So much to see this week!
The International Space Station blazes across the sky all
this week (until March 22 inclusive) but it also passes very near the Moon and
Saturn too. Tonight (Thursday) at 8:29pm ISS will pass IN FRONT OF the Moon as
seen along a line from Co. Clare to Co. Wexford (and in front of Saturn along a
line from Galway city to Co. Kildare). I have been announcing such passes on our
Newsline every day since last week when ISS first became visible but I wanted to
make sure you all knew to call each day after 12noon for the time and details of
any Moon and Saturn close approaches! Call 1550-111-442 and even at 95cent/min
the details should be in the first 60 seconds so it'll cost less than a euro to
find our if you're in the firing line or not. Please pass the number on to
everyone you know and let's get the whole country out watching the skies this
week:
1550-111-442 (in N.Ireland/Britain call
0891-88-1950)
Mercury has spotted by many of you using the guide on
pages 26-27 of our March magazine, especially when it made that very rare
pairing with the Moon last Friday. There's still a few days left so look low in
the West and consult the magazine for a full guide and you too can join the
elite club of less than 1% of Earth's population who have ever seen the
innermost planet! Sightings to observe@astronomy.ie please.
Did anyone see the Pleiades near the Moon last night?
There were a few breaks but I missed them as we had a team in posting out the
April issue of your magazine and I didn't look out often enough! The diagram on
page 26 of the March issue shows how spectacular it was. Again, any photos to gallery@astronomy.ie please and reports
to observe@astronomy.ie . We get
another chance in April - see the April issue dropping through your letterbox
this week!
Comet Machholz is 6th magnitude making it one of the
brightest 'deep sky objects' in the sky right now. Don't neglect it, especially
as it is incredibly easy to locate and photograph (no telescope or drive motor
needed) because it is just one binocular field of view to the upper right of
Polaris, the North Star! This means it barely moves from hour to hour so even
cameras with telephoto lenses can take long exposures, 5 to 10 times longer than
normal, without star trailing (for a 50mm lens trailing shows at 20-second
exposures so you could go 3 minutes on the comet for the next week or so). Send
photos & sightings to gallery and observe email addresses.
The latest edition of the Astronomy Ireland Radio Show has
been on line since 9pm Tuesday (as is now the norm). Download the 30-minute MP3
show now (60-seconds by 512kbps broadband, 10 mins by dial up) for the latest
news and what to see including all of the above and more.
At Monday's Lecture in D.C.U. Thomas Monks from Dublin was
welcomed as the 9,000th member of Astronomy Ireland. He received a superb
weekend break in the luxurious Meadowlands Hotel in Tralee http://www.meadowlands-hotel.com/
. Previous "thousandth" winners have come from Counties Offaly, Mayo,
Wexford, Meath and Cork but only one of the previous 8 came from Dublin, which
represents our geographical split quite well (65% of members live OUTSIDE
Dublin).
Don't forget that after the I.S.S. prediction our Newsline
(1550-111-442) carries the usual 3-minute update of things to see this week
(including St. Patrick's day occultation and Saturn near the Moon). Do call once
a week - new message every Monday and new ISS prediction every day by 12noon,
including where to see it pass in front of the Moon and Saturn.
Visit us in one of Europe's BIGGEST ASTRONOMY SHOPS in:
Butterly
Business Park, Kilmore Road, Artane, Dublin 5. Tel: 01-8470777
Open SATURDAY 12noon to 6pm