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 1.  "The Big Five" Free Telescope Watches

Astronomy Ireland has selected five sights we think you should see over Christmas, which we've dubbed "The Big Five"!

  • Venus, blazing low in the south for a couple of hours after sunset
  • Jupiter, very bright and high in the south all winter, an amazing sight up close in a telescope
  • Mars which rises in the East at 11pm and is making its closest approach in 2 years
  • The International Space Station, extremely bright, 6 astronauts on board and visible every evening until January 5th
  • Comet Garradd, which needs binoculars and star map to locate but is one of the biggest comets to approach Earth in decades

Astronomy Ireland is encouraging people to go out and take a close up look at objects in the sky over Christmas, and is also hosting some FREE Telescope Watches to allow you to use some of Ireland's most powerful telescopes. These Watches will take place throughout the rest of December and into the beginning of January at Astronomy Ireland's headquarters at Airside Enterprise Centre in Swords, Co Dublin.

 

For details on the dates and times of the Big Five Watches, please click HERE.

 

No matter where you are around the country, make sure you tell us what you see by emailing us at observe@astronomy.ie.

 

 

2.  We're on RTE Radio 1 Tomorrow

Chairman of Astronomy Ireland, David Moore, will appear on the Documentary at One on RTE Radio 1 at 1:30pm tomorrow, Christmas Eve. In this fascinating documentary produced over the last year David will explain how that on Christmas of last year he noticed that Santa was missing a reindeer as he flew over Wexford! After investigating, David discovered that Santa placed an injured Blitzen in the care of the Mulready family, becoming the only outsider to be allowed know about this extremely important secret!

 

You can listen to the show on RTE Radio 1 live tomorrow at www.rte.ie/radio.

 

If you miss this show - or have missed any of our other radio appearances - recordings will be made available on www.astronomy.ie/audio.

 

 

3.  International Space Station

The Soyuz spacecraft successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) today, and the combined craft now carry a total of six crew.

 

The ISS is currently passing over Ireland each night and will continue to do so until January 3rd. There are websites that will allow you to figure out the time the ISS will pass over, but to receive a message to your mobile each day with the time to see it already worked out simply:

 

text SPACE to 57003

 

Each text costs 1euro, and only one message will be sent per day. Proceeds help to promote interest in astronomy across Ireland. Text STOP to unsubscribe.

 

Remember to email your observations of the ISS to iss@astronomy.ie and we will do our best to include your report in a forthcoming issue of Astronomy & Space magazine.

 

 

4.  Opening Hours for Christmas and the New Year

Astronomy Ireland will be open until 6pm on Christmas Eve, and will reopen on Wednesday, December 28th. Over the New Year festivities, we will close at 6pm on December 31st, and reopen again as normal on January 3rd.

 

You can contact us on (01) 890 11 11 or visit us at Unit A8, Airside Enterprise Centre, Swords, Co Dublin. Click HERE for a map.

 

 

5.  Merry Christmas!

Everyone at Astronomy Ireland would like to thank you all for your support throughout the last year, and to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

 

- The Astronomy Ireland Team

 

 

 

Astronomy Ireland

The world's most popular Astronomy Club
www.astronomy.ie

 

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