1. "Pop Star" Public Lecture & DVD April 14 For Astronomy Ireland's April Public Lecture (and DVD) we are flying in a very unique speaker indeed, Dr. Brian Cox. Brian is a pop star, having played with the bands Dare and D:Ream (who had the hit "Things can only get better") Brian is also a TV presenter - he has presented the award winning BBC documentary series "Horizon" on the subject of Gravity In addition Brian is a world-class astrophysicist - he leads one of the key experiments in the 10 billion euro LHC experiment at CERN (on the Swiss-French border) where 2,500 of the world's top scientists are going to smash bits of atoms together at the highest speed ever. They hope to mimic the formation of the Universe in the Big Bang! They hope to create mini Black Holes, explain Dark Matter that seems to make up most of the matter in the universe and provide a new theory to explain the universe. What a fascinating speaker, with a highly unusual career - pop-star, TV presenter, world-class scientist. It promises to be an incredible evening so book your tickets or place an order for the DVD of the lecture now on www.astronomy.ie When they turn on the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) this summer you will know all about, why it is so important and why so much money is being spent on it. The lecture will take place in the Physics Building, Trinity College Dublin at 8pm on Monday April 14th and all are welcome. It is aimed at the general public with a fascination about the universe that created them. Admission is 5euro (3euro to students, paid-up AI members, unwaged, over 65s). If you cannot get to Dublin the lecture will be recorded and you can order the DVD for 5euro (plus P&P) - order the DVD in advance if possible. Details, order forms, and maps to Trinity are on the website. 2. Nationwide Saturn Watches Next Tuesday April 15 will present a chance for everyone in Ireland to see the rings of Saturn through some of the most powerful telescopes in the country. The date has been chosen because Saturn will be spectacularly close to the Moon (Saturn will be the bright 'star' just above the Moon that night - see the diagram on page 22 of our April magazine). This is also the best time of year to see Saturn as it is very high up around 9pm meaning it will be very well seen in the telescopes at this convenient and sociable evening hour. All Watches around the country are at 9pm and we will be there regardless of weather so at least come along for a chat. Keep checking www.astronomy.ie to see where the nearest venue to you is. So far Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal and Phoenix Park Dublin are confirmed venues. There will be other Watches this year and we can get venues (shopping centres and the like) in almost every town in Ireland, so, if you have a telescope and would like to bring it out for this or our next Watch please email director@astronomy.ie 3. Vacancies and Volunteers Our Shop is looking for someone to work on Saturdays assisting with sales, despatching and office duties. We are also hoping to take on more full time staff as we expand the society in our new offices. So whether it's full time or part time work you are looking for in everything from secretarial to sales work, from marketing to management please send CV to director@astronomy.ie Volunteers: As well as our full time office and shop staff we have over 100 volunteers all across Ireland (and a few abroad) who help run the society and its various activities. They do a wonderful job and without them we would not be one of the biggest such organisations in the world. We need more volunteers though to get involved. We need everything from business advice to burning DVDs. In fact, our hard working Membership Secretary Seamus Bonner has been doing the task of burning DVDs of our Lectures for members all around Ireland but these have proved so popular that we are seeking someone who can take over this activity. If you think you could spare a few hours a week please get in touch and we'll tell you what is involved. Please email director@astronomy.ie We also need someone who can convert a DVD to small MPEG that can be put on our website after each lecture so people can get the gist of each public lecture we offer on DVD. If you are good at manipulating video on your PC please email director@astronomy.ie 4. Nationwide Coming Events: April 12 Grand Opening of our New Shop (see next email) April 14 Public Lecture & DVD "Dark Matter and Black Holes" by a pop-star !!! (BOOK NOW or ORDER THE DVD NOW) April 15 Annual Saturn Watch April 15 Astronomy Ireland Radio Show (AIRS) Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club Join today - click here Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat Delivery Nationwide