1. Evening Class Late Enrolment: Sign Up for Only €99!

Did you miss the first class in our popular Astronomy Classes for Beginners? Don't worry! You can sign up now for the remaining classes taking place on Thursday evenings for only €99! Not only that, but you can repeat the course for free next February to catch up on anything you missed!

Our Evening Classes began last week and will continue each Thursday from 7:30pm in Trinity College Dublin. The classes are aimed at the beginner, covering everything you ever wanted to know about the Universe. There are eight classes in total and content covered includes an introduction to the night sky, the Sun and the Moon, planets and stars, history of astronomy, deep sky objects, the Big Bang and even a class on telescopes and how to use one.

For more information and enrolment details call us on (01) 890 11 11 or visit www.astronomy.ie/class

2. International Space Station Over Ireland

The biggest and most expensive spacecraft ever put in orbit, the International Space Station (ISS), is currently visible in our night and early morning skies, and will continue to be visible until October 30th. Tonight (Wednesday, October 17th) it will pass over Ireland at 7:57pm.

The International Space Station is a fantastic sight for all the family, and we urge everyone to go out and see it! The next two weeks will also see amazing 'space chases', as two spacecraft make the voyage to the giant station.

Each afternoon Astronomy Ireland will publish the times the ISS will be visible at www.astronomy.ie/iss and you can also receive daily reminders of this time by texting the word SPACE to 57003 (subscription service; one message will be sent each day the ISS is visible and it costs €1 per message received).

3. Northern Lights Tour to Norway

Following this year's successful trip to Norway to see the northern lights, we have teamed up with Project Travel again to give you another opportunity to see this fantastic natural phenomenon!

In February 2013 we will visit Tromsø to explore its surroundings, its history, and of course, the northern lights. Travellers will have the opportunity to visit the Science Centre & Planetarium, to go dog-sledding, to take an aurora photography workshop, and much, much more!

For more details, a full itinerary, and booking details, please visit www.astronomy.ie/norway

4. Orionid Meteor Shower

This weekend sees the Orionid Meteor Shower, which is due to peak between Sunday night (October 21st) and Monday morning (October 22nd), but meteors will be visible in the sky for several nights around this date.

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 a Nationwide Orionid Watch, where we want everyone to go outside over the coming two weeks, count the number of meteors seen in 15-minute blocks, and let us know the counts by emailing meteor@astronomy.ie. With enough data, it's possible to identify any variations in the meteor shower, and to find out just how many meteors were visible, contributing to the science behind meteor showers.

Visit www.astronomy.ie to get more details and a map of the sky to help you with your observations.