1. Christmas Lecture and
DVD
Did you
know that Europe is building the world's biggest telescope - twice as big as
anything that US astronomers plan to build?
Did you
know that the man in charge - the most important astronomer in the world - is
coming to Ireland to give Astronomy Ireland's Christmas
Lecture?
On December 14, Professor Tim de Zeeuw,
Director General of the European Southern Observatory, will talk about his
amazing telescope facilities - the envy of scientists worldwide - which are
famous globally for being the best skywatching machines on the
planet. These telescopes have discovered supermassive black holes,
Earth-like planets, and the most distant explosions in the Universe. At our
Christmas Lecture Tim de Zeeuw will talk about all these things as well as
tell the audience of his experience as keeper of the world's largest
telescopes.
This amazing lecture will take place in Trinity
College Dublin, on December 14, at 8pm. For more information click HERE.
For anyone who cannot make it to the lecture on the night there
is a DVD available to order online.
2. Christmas Gift Idea -
Membership Incl. Season Ticket
Why not give a little extra to a
friend of family member this Christmas, and include a season lecture
ticket along with a gift membership? For only €100 your loved one will not
only get Astronomy & Space delivered to their door each month, but
will get a special ticket for entry to all of our monthly lectures, or for a
copy of each Lecture DVD. Remember, as it's the International Year of
Astronomy, that means that your friend will get 15 magazines and 15 lectures or
DVDs! To buy a season ticket with membership, click HERE.
3. Full Moon This
Week
There will be a
Full Moon visible tomorrow night, December 3. There have been several reports of
Moon Halos over the last few nights, attributed to the cold weather we have been
experiencing. A Moon Halo is an optical phenomenon that appears as a wide, bright
ring around the Moon in the night sky. They are caused by refracted moonlight
from ice crystals in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The shape of the ice crystals
focuses the refracted light, thus forming it into a ring-like structure around
the moon. They are
particularly prevalent in and around Full Moons and we encourage all of you
to go outside over the next few nights and look for them. For more information
there is a good article HERE. Remember
to email your reports and pictures to observe@astronomy.ie and we will try to
include your observation in a forthcoming issue of 'Astronomy & Space'
magazine.