1. NASA Astronaut to give FREE A.I. Lecture in Limerick Astronomy Ireland are proud to announce this Free Public Lecture by NASA astronaut Capt. John McBride. The talk will take place in the Jean Monet Theatre, University of Limerick this Friday evening (May 16) at 8pm. We will use this event to launch our Evening Classes in Limerick, see below. Capt. McBride's talk is titled "NASA Space Programme; Past, Present and Future" and will be followed by a 'Questions & Answers" session. Capt. McBride has successfully performed many roles within NASA and was the pilot on the first shuttle mission to carry seven astronauts. There's more information about this lecture on www.astronomy.ie We have made great efforts to arrange this at short notice so please make every effort to come along on the night. We are also looking for some AI members in the region to help out on the night. Please write to sec@astronomy.ie or call (01) 8470777 if you can assist. 2. Search begins for first Irish Astronaut

From next Monday (May 19th) the European Space Agency (ESA) will commence the search for prospective astronauts. As Ireland is a member of the European Space Agency, any Irish citizen can apply. In 1991 over 700 Irish people applied for similar astronaut jobs and ESA expects 30,000 applications this time round. See the June issue of 'Astronomy & Space' magazine for further details, page 29.

3. Astronomy for Beginners - 3 more venues Our ever popular Beginner's Course in Astronomy classes will begin again on October 9th. We are especially pleased to announce that the classes will be held in Athlone, Belfast, Cork, Dublin, Letterkenny and Tralee. These classes are proving to be very popular so it is possible to book now on www.astronomy.ie/eveningclass.html This represents a great opportunity to learn a little bit more about this fascinating subject and to meet other like minded people. Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular astronomy club ( To subscribe/unsubscribe click here ) Ireland's Only Astronomy Magazine www.astronomy.ie Call Our Telescope Shop Tel (01) 847 0777 Mon-Sat Delivery Nationwide