Christmas Gifts <http://astronomy.ie/gifts.html> <http://www.astronomy.ie/lectureDVD.php> DVD <http://astronomy.ie/sub/index.html> Membership <http://astronomy.ie/shop/CPC/index.html> Shop 1. Christmas Planet Watch! This Thursday the Astronomy Ireland Shop will be holding a special Christmas Telescope watch in our new premises in Swords. This will be a great opportunity to get your hands on our telescopes and try them out before Christmas. Our expert shop staff will be on hand to answer any questions that you might have. Our main attraction of the evening will be Jupiter. When seen through one of our large telescopes you will be able to incredible detail in the upper atmosphere. The Great Red Spot, a huge storm that has been raging on the surface of Jupiter for over 300 years will be visible from 5.30pm onwards. This will be a perfect opportunity to see this rare sight through a huge 11” telescope. Time: 4pm-6pm Venue: The Astronomy Ireland Shop <http://www.astronomy.ie/map/> Price: FREE! 2. Higgs Boson Found? CERN held a seminar today regarding the Higgs Boson, sometimes called the 'God Particle'. Recent results from the Large Hadron Collider - the most expensive experiment ever undertaken - have suggested that there may be a signal in the data that corresponds to a signal that would theoretically come from the elusive Higgs Boson. While the results certainly point to something significant present in the collisions, CERN scientists cannot claim a discovery just yet. More data will be collected over the coming months and further results are expected in 2012. If the signal that has been found is from the Higgs Boson, it would mean that the particle weighs 130 times that of a proton - a tiny particle that is found in the nucleus of an atom. 3. Geminids Meteor Shower The Geminid Meteor Shower <http://www.astronomy.ie/geminids2011.html> will peak tonight, December 13th; meteors will be visible this evening and well into tomorrow morning, December 14th. The bright moonlight will reduce visibility during the peak of the meteor shower, but observers can still expect to see many brighter meteors. The Geminids are unusual in that they are caused by dust and debris left over from an asteroid and not a comet, asteroid 3200 Phaethon. Astronomy Ireland is urging everyone to go outside over the next few nights and count how many shooting stars they see, as the Geminid Meteor Shower takes place. To take part in Astronomy Ireland's Nationwide Meteor Watch, simply count the number of meteors you see every 15 minutes (starting on the hour, or quarter past), and email your report along with your name and location to meteor@astronomy.ie. Remember, no special equipment is needed, and this is a great way to get friends and family to do some astronomy with you! 4. David Moore on TV and Radio David Moore will be on RTE2 TV tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4pm to talk about Kepler-22b, the new Earth-like planet. He's also recording a drama for RTE Radio 1, which will go out on the airwaves on Christmas Eve at 1pm in his first ever acting role! <http://www.astronomy.ie/> Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club <http://www.astronomy.ie/> www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe <http://lists.redbrick.dcu.ie/mailman/listinfo/astronomy> )