It's nearly that time of year again and here at Astronomy Ireland we have the perfect gift solutions for you and your loved ones under our Christmas Tree.

Gift Classes:

For those budding amateur astronomers who want to learn more, enrol them in our Beginner's Evening Classes which will run nationwide from January 28th.

These hugely successful classes run over 8 weeks and encompass a huge range of topics within astronomy from its history, cosmology, telescopes, deep sky objects and much, much more. The fee for these Evening Classes also includes membership to our society and our magazine, Astronomy & Space, and your magazine subscription can begin as soon as you book your tickets, so you can have your first issue in time for Christmas! Enrol now!

Gift Subscriptions:

If you or your loved ones want to be informed of the latest astronomical news and topics from the comfort of a cosy armchair, subscribe to our society and magazine now and for just 48 euro you will receive 12 monthly magazines with all the latest news, articles, book reviews, pictures and a monthly sky diary to keep you up to date on all the latest celestial events. Book now and add in a personal message to be included with your first magazine!

Gift Lectures:

Finally, if you want to add an amazing little stocking filler, book one of our upcoming lectures for the International Year of Astronomy 2009. We have amazing speakers lined up for next year including Dr. John Zarnecki, one of the world's most experienced space scientists (see below) , Dr. David Southwood who is Director of the European Space Agency and Professor Tim de Zeeuw, Director General of the European Southern Observatory in Germany.

Book your lecture tickets now at www.astronomy.ie/Events2009 or call our office at (01) 847 0777.

'Touchdown on Titan' will be our spectacular New Year Lecture which will be given by World Renowned Scientist and TV Star Dr. John Zarnecki. Dr. Zarnecki has worked on some of the most exciting space missions to date, including Cassini-Huygens, Beagle 2, Hubble and Giotto, and has appeared frequently on 'The Sky at Night' on BBC TV and is a professor at the Open University. He is currently team leader on ExoMars (ESA's first Mars rover mission) and is a researcher for an instrument on the Rosetta mission to Comet 46P/Wirtanen.

3. Meteors from the Moon this Weekend

This Saturday, 13 December 2008, the Moon will appear to spit out meteors! The biggest Full Moon of the year will be located in the constellation Gemini when the Geminid meteor shower (the best shower of the year) peaks this weekend, from Friday evening until Monday morning.

This shower often produces brighter than usual meteors, commonly known as shooting stars, so even with the bright Moon you should still be able to spot some. The Geminid meteor shower is caused by dust particles that come off an asteroid-like object known as 3200 Phaethon as it passes through the Solar System. These particles then enter the Earth’s atmosphere and, as they heat up and burn, they appear as beautiful streaks of light. A useful way to observe them is to lie down in a deckchair or on a blanket on flat ground so you can easily see the sky, but remember to wrap up well. Astronomy Ireland is running a Nationwide Geminid Meteor Watch over the weekend, where we want you and everyone in Ireland to take part in real, scientific astronomy. All you have to do is count how many Geminids you see every 15 minutes and we will include your results in our report.

Our Chairman David Moore was on Newstalk this morning discussing the wonderful display that will be on show over the weekend. Listen to the interview Here.

To take part and contribute to astronomical research people should go to our website www.astronomy.ie.

4. Christmas Deals in Store for the Month of December

Take advantage of our amazing deals in our Shop all this month! We are now open 7 days a week!

Members - Spend 300 euro in our Shop or Online and get 12 months membership free.

Non Members - Spend 300 in our shop or Online and you will get a free year's membership to our society which includes a one year subscription to our magazine.

For more information call our Office/Shop on (01) 847 0777 or order on our website at www.astronomy.ie/shop

Merry Christmas!