ASTRONOMY IRELAND MAILING LIST - www.astronomy.ie (Ireland's national astronomy society and magazine) --------------------------------------------------- 1. CASSINI AT SATURN Tonight (Thursday morning our time actually) the joint NASA/ESA Cassini-Huygens spacecraft fires it rockets for 96 minutes (3:36-6:12am) to go in to orbit about Saturn. It's the cover story on our magazine (order "July issue" in the comments box at www.astronomy.ie/sub and support Astronomy Ireland). By 8am we should know if the biggest interplanetary exploration craft made the tricky manoeuvre or not and if we can expect 4 years of superb pictures in our magazine. First images are due back at 1:39pm Thursday. NASA TV will be on air covering the event http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html and see ESA's website http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Cassini-Huygens/index.html Remember, software for the mission was developed in Malahide, Co. Dublin by Captec (www.captec.ie). Let's hope all goes well and stay tuned to the news on Thursday morning. [Observing Saturn is not possible at present as it is on the far side of the Sun. You'll be able to see it in morning skies from August onwards]. 2. 'STEPHEN HAWKING IN DUBLIN' As announced in our magazine several weeks ago a major conference on General Relativity and Gravitation will see the world's leading experts converge on Dublin July 18-23. Stephen Hawking is to announce an important discovery about black holes. The organisers have taken the opportunity to stage TWO public lectures by two of the world's leading experts in the field - Prof Kip Thorne and Prof Sir Roger Penrose. I'm sure you've seen them interviewed on TV whenever cosmology, the Big Bang, or origins of the universe are discussed. Both talks are in the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin 4. All details of the talks are on the conference website www.gr17.com and you can book places online at that site. Tickets are 20euro each (10euro for students). Monday 19th July 8pm Prof. Kip Thorne "Probing the Universe and Black Holes with Gravitational Waves" Friday 23rd July 8pm Prof. Sir Roger Penrose "Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in Modern Physical Theories" See you there. Oh, and don't forget Astronomy Ireland's July public lecture in D.C.U. "Internet Telescopes in Education" by BART BUSSCHOTS Tickets 5euro and all welcome on Monday July 12 at 8pm. Details of how schools (and hopefully amateurs like us helping out) can use large telescopes around the world: http://www.astronomy.ie/lecture0407.html Click here to email your name if you want a place(s) reserved for you: info@astronomy.ie then simply pay at the door on the night. 3. THIS WEEK'S NEWSLINE Our premium rate Newslines in Ireland and the U.K. are updated every Monday (usually by noon). They have been running for over 10 years now so I thought I'd start letting you know what the content is each week: This week's headlines are: Cassini arrives at Saturn; First private astronaut launched on SpaceShipOne; Trouble on the International Space Station; Hawking, Penrose & Thorne in Dublin; and, Jupiter, Moon and Comet on view. In Ireland call 1550-111-442 (calls cost 94c/min) In U.K. call 09001-88-1950 (calls cost 60p/min) Use your fax (or modem and fax software) to get a printed copy (Ireland only) on 1580-111-767 (calls cost 240c/min but are much shorter than voice service). Call costs from mobiles may vary. In answer to a few queries we have received over the years about our Newslines: We only receive a small fraction of your call cost as Eircom and the service providers supply all the equipment which allows up to hundreds of callers simultaneously and 24 hour a day access. This is essential when I.S.S. is flying over as it will next week - more then. We receive no grants to provide this service so the modest proceeds from these Newslines is one way that our staff make their living (yours truly included). It will cost you about the price of a pint a week if you want the latest astronomy news, which I don't think is unreasonable, so give it a try to see what you think. ===== David Moore, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open until 6pm Mon.-Sat. Tel (01) 847 0777 www.astronomy.ie Newslines (new message every Monday): 1550-111-442 Ireland 09001-88-1950 U.K.