1. WEBCAST Our August Public Lecture recorded in Dublin City University on Aug. 11 is now available to all members countrywide online at our website www.astronomy.ie. Just click on "Lecture Webcasts" on the left-hand sidebar and then click on "August". Lynn Moran from U.C.D. gave an excellent and lively presentation on "Gamma Ray Bursts". Her personal enthusiasm for the subject she is researching came across as she described what might cause the most powerful explosions in the universe. Our next Public Lecture in D.C.U. is very special: "Recent Advances in Rocket Engine Design". Such things as Ion Drives etc. and how the cost of space travel will come down dramatically so one day we can all travel in to space. The speaker is Martin Houston who led the team from the University of Limerick that launched the first rocket from Ireland - you may remember it all over the newspapers and TV a few years ago. He has since been working for the European Space Agency so it promises to be a very special lecture from a unique Irish individual on Monday September 8th in the Henry Grattan Building, D.C.U., Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Call (01) 847 0777 to book seats. 2. STAR-B-Q All records have been smashed since we lasted emailed you. Our record previously was just over 200 people at our April 2003 "barbecue under the stars". For our August 22 Star-B-Q (tomorrow!) we have already sold over 500 tickets, and the phones are still hopping! This is in no small part thanks to the Irish Times who gave us a huge write up last Saturday in the Irish Times Magazine across 2 pages with an 'award' for "the coolest name for an event". If you saw, or see, any event mentioned anywhere please let us know by email to info@astronomy.ie We still have enough telescopes and professional catering for several hundred more people so tickets are still available for Star-B-Q if you know anyone who wants to see the wonders of the universe and be a part of the single biggest astronomical gathering ever held in Ireland. And remember, it may be postponed to the Saturday or future Fridays/Saturdays so booking could be possible for a long time to come yet. Tickets are 25euro for adults and 20euro for under 16s and include all food, soft drinks, lecture, naked eye tour, binocular training, and telescope viewing. All proceeds go to Astronomy Ireland. Call our Astronomy Shop staff on (01) 847 0777 to book by credit card and bring as many family and friends as you can. 3. TV and PATRICK MOORE IN A TOGA! Horizon on BBC 2 tonight at 9pm is all about the asteroid threat from space. Aside: Jay Tate from SpaceGuard UK will be coming to give Public Lectures for Astronomy Ireland in Dublin and Cork in November about this very subject - watch the Society News pages of our magazine for details. Stay up until 1:15am tonight and BBC 2 has a programme about the search for magnetic monopoles. On Sunday you can see the second part of Dr Alan Chapman's 3-part series "Gods in the Sky" all about ancient astronomy. He's a real character who has told us he would like to come to Ireland to give a lecture again. We had him speak in Dublin once before. Lot of sexual antics involved in all these gods! Watch him cycle around Greece in a suit, waistcoat and dickie bow! The song "Mad dogs and Englishmen..." comes to mind. Beware of a cameo appearance by Sir Patrick Moore as a god, but he's wearing only a toga!

shudder< Riveting stuff. Alan is a superb public speaker, a real performer. Email info@astronomy.ie if you would like us to bring Alan to Ireland for a lecture?

4. JOBS Don't forget that we are seeking more staff to join our team in the Astronomy Shop in Artane - see the notice on the insert in the September issue of our magazine or email info@astronomy.ie for details. Join Astronomy Ireland online and support Irish astronomy: www.astronomy.ie/sub ===== David Moore BSc FRAS, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland, P.O.Box 2888, Dublin 5. Editor, "Astronomy & Space" magazine. ASTRONOMY SHOP: open Mon.-Fri. 9am-6pm and Sat. noon-6pm. Tel (01) 847 0777. Fax (01) 847 0771. WWW: http://www.astronomy.ie (Subscribe FREE to AI's Events emailing list) Email: info@astronomy.ie