*1. Space Chases* Last night the Space Shuttle Discovery undocked from the International Space Station. Ireland is uniquely placed to witness the "space chases" that will result as Discovery returns to Earth. Tonight, tomorrow, and possibly Saturday and Sunday, observers will be able to see the Shuttle follow behind the ISS as they pass over in the sky. Various websites give predictions of when to watch, or you can text SPACE to 57003 to receive details of the ISS a couple of hours before it passes. Texts cost €1 per message received and proceeds help us to promote astronomy in Ireland. *2. Earth Hour* Astronomy Ireland will be out during Earth Hour, Saturday March 28, to highlight the issue of bad lighting in towns and cities, how it wastes energy and money, and how it has obscured our view of the wonders of the night sky. This is a global event, please join us in our endeavours to reduce light pollution and to tackle Global Warming. Telescope Watches are taking place at various locations around the country from 8:30 - 9:30pm. Come along and show your support for this important international cause. See HERE <http://www.astronomy.ie/earthhour2009.html> for more details and your nearest Watch. *3. Telescope Talk by David Moore for Shop Customers* Ireland's best known astronomer, and Chairman of Astronomy Ireland David Moore <http://www.astronomy.ie/dmbio.html> will a talk all about telescopes and their use on Wednesday April 1st at 7:30pm in Trinity College Dublin. David Moore is an expert on telescopes. He ground his first mirror at age 15 and then went on to set up the Dublin Telescope Group (DTG) where he built over 100 telescopes personally, many of which are still in use today. In the late 1990s DTG built the then biggest telescope in Ireland, the 21-inch Millennium Telescope which is still used at major events such as the annual Star-B-Q, Ireland's biggest annual gathering of telescopes, which is set for August 22nd this year (click here <http://www.astronomy.ie/sbq/sbq2009.html>). David now runs the Telescope Shop <http://www.astronomy.ie/shop> at Astronomy Ireland (which absorbed DTG), one of the biggest in Europe and by far Ireland's leading Telescope Shop, and there will be a large display of telescopes from our Shop <http://www.astronomy.ie/shop> at this talk and several of the staff to give you advice. This lecture is *free of charge*, to customers who have bought a telescope from our Shop and places are limited so you must call to reserve a place(s) or email sec@astronomy.ie . This is a 2 hour talk from 7:30pm to 9:30pm but there will be a 15 minute break in the middle. A DVD is being made of this talk, call to order a copy. *4. Astronomy Ireland Member Discovers THIRD Asteroid* David Grennan, member of Astronomy Ireland, discovered his third asteroid early this week. The asteroid is designated 2009 FV19 and was found using a Celestron CGE 1400 purchased at the Astronomy Ireland Shop<http://www.astronomy.ie/shop.html>. David currently holds the record for the most asteroids discovered from Ireland by one person. Further details and discovery images can be found HERE <http://www.astronomy.ie/2009fv19.html>. ** ** *5. Sign Writers* Do you or anyone you know have an artistic flair? We’re looking for a sign writer to help create signs and banners for us to display at our public events all around Ireland. Contact sec@astronomy.ie or call the office on (01) 847 0777 for more details. *6. Jobs* Astronomy Ireland is expanding rapidly and we are recruiting key players for our team. We have vacancies in all departments but are especially interested in hiring someone with a proven track record in fundraising. If you are interested in working within a growing organisation and enjoy a challenging and exciting role, please send your CV to jobs@astronomy.ie with a brief note about yourself. ** ** *7. Economist* Astronomy Ireland’s goal is to build a science culture for Ireland. We need advice from an economist to assist us in highlighting awareness of Ireland’s economic position, especially in relation to science and education. Are you, or do you know, an economist that would be willing to discuss current issues with our Chairman, David Moore? Please call our office on (01) 847 0777 or email sec@astronomy.ie. ** ** *Astronomy Ireland <http://www.astronomy.ie/>* The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine <http://www.astronomy.ie/sub> *www.astronomy.ie* <http://www.astronomy.ie/> *Call Our Telescope Shop <http://www.astronomy.ie/shop>* Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here<http://lists.redbrick.dcu.ie/mailman/listinfo/astronomy> )