Spring Sale DVD Membership Shop 1. Public Lecture “Solar Storms and Northern Lights: Observing the Sun from Ireland” Energy from the Sun drives our climate, forces ever-changing weather patterns, and ultimately provides the heat and light responsible that makes life possible on Earth. Despite this, the Sun can have more sinister effects due to its ejection of huge clouds of hot gas into space. While these solar storms can produce spectacular auroral displays, they can sometimes cause dropouts in telecommunications systems, failures of satellites, interruptions in electrical power supply networks, and errors in GPS signals. Dr Peter Gallagher of Trinity College Dublin is heading the Irish section of a European-wide telescope project called LOFAR, in which Ireland will get its own specialised radio telescope, allowing us to see solar storms - and the rest of the Universe - in a way never before possible. At Astronomy Ireland's Public Lecture on March 12th, Dr Gallagher will describe the source of solar storms, how these can effect the technologies that we rely on as part of our every-day lives, and how Irish scientists are using cutting-edge scientific instruments, such as the LOFAR radio telescope, to better forecast the effects of solar storms on Earth. The March Lecture, Seeing Solar Storms from Ireland, will take place at 8pm on Monday, March 12th, in Trinity College Dublin. A social reception will take place after the lecture in the nearby Lombard Inn where lecture attendees can meet Dr Gallagher and other astronomy enthusiasts. Details of the March Lecture and tickets for it be found at www.astronomy.ie or by calling (01) 890 11 11. BOOK TICKETS ORDER DVD . 2. Astronomy & Space Magazine Offer Get the March issue of Astronomy & Space now for only €5. It's packed full of astronomy news from Ireland and around the world, with feature articles about a new map of the Moon, our place in the Milky Way, and more! That's 48 full-colour pages of Irish astronomy for only €5, including postage. As a special offer we also have the January and February issues on sale for only €1 each if you order them at the same time as the March issue! Simply click HERE to order, and select "One issue only" from the dropdown list. If you want the January or February issues, just let us know how many of each you would like in the comments box at the bottom of the form. 3. Engineers Week Engineers Week has started and we are already making a ‘Buzz’ with our specially designed – “The Real Buzz Lightyear – The life of an Astronaut” talks for primary schools. A big thank-you to ESERO, our sponsor, who have enabled us to provide the talks FREE to 10 primary schools in Dublin this year. There are tonnes of events happening over the week and many are free to the general public, so don’t miss out on the fun. Log on to www.engineersweek.ie NOW, for further details. 4. Join the 1% Club and See Mercury! Tomorrow night (Tuesday, February 28th) the planets Jupiter, Venus, and Mercury will form an alignment with the Moon in the evening sky at approximately 6:30pm. Venus and Jupiter are moving ever closer together over the coming weeks, and if you draw an imaginary line through them and the Moon down towards the horizon, you may see Mercury resting over the horizon. It's thought that less than 1% of people have ever seen Mercury, so make sure you check out this spectacular celestial sight and join that exclusive club! For a map of the sky and further details, please click HERE. Email observe@astronomy.ie with your observation reports of the alignment. 5. Armagh Observatory Free Public Lectures and Tours, Saint Patrick's Day 2012 Armagh Observatory is presenting two free public lectures, guided tours of the Observatory Grounds and Astropark, and an exhibition and tour of the historic main building as its contribution to Armagh City and District’s Saint Patrick’s Day festivities on Saturday, 17th March 2012. The programme of fascinating astronomical talks, "Discovering the Universe", begins with light refreshments at 10:30am in St. Patrick’s Trian, Armagh. Two public lectures are being provided, one on the risk to Earth posed by comet and asteroid impacts with our planet, the other a review of efforts during the eighteenth century to measure the size of our solar system and the role played by very rare planetary transits across the face of our Sun. The next Transit of Venus, the last for more than a hundred years, will be visible from Europe on 6th June this year. The free public lectures will take place in the Rotunda Theatre, St. Patrick’s Trian, Armagh, beginning at 11:00am, and each lasting an hour with time for questions, ending at 1:00pm. Everyone is welcome to these events. Free tickets for the "Discovering the Universe" presentations are available from Mrs Aileen McKee, Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh; Tel.: 028-3752-2928; E-mail: ambn@arm.ac.uk. No booking is necessary to join the guided tour "Bringing Heaven Down to Earth" or the Observatory tour and exhibition. Meet outside the Observatory at 2.30pm and 4.00pm respectively. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: John McFarland at the Armagh Observatory, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG. Tel.: 028-3752-2928; FAX: 028-3752-7174 jmf@arm.ac.uk. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe )