1. New TEXT service for rare ISS & Shuttle Chase!: To get the time to see I.S.S. simply: text SPACE to 57003 Each text costs 1euro (including VAT) and only 1 will be sent each day, 1 hour before I.S.S. flies over. Thanks to all of you who replied to our survey about setting this service up. 1 euro, and only 1 text per day, in the evening, was the 'average' suggestion, so we have pitched the service in this way as a trial. Hopefully you will find it useful? See the announcement at www.astronomy.ie where you will see you can send comments on what you think of this service to space@astronomy.ie The I.S.S. (International Space Station, see www.astronomy.ie/iss.html) is already visible and was seen passing over Ireland last night (Aug. 4) right on time. The Space Shuttle Endeavour's launch has been delayed 24 hours to give technicians extra time for launch preparations and will now take place on Wednesday night 11:36pm our time. You can watch the launch live from Florida online at www.nasa.gov/ntv and 18 minutes later Endeavour will fly over Ireland! For 2 nights after that we will see Endeavour 'chase' I.S.S. across our skies, an extremely rare sight! Once docked they will make the biggest man made object ever assembled in space and we can see them every night until August 19. So sign up for our TEXT service and we'll keep you informed. To get the time to see ISS & Shuttle: text SPACE to 57003 We are going to promote this rare 'space chase' heavily with the media and we have already done one national radio interview. We get a small percentage of each 1euro text and that will help us promote interest in astronomy in Ireland, so please tell everyone you know about this service and let's get the whole country out to watch space history in the making, as the shuttle helps build mankind's first major outpost in space! No mobile? You can still call our premium rate Newsline (call 1550-111-442 calls cost 95c/min) to get the time to watch each evening, and everything else to see in Irish skies that week as usual of course. For more on ISS see the monthly ISS column in our magazine and visit www.astronomy.ie/iss.html 2. Television: Sir Patrick Moore's record breaking SKY AT NIGHT TV show airs tonight (technically Monday morning Aug. 6 at 1:10am-1:30am on BBC 1). It's about Robonet, a robotic network of telescopes enabling round-the-clock scrutiny. If you miss it there will be a repeat on BBC 2 on Saturday Aug. 11 at 12pm (noon). Usually there is another repeat on BBC Four but we cannot find a listing of this (reply to this email if you know more...). A new BBC TV series "The Cosmos" starts on BBC 2 starts on Tuesday Aug. 7 (7:30pm-8pm). The first episode is about Life. 3. Printing Leaflets: We had practically no response to this request for help in our last email. Does anyone reading this work in the print business? 4. What to see: The two highlights of the coming week are the Moon passing through the Pleiades star cluster on Monday night, which should be stunning, and the annual Perseid meteor shower peaking on Sunday night August 12 in a moon-free sky. Perseids: See David Grennan's write up of the Perseids on page 27 of our August magazine (still available by post on www.astronomy.ie/sub). On maximum night you should see a dozen more meteors than normal. Not to be missed! Read up in the magazine and be ready. Moon, Pleiades & Mars: On Monday night (Aug. 6) the crescent Moon rises around 11:30pm and just to its left will be the lovely Seven Sisters star cluster (The Pleiades). The cluster should be visible to the naked eye but the view in binoculars will be stunning. As the night progresses the Moon moves closer to the Pleiades and by 1am it is starting to occult the brighter stars - they will disappear at the bright edge (left edge as seen in binoculars) of the Moon and reappear from behind the dark edge (right-hand side of the Moon). Mars will be just 5 degrees below the cluster too! For lots more information, diagrams and times of the occultations see pages 22 to 23 of our August magazine. Jupiter: Lots to see this week involving its moons for owners of even the smallest telescopes - don't miss all the events listed on page 26 of our August magazine. Please email all reports (and any photos) to observe@astronomy.ie Call (01) 847 0777 for telescope advice and sales, open 6 days a week. 5. Nationwide Lectures???: Bookings are going very slow for our talks around the country - is there no interest in events outside Dublin? Or is everyone away on holidays!? European Space Agency author Stuart Clark will be giving lectures for the society in Cork, Galway and Dublin in a few days time so book your tickets for "The Day the Sun Attacked the Earth" at www.astronomy.ie/stuartclarklectures.html today! He'll be signing copies of his new book "The Sun Kings" at the event. If you cannot get along you can order the DVD of his lecture right now at www.astronomy.ie/lectureDVD.html Survey (0 entries so far): If you live near Cork or Galway will you be going to the lecture? If no, why not? Email answer to director@astronomy.ie Thank you. Astronomy Ireland www.astronomy.ie Telescope Advice Monday to Saturday: Tel (01) 847 0777 Star-B-Q (Sept. 8) - Ireland's biggest telescope event. Everyone in Ireland welcome. Bring friends. Book now: www.astronomy.ie/sbq