1. Public Lecture: Meteorites: Myth, Mystery, and
Marvel
Meteorites are meteors that originate in outer space and eventually
fall to earth. They have always been the subject of fascination right throughout
history. Some become very visible in the form of fireballs before they hit
Earth, as was the case with the recent Chelabinsk meteorite in Russia, which
injured many people and damaged buildings. It is a widely held theory that a
large meteorite wiped out the dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period.
It
has recently been discovered that some relics from Ancient Egypt were
made from iron that came from meteorites. Until now, archaeologists couldn't
explain why iron was found in artefacts that dated thousands of years before
iron smelting took place in Egypt. Iron from meteorites was likely to be
considered a gift from the gods, and the metal was associated with royalty and
power.
Astronomy Ireland's June Public Lecture will seek to
examine the myths and legends, and the fact and fiction, behind these invaders
from outer space.
Meteorites: Myth, Mystery, and Marvel will be delivered by Dr
Caroline Smith, Curator of Meteorites at the Natural History Museum in London.
The lecture will take place in Trinity College Dublin on June 10th at 8pm.
For tickets and DVDs, please click
HERE or call Astronomy
Ireland on (01) 890 11 11.
2. International Space Station Over
Ireland
The biggest and most expensive spacecraft ever
put in orbit, the International Space Station (ISS), will be visible
in our evening skies from tonight, and will continue to be visible
until June 16th. The launch of a resupply ATV later this week means we may even
get to see a space chase!
Each afternoon Astronomy
Ireland will publish the times the ISS will be visible at www.astronomy.ie/iss and you can also
receive daily reminders of this time by texting the word SPACE to 57003
(subscription service; one message will be sent each day the ISS is visible
and it costs €1 per message received).
3. Northern Lights Voyage in
Norway
Astronomy
Ireland is delighted to announce that we are running our third trip to Norway
this December in conjunction with Project Travel. a special trip to the Artic to
give you a unique and memorable experience in astronomy. We'll be spending all
five nights above the Arctic Circle in Norway, thereby maximising our chances of
seeing the mysterious Northern Lights.
This trip also includes a three-day cruise along the beautiful Norwegian
coast. Life on board the MS Nordlys is very relaxed and informal and
you'll have plenty of time to take in the wonderful views from the ship's
Panoramic Lounge.
We'll have our own special guest lecturer travelling with us who will give
us a private lecture on an astronomy-related theme every day on board and who
will guide us around the night sky from the deck.
The trip takes place from December 1st to 6th, and is only €1879 per person
sharing. For full details on booking and the itinerary, please visit
www.astronomy.ie/norway or contact
Project Travel at (01) 210 8391.
4. BBC's The Sky at
Night
Lives of the Stars: Lucie Green and Chris Lintott discuss stars
and what happens to them when they die.
TSAN JUNE 2013
Sun June 02 at 11:40pm BBC 1 Northern
Ireland
Sun June 02 at 11:40pm BBC One HD
Thu June 06 at 07:30pm BBC
FOUR
Fri June 07 at 01:30am BBC FOUR
Sat June 08 at 08:40am BBC 2 Northern
Ireland
Sat June 08 at 08:40am BBC Two HD
Note that the BBC1 and BBC2 programmes are shorter versions (20
minutes).
Try to watch BBC FOUR transmissions (30 minutes)
All of the Sky At Night team have now given public lectures to Astronomy
Ireland, all of which you can get on DVD by post at
www.astronomy.ie/dvd