A message from David Moore The woman who officiated at a pivotal meeting in 2006 that resulted in Pluto's demotion as a planet is coming to Dublin to give Astronomy Ireland's Christmas Lecture. That woman is Irish. Many believe she was cheated out of what would have been the seventh Irish Nobel Prize for her discovery of pulsars! She is, of course, Professor Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, and she is going to explain what happened at the meeting and why Pluto is no longer considered a planet. In fact, we're even asking you to take part in our Facebook poll to find if you'd like to see Pluto being given back its status as a planet! You can take part in that poll HERE. The Christmas Lecture takes place on Monday, December 12th, at 8pm in the Ed Burke Theatre in Trinity College Dublin. We invite you to come along to the lecture, or if you are unable to make it to Dublin, order a DVD so you can enjoy what's going to be a fantastic lecture! After the lecture, there will be a Christmas party in the nearby Lombard Inn with some complimentary food where you can socialise with other attendees and with Professor Dame Bell Burnell. It would be great if you could come along to the Astronomy Ireland Christmas party after the lecture to say hello, even just once a year! I look forward to seeing you on Monday night! - David Moore Chairman, Astronomy Ireland Book Tickets Order DVDs Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )