The International Space Station is visible every night this week (and next week until Sept. 2) as an extremely bright 'star' crossing the sky high in the South. On board are 3 astronauts.

On Sunday August 27 at 9:30pm our time the space shuttle Atlantis will be launched from Florida. Roughly 15 to 20 minutes later it should cross Irish skies! It will look like I.S.S. i.e. a bright 'star' but trailing behind it should be another 'star' which is its giant external fuel tank which is jettisoned 8 minutes after launch. In the 25 year history of shuttle launches we are only aware of one time that the fuel tank has been seen from Ireland after a launch, so Sunday represents a very rare opportunity so we want all of you to let us know what you see.

Also very rare is the chance on the 2 nights after launch of watching the shuttle chase I.S.S. across the sky! This should be Monday and Tuesday nights (Aug. 28 and 29). Shuttle launches can often be delayed so we are going to update our Newsline on the days in question with the very latest information and predictions. Once docked the complex will be even brighter for the rest of the week. Atlantis' crew of 6 are bringing huge solar panels to I.S.S. so next time round (Oct. 23 - Nov. 5) I.S.S. will be even brighter.

To see I.S.S. call our Newsline on 1550-111-442 (calls cost 95cent/min) for a brief message and prediction (updated by 12 noon each day).

(In the past some people have asked: Why a premium rate number? Well, it can handle hundreds of callers simultaneously. Not everyone has access to the internet. It's a relatively short call (less one minute). A small fraction of the call charge goes to us and this is one (small) source of revenue used to help fund our organisation. Our predictions are based on our own calculations and refined by actual observations we make, also we give background and local information as well as just the time to watch.)

So please pass this number on to friends as it is going to be an amazing and very rare sight on Sunday, but start watching I.S.S. from tonight.

I.S.S. will pass over our Star-B-Q on Saturday night, at least twice. It did this in April and the brightness of I.S.S. in a very dark sky like the Roundwood Star-B-Q site is amazing. I.S.S. got a round of applause that night!

If you spot the shuttle, I.S.S. and especially the shuttle launch and "space chase" please email details and your location to observe@astronomy.ie for the report we'll publish in our magazine's "Observers Log"

Early risers may have seen Venus blazing in the pre-dawn sky these past weeks. To its lower left this week is the much dimmer, and more distant planet Saturn. They are closing in day by day and on Sunday morning (some of us expect to stay at Star-B-Q until dawn to watch this!) Venus will be just 13 arc minutes from Saturn - that's less than half a Moon diameter. It is extremely rare to see two naked eye planets this close so do set your alarm.

Best time to watch should be around 5:30am when Venus is still low in the East with Saturn to its upper right. But view half an hour either side of this time. It won't be easy unless you have a clear horizon, but it will be well worth it. Photos and reports should be sent to observe@astronomy.ie please.

We want to get as many people to Star-B-Q on Saturday as possible. We've done a lot of work already and people are travelling from all over Ireland as usual to be there(some have even flown in from abroad in the past - and the darkness of the sky in Roundwood, Ireland's highest village, is worth it).

The venue can cater for up to 1,000 people and several hundred have booked already. But we are looking for ideas and help in how to make the general public aware of the event? We've sent notices to newspapers(watch Irish Times on Friday), radio and TV but we could use your help with other places to announce the event? e.g. other mailing lists you might know of, or control? Or any other ideas? We'd be very grateful for your help on how we can get even more people to the event and spread the news?