1. Public Lecture and DVD There are still places available for the following talk in the Fitzgerald (Physics) Building, Trinity College Dublin, and the DVD is available too. 'Cosmic Casualties' Monday 9th Feb at 8pm Join Doug Ellison, founder of www.unmannedspaceflight.com, who will be delving into the complex world of space exploration and revealing the glorious successes and enormous failures of over 50 years of space travel. If you would like to book a place please go to www.astronomy.ie or call (01) 847 0777 or just come along on the night, doors open at 7:30pm. Also, we are putting this talk on DVD for everyone in Ireland at a modest cost : ORDER DVD HERE 2. DONATE MORE PCs Thanks to all those who donated computers and accessories so far. As the society expands we are still seeking more equipment so please keep them coming. See here 3. LOTS TO OBSERVE THIS WEEK 2009 is a fantastic year so far for binocular and telescope users, and the pace looks set to continue. There is too much to see each night to list here so see the Sky Diary pages of our magazine for more, but here is a quick round up of some of the things you should see. For free telescope advice please call us 6 days a week on (01) 847 0777 VENUS: Observations of Venus are requested for this week. The planet is now at its best and shows a large crescent disk in even our smallest telescopes. We only have a few more weeks then we have to wait 3 years to see a sight like this again in evening skies. Please email observe@astronomy.ie if you observe Venus. SATURN: is now rising in the East at 8pm so you should get good views before midnight. The rings are closest to edge-on that we will see for 30 years so tell us what you see in your telescope and we will record it in our magazine for posterity! MOON: Watch the Moon rise each evening in the East. It's Full on Feb. 9 LUNAR OCCULTATIONS: Perhaps the best such event of the year occurred on Feb. 6 and it was clear over most of the country! See page 23 of the February magazine for details and for 3 more very good occultations this month, though in morning skies this time. Check this column in our magazine every month! I.S.S.: will next be visible from March 18th for about 10 days. (Text SPACE to 57003 if you want to be on our text alert service for ISS, texts cost 1euro each) NAKED EYE COMET: Comet Lulin is now mag 7 and in reach of binoculars as it hopefully brightens to naked eye visibility later this month. By the end of this week the Moon is out of the way and the comet rises before midnight near the bright star Spica. A star map showing how to locate Comet Lulin is on page 28 of our February magazine. See the March issue (out later this week) too. As our magazine is filed with national libraries here and abroad it is the record of Irish observations so we ask every one of you reading this to email a brief report of what you see every time you go out observing, be it with the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope, especially all of the objects above: Please email observe@astronomy.ie to be included in our monthly magazine report for posterity! (to get the magazine for just 4euro each month click the link below) 4. WORK EXPERIENCE If you know anyone who is seeking work experience (Transition Year Students, FAS courses, etc) please send them our way. Each year we take on dozens of people on our work experience programme in our offices in Artane, Dublin 5. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club AND Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat ( subscribe / unsubscribe here )