Astronomy Ireland will be showcasing two important lectures next week. Prof David Southwood "the billion dollar astronomer!" will be speaking at 8pm on Monday, September 11, at Trinity College in Dublin. John McCarthy will be speaking at 8pm on Thursday, September 14 in Cork . There's an Eclipse this week also , and our weekly A.I. Radio Show has a special guest! Details below.... 1. Dublin - Billion Dollar Astronomer! Astronomy Ireland presents a very special event this month at Trinity College Dublin. It will also be made available on DVD for members nationwide. Prof David Southwood has spacecraft orbiting Venus, Earth, Mars and Saturn, including the Hubble Space Telescope, all worth billions of Euro. He is Director of Exploration for the European Space Agency (ESA) and he has very kindly agreed to come to Dublin to open our new season of Public Lectures in TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN - this will be a much more central location and is right next to the DART station. Prof. Southwood, is responsible for a several billion Euro armada of spacecraft orbiting the planets, and space telescopes orbiting Earth. Did you heard about the SMART-1 probe that hit the Moon last Sunday? That was one of his craft. He will discuss the achievements of the last few years and outline the missions that the ESA is planning for the next ten, including a mission seeking life on other planets. Also tonight (Sept. 5) at 8pm, Prof. Southwood will discuss his upcoming lecture on the Astronomy Ireland Radio Show! Don't miss AIRS (see below)! ADVANCE BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL - our last Trinity College lecture in January was booked out remember! So please go to www.astronomy.ie now. Prof Southwood may be on a top rating national radio show also - more news when we get a confirmation (so be sure to book BEFORE that!) Time of Lecture: 8pm, Monday, September 11 Venue: Joly Theatre, Hamilton Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2 Admission: €5 (€3 children/students) To book places visit www.astronomy.ie (or call 01-847 0777) advance-booking is essential Order the DVD of this lecture at www.astronomy.ie/lectureDVD.html 2. Cork - Space Shuttle Launch On Wednesday, NASA will once again attempt a launch of the 18-story supply vessel, Atlantis. Meterologists are currently predicting an 80-percent chance of suitable weather conditions. The mission's main objective is to install a new segment, including two giant solar wings, onto the International Space Station (ISS). See www.nasa.gov/shuttle for the latest news. Astronomy Ireland member John McCarthy is currently in Florida covering the launch and he will be in Cork next week to discuss it in a much anticipated Public Lecture. Time of Lecture: 8pm, Thursday, September 14 Venue: Fortwilliam House, Silversprings Hotel, Cork Admission: €5 (€3 children/students) No advance-booking for this event 3. A.I. Radio Show "Special" tonight To whet your appetite for next Monday's Public Lecture in Dublin there will be a special interview with Prof David Southwood 'live' from his offices in France on A.I.R.S. by Ben Emmett and his crew of Christy Creely and John Dickson who present the show every week. A.I.R.S. gives you an incredible space news round up every Tuesday - never miss it. Tune in to 103.2FM (Tuesday at 8pm as always) if you live in the Leinster area, or go to our Radio Show page on www.astronomy.ie where you'll find the link to listen to it 'live' on the net from anywhere in the world! If you miss the show 'live' you can download the recording from our Radio Show on www.astronomy.ie for day, weeks, and months thereafter. If you're in the Leinster area be sure to book your ticket for his talk next Monday soon, before they run out (see above). 4. ECLIPSE OF MOON On Thursday (Sept. 7) there will be a partial eclipse of the Moon. Full details of this and other fascinating events to see this month are in the September issue of our magazine Astronomy & Space (order online www.astronomy.ie/sub ). There are also details on www.astronomy.ie . Note in the magazine how close the planet Uranus will be! Briefly, the eclipse begins at sunset as the Moon rises in the East around 8pm. Up to 19% of the Moon will be inside Earth's shadow. The partial phase ends at 8:37pm but the Moon's edge should still be discoloured for half an hour or more after that. The next Lunar Eclipse is not until March 3 next year so make sure you're facing east this Thursday at sunset! Did you nearly miss this eclipse? Shouldn't you be getting Ireland's astronomy magazine? Please visit www.astronomy.ie/sub and support Astronomy Ireland - we need you! ASTRONOMY IRELAND - for telescopes and information www.astronomy.ie or call (01) 847 0777