A message from David Moore I love stars! You just can't imagine what they're like, how big, how powerful, how amazing. Their size is what got me started in astronomy. As a child I was amazed to find out that the Sun is 100 times wider than the Earth. I couldn't imagine anything that big. Then I found out that the Sun is tiny compared to the biggest stars in space. I was blown away! But a star is a vast nuclear reactor in space. Nuclear energy powers all life on Earth - there's one for the environmentalists to consider! Even a tiny star like the Sun produces unbelievable amounts of energy. If all 7 billion people on the planet were to explode the world's biggest nuclear bomb every second that not equal the amount of energy the Sun produces. The centre of the Sun is at an unimaginable 15 million degrees Celsius. It burns so bright that a suitcase sized sample would vaporise a city on Earth with its intense light and heat! Yet, despite all this violence and extremes, these seething cauldrons created all the elements that we need to make the material of our bodies and inside the Earth. We are children of the stars in a very real sense. Some stars, the big ones, explode at the end of their life in a supernova explosion that seeds the cosmos with the heavy elements that we need for life, like zinc for example, and elements that we treasure, like gold, and even uranium. Do the lives of stars sound like a fascinating story? Shouldn't you know more? Well, for National Science Week 2011, Astronomy Ireland presents a public lecture for the general public BIRTHS AND DEATHS OF STARS <http://astronomy.ie/lecture201111.php> it could be the most important event you ever go to. Check out www.astronomy.ie or call (01) 890 11 11 For those outside the Dublin area a DVD will be produced for the same price as a ticket. I look forward to seeing you on Monday! David Moore Chairman of Astronomy Ireland Also this weekend: The Sky at Night In this episode Sir Patrick Moore discusses Mars as it returns to the night sky while Dr Chris Lintott travels to Nantes in France to a world gathering of planetary scientists to find out about Curiosity - the NASA mission which will soon leave for the red planet, in search of signs of life. This episode will be broadcast on: Saturday, November 12th, 1:55am - BBC HD Saturday, November 12th, 12:15pm - BBC 2 <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> )