1. JULY 14 LECTURE ONLINE Our July lecture is now online for members all around Ireland (and indeed the world!). Go to our website www.astronomy.ie and click on "webcasts" on the sidebar at the left. Then click on "July" (you can of course also click on any of the previous 10 months too!). We have sorted out the sound problems we were having and the recording looks and sounds great! You will need to install RealPlayer to view the video (which you can download from www.real.com if necessary). "A Home-Built Observatory" was the subject of Astronomy Ireland member Kevin Sweeney's July 14th lecture in Dublin City University. In it Kevin gave an excellent account of how he build an observatory for his 10" SCT using a wooden shed (purchased without a roof!). It was very inspiring and very simple. I can see loads of them springing up around the country. At the end he also shows how he does his 'remote' imaging using CCDs. Our August Public Lecture in D.C.U. will be given by Lynn Moran on "Gamma Ray Bursts" which she studies as a researcher at U.C.D. Everyone who can make it is welcome to come along to the Henry Grattan Building in D.C.U. for 8pm on Monday August 9th. For our members outside Dublin it will be available on our website a few days later. You can call to book seats on (01) 847 0777 Monday to Saturday up to 6pm as 2 lectures last year were almost sold out. 2. INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION I saw I.S.S. blazing across the sky last Monday night from the Wicklow mountains - still an incredible sight, even though I've seen it hundreds of times before. I.S.S. was brighter than Mars (magnitude -2)! On board at present are Ed Lu and Yuri Malenchenko. I.S.S. can be seen every evening soon after sunset from July 19 until August 5th. To get the latest times to see it tell everyone you know to call our Newsline on 1550-111-442 any time after 12 noon for the time to watch that evening (by leaving it so late our network of I.S.S. observers have beaten the internet sites that use old orbital details and give wrong predictions when they boost I.S.S. orbit - which is about to happen).
From U.K. dial 09001-88-1950.
Let's get Ireland out watching space! Please pass the Newsline number on to everyone you know, and get the whole family out watching I.S.S. on every clear night from now until August 5th. See Dave McCann's excellent monthly article on what's happening aboard I.S.S. in Astronomy & Space magazine - sent to all paid-up members of Astronomy Ireland. If you don't already subscribe to Ireland's only full colour astronomy magazine then do so here and support IRISH astronomy: click here www.astronomy.ie/sub ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info@astronomy.ie