[Sunday 6pm March 6] 1. AURORA We received one report of an aurora sighting from Ireland last night but it was not confirmed by anyone else. However, activity is increasing due to a well placed coronal hole and there is a chance of an aurora tonight and the next couple of nights. As usual, if you see anything please TEXT 086 081 99 86 with your name, location and description and then email a report to observe@astronomy.ie when it's all over. 2. SATURN WATCH SUCCESS / ROSETTA DUBLIN BRANCH REPORT: We were kept too busy in the Phoenix Park Friday night to do an accurate count but there were 500 to 1,000 people there. We had good clear spells and almost everyone who came got to see Saturn and Titan. They were all very impressed by their own accounts. We took photos which we hope will be on the website and in the magazine. We had 5 big scopes there. We sold lots of magazines and handed out hundreds of membership forms. All in all we raised over 700euro on the night which will go in to the society coffers to subsidise the membership of everyone in Ireland, not just Dublin. Thanks to the weather it was a great event for "getting people interested in astronomy" - our main goal! Can't wait for NATIONAL MOON WATCH DAY on Friday April 15 (email tom@astronomy.ie now please if you can run a Watch that night). Oh, and as for Rosetta, I tried watching the naked eye star Lambda in Gemini in an 8-inch scope just as the Saturn Watch was winding down, but saw nothing, although it did cloud over and clear up several times during the critical minutes so Rosetta could easily have slipped by unnoticed. No one else has reported seeing Rosetta from Ireland. Let me know if you tried. 3. SKY AT NIGHT Sir Patrick Moore presents his monthly show on BBC1 TV tonight (Sunday/Monday) at 1:20am "Strangers in the Night". He investigates the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud, where comets are thought to originate from, which is also the subject of our March 14 Public Lecture for the Leinster area! (Book now and get more details at http://www.astronomy.ie/lecture0503.html ). Plus, how to prepare for one of the year's best observing nights. The Sky at Night will be repeated (in an extended show) on BBC 4 at 8:30pm Monday and on Saturday on BBC 2 (usually around 12noon). Patrick's co-presenter Chris Lintott will give our Christmas Lecture in December (http://www.astronomy.ie/lecture0512.html) 4. RARE CHANCE TO SEE MERCURY On Saturday evening I saw the elusive planet Mercury with the naked eye for the first time this year. There is a full guide to viewing it in the next few days in the March issue of our magazine page 26-27. Make sure you join the elite club of less than 1% of Earth's population who have ever seen the innermost planet. This is your best chance of 2005! Email your sightings to observe@astronomy.ie and we'll put your report in the magazine. Don't forget that if you join Astronomy Ireland now you are in with a chance to win a superb 2 night B&B + dinner in Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee. See www.astronomy.ie - David Moore, Chairman, Astronomy Ireland. Tel: (01) 847 0777 Visit www.astronomy.ie Please support our club, magazine, and visit the ASTRONOMY SHOP at Unit 75, Butterly Business Park, Kilmore Road, Artane, Dublin 5. ONE OF EUROPE'S BIGGEST TELESCOPE SHOPS.