Astronomy Ireland Press Notices 11-Aug-03 Tel (01) 847 0777 --------------------------------------------------------------------- SHOOTING STAR SHOWER TONIGHT The best shooting star shower of the year, called the Perseids, peaks tonight Tuesday August 12th. 10 to 20 times more Perseids than normal shooting stars will be seen that night. The Full Moon will spoil the view somewhat for those in dark rural skies but Perseids are so bright that everyone across the country is in for a spectacular celestial fireworks display. Go outside after dark and look anywhere in the sky and you should see the meteors flash across every minute or so. Perseids are known for being very bright. Most of the paths of the Perseids will point back to a point in the northeast which is where the constellation of Perseus is, hence the name, but don't look in the northeast, look anywhere in the sky. The Perseids are caused by the Earth slamming into particles of dust left behind by the comet Swift-Tuttle which last passed the Sun in 1992. "We hit them at 130,000 mph and they burn up in a fiery streak in a fraction of a second giving a celestial fireworks display" said David Moore, Chairman of Astronomy Ireland. "These Perseid meteors are known for being particularly bright and leaving glowing trails behind them for several seconds. They are quite spectacular" he said. --------------------------------------------------------------------- AMAZING NEW 'STAR' NEXT TO MOON WEDNESDAY IS PLANET MARS An awesome sight will greet anyone outdoors on Wednesday night (Aug. 13) when the brilliant planet Mars, now approaching Earth closer than it has ever done for 60,000 years, will very close to the Full Moon in the sky. "It will be years before Mars is ever seen this bright so close to the Moon. Anyone looking at the Full Moon on Wednesday is going to be shocked by what they see" said David Moore, Chairman Astronomy Ireland. "Most people will never have seen a fiery orange-red brilliant 'star' like this just to the right of the Moon. We expect to be inundated with calls asking what it was because it will only last one night, so we want to alert the general public in advance" he said SEE MARS CLOSE-UP! Members of the public will get two chances to see Mars close up in powerful telescopes this month when Astronomy Ireland runs: STAR-B-Q (Friday August 22nd): the biggest annual gathering of star-gazers in the mountains south of Dublin. It's a barbecue under the stars with the biggest portable telescopes in Ireland. Tickets include all food and drinks and must be purchased in advance on (01) 847 0777. People come from all around Ireland for this event and more tickets have already been sold than for any previous event with Mars making its record breaking close approach. MARS WATCHES (Wednesday August 27th): On the very day that Mars is at its very closest (34.6 million miles - the closest since 57,617 B.C.!) Astronomy Ireland will set up telescopes in over a dozen locations all around Ireland. The biggest will be in Dublin's Phoenix Park and a full list of all other locations is kept up to date on the club's website www.astronomy.ie or call Astronomy Ireland on (01) 847 0777. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ASTRONOMY IRELAND is a club for those interested in space! Membership is open to everyone in the 32 counties all of whom receive 12 issues of IRELAND'S ONLY ASTRONOMY MAGAZINE published by the society. Contact: (01) 847 0777 or write: P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. ---------------------------------------------------------------------