Astronomy Ireland will be showcasing two important
lectures next week. Prof David Southwood "the billion dollar
astronomer!" will be speaking at 8pm on Monday, September 11, at Trinity College
in Dublin. John McCarthy will be speaking at 8pm on Thursday, September 14
in Cork . There's an Eclipse this week also , and our weekly A.I. Radio
Show has a special guest! Details below....
1. Dublin -
Billion Dollar Astronomer!
Astronomy Ireland presents a very special event this month
at Trinity College Dublin. It will also be made available on DVD for
members nationwide.
Prof David Southwood has spacecraft orbiting Venus, Earth,
Mars and Saturn, including the Hubble Space Telescope, all worth billions of
Euro. He is Director of Exploration for the European Space Agency (ESA) and he
has very kindly agreed to come to Dublin to open our new season of
Public Lectures in TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN - this will be a much more
central location and is right next to the DART station.
Prof. Southwood, is responsible for a several billion Euro
armada of spacecraft orbiting the planets, and space telescopes orbiting Earth.
Did you heard about the SMART-1 probe that hit the Moon last Sunday? That was
one of his craft.
He will discuss the achievements of the last few years and
outline the missions that the ESA is planning for the next ten, including a
mission seeking life on other planets.
Also tonight (Sept. 5) at 8pm, Prof.
Southwood will discuss his upcoming lecture on the Astronomy Ireland
Radio Show! Don't miss AIRS (see below)!
ADVANCE BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL - our last Trinity College
lecture in January was
booked out remember! So please go to
www.astronomy.ie now.
Prof Southwood may be on a top rating national radio show also - more news
when we get a confirmation (so be sure to book BEFORE that!)
Time of Lecture: 8pm, Monday, September
11
Venue: Joly Theatre, Hamilton Building,
Trinity College, Dublin 2
Admission:
€5 (€3 children/students)
To book places visit
www.astronomy.ie (or call 01-847
0777) advance-booking is essential
Order the DVD of this lecture at
www.astronomy.ie/lectureDVD.html
2. Cork -
Space Shuttle Launch
On Wednesday, NASA will once again attempt a launch of the
18-story supply vessel, Atlantis. Meterologists are currently predicting
an 80-percent chance of suitable weather conditions. The mission's main
objective is to install a new segment, including two giant solar wings, onto the
International Space Station (ISS). See www.nasa.gov/shuttle for the latest
news.
Astronomy Ireland member John McCarthy is currently in
Florida covering the launch and he will be in Cork next week to discuss it in a
much anticipated Public Lecture.
Time of Lecture: 8pm, Thursday,
September 14
Venue: Fortwilliam
House, Silversprings Hotel, Cork
Admission:
€5 (€3 children/students)
No advance-booking for this
event
3. A.I.
Radio Show "Special" tonight
To whet your appetite for next Monday's Public Lecture in
Dublin there will be a special interview with Prof David Southwood 'live' from
his offices in France on A.I.R.S. by Ben Emmett and his crew of
Christy Creely and John Dickson who present the show every week. A.I.R.S. gives
you an incredible space news round up every Tuesday - never miss it.
Tune in to 103.2FM (Tuesday at 8pm as always) if you live in
the Leinster area, or go to our Radio Show page on www.astronomy.ie where you'll find the link
to listen to it 'live' on the net from anywhere in the world!
If you miss the show 'live' you can download the recording
from our Radio Show on www.astronomy.ie
for day, weeks, and months thereafter.
If you're in the Leinster area be sure to book your ticket
for his talk next Monday soon, before they run out (see above).
4. ECLIPSE
OF MOON
On Thursday (Sept. 7) there will be a partial eclipse of
the Moon. Full details of this and other fascinating events to see this month
are in the September issue of our magazine Astronomy & Space (order
online www.astronomy.ie/sub ). There
are also details on www.astronomy.ie .
Note in the magazine how close the planet Uranus will be! Briefly, the eclipse
begins at sunset as the Moon rises in the East around 8pm. Up to 19% of the Moon
will be inside Earth's shadow. The partial phase ends at 8:37pm but the Moon's
edge should still be discoloured for half an hour or more after that. The next
Lunar Eclipse is not until March 3 next year so make sure you're facing east
this Thursday at sunset!
Did you nearly miss this eclipse? Shouldn't you be getting Ireland's
astronomy magazine? Please visit
www.astronomy.ie/sub and support
Astronomy Ireland - we need you!
ASTRONOMY
IRELAND - for telescopes and
information