last Quarter phase, and will rise just after midnight in the East. Uranus is located 15 degrees to the right of the Moon tonight and should be observable with a telescope. d.. Mars and Venus (also in conjunction) will rise in the East just before sunrise. See magazine Sky Diary for exact times to watch! e.. The Summer Solstice occurs on June 21 at 6:45 BST. For diagrams and lots more details all month long, see Sky Diary pages of our magazine (only 5euro inc. p&p). IMPORTANT: Email what you see to observe@astronomy.ie for our monthly magazine report. 4. For Sale StarHopper Range 6/8/10/12 clearance sale. Prices starting at 366 euro! Save hundreds of euro! Only while stocks last! Deposits accepted. Capable of amazing views of deep sky objects. Call Paul or Shane on (01) 847 0777. 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 )