1. Second Leonid Meteor Shower
Tonight
Late tonight and before dawn tomorrow, Tuesday,
observers can expect to see a second peak of the Leonid meteor shower which
occurred over the weekend.
Overnight, Earth will pass through a filament of
debris left by Comet Tempel-Tuttle 600 years ago!
Meteor watching is a fun activity that does not
need any special equipment. Not only that, but as meteors appear all over the
sky, you don't have to worry about looking in the 'wrong place'!
Astronomy Ireland is holding an extra Nationwide
Leonid Watch, where we want everyone to go outside on Monday night and Tuesday
morning, count the number of meteors seen in 15-minute blocks, and let us know
the counts by emailing meteor@astronomy.ie.
Visit www.astronomy.ie to get more details and a
map of the sky to help you with your observations.
2. Astro-Expo
This Weekend
Astro-Expo 2012 takes place this Saturday in
Trinity College Dublin and will feature a host of telescope and equipment
demonstrations and displays.
David Moore will deliver his excellent lecture
The Universe on the day, with other top speakers currently being lined
up for the day.
The event takes place in the SNIAM Building (beside
the Fitzgerald Building) from 12pm to 6pm on Saturday, November 24th. The
exhibitions and demonstrations are free, and the lectures are €10 each, with a
20% discount for members.
For booking details, please click HERE.
3. Public Lectures This
Week
The DIAS School of Theoretical Physics Statutory lecture
takes place tonight in the Arts Block in UCD at 6pm. It is entitled
Cosmic
perspectives: from planets to the multiverse, and will be delivered by
Professor Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal. Admission is free; for more details
please see
www.dias.ie.
The Robinson Lecture will be held on Thursday, November 22nd, in The Armagh
City Hotel, 2 Friary Road, Armagh. It will be delivered by Professor David
Southwood of Imperial College London and is entitled
To Mars, Titan and the
Universe Beyond! Europe's Arrival on the Space Frontier. Admission is free
but tickets must be prebooked: call +0028-3752-2928 or email
ambn@arm.ac.uk.