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 c
lick 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Mars and Venus (also in
conjunction) will rise in the East just before sunrise. See magazine Sky
Diary for exact times to watch!
- 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).
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.
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Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine
Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat
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