1. MARS Rock in
Dublin!
Only 34 Mars meteorites are known on Earth and one
of them will be the star attraction at our August Public Lecture this Monday
August 10. Not only that, but Moon rock brought back to Earth by Apollo
astronauts and presented to Ireland will be at the event for guests to see and
feel. Astronomy Ireland Chairman David Moore played a visit to the
Mars Meteorite and Moon rock, and his picture, featured in Friday's Edition of
the Dublin City newspaper The Metro, can he seen HERE.
Dr. Matthew Parkes, of the National Museum of
Ireland, will give a special public lecture about meteorites,
explaining how these space rocks give us the opportunity to
investigate the origins of the Solar System, as well as the consequences to
Earth should a very large object strike our home planet.
The lecture will take place
in Trinity College Dublin (Fitzgerald Building) and is available on
DVD for everyone in Ireland.
2. Last Chance for Star-B-Q
Offer
Remember, our Star-B-Q offer (10euro discount on all
adult tickets booked) ends at midnight tonight, Friday, August 7. If you
haven't booked your ticket yet to the country's biggest and best telescope
night, make sure you do so before midnight! The Star-B-Q is for the general public: we supply the
telescopes, all you have to do is look through them! So please tell all your
friends as this is our biggest annual fundraiser.
3. Full Spectrum
Competition
The University of Ulster along with the Armagh
Planetarium are running a competition to celebrate the achievements of Jocelyn
Bell Burnell, one of the most distinguished female scientists of our time. The
competition is open to all people aged 14 - 10 in the island of Ireland, and
encourages entrants to design a mural that celebrates the contribution that
Jocelyn Bell Burnell has made to astronomy. The winning entry will be
reproduced and permanently displayed at the Armagh Planetarium. For more details
on this competition click HERE.
4. Penumbral Lunar
Eclipse
The penumbral lunar eclipse predicted for the early
hours of last Thursday morning, August 6, was difficult to detect with the naked
eye, however Tony McDermott from Kildare successfully photographed the eclipse,
and you can see his image HERE.
5. What to See
With darker and longer nights coming in it's
possible to see lots more in the sky.
- The Moon was recently eclipsed
and is a spectacular sight in the sky. Binoculars will show great detail of
craters and valleys on its surface.
- Nearby, the planet Jupiter blazes
brightly, and binoculars or a small telescope will show its larger moons.
Observe Jupiter over a number of hours and notice how the positions of
the moons change.
- The constellation Lyra is high up
in the sky all night, and contains the famous Ring Nebula.
This can be spotted using a medium-sized telescope.
- The Perseid meteor shower will
start over the weekend and pick up til it reaches its peak on Tuesday
night/Wednesday morning.
For
diagrams and lots more details all month long, see Sky Diary pages of our
magazine (only 5euro inc.
p&p).
6. Events
August 7 - 7:00pm
- Cosmos vs Canvas: Tensions Between Art and Science in Astronomy
Images - by Jayanne English. Taking place in the Science
Gallery.
August 22 - Star-B-Q - Roundwood, Co.
Wicklow
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