Evening Classes 2010 Events DVDs Shop 1. Behold Mars - Public Lecture & DVD On Monday, March 8, there will be a Public Lecture by Irish space author Kevin Nolan who will give a talk entitled 'Behold Mars'. In this talk, Kevin will discuss the Red Planet in great detail, in particular the evidence of life on Mars, its remarkable similarities to Earth, and the ancient waterways and oceans that once covered the planet. He will also discuss the challenges facing a manned mission to Mars and the opportunities that such a mission would present. Kevin Nolan is a leading Irish expert on Mars and his book 'Mars: A Cosmic Stepping Stone' received excellent reviews on it's publication last year. Kevin is an animated and witty speaker and his past talks have received rave reviews from the general public. This talk promises to be one of the highlights of our Lecture Programme for 2010, so why not come along, or order the DVD, and learn all you could possibly need to know about this fascinating planet. For more information click HERE. The lecture takes place in the Fitzgerald (Physics) Building, Trinity College Dublin, on March 8. Tickets cost 7euro (5euro members rate) and there is a DVD available for anyone who cannot make it to the talk on the night. BOOK TICKETS ORDER DVD 2. Endeavour and ISS Work is still ongoing on board the ISS where the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour (Mission STS-130) are installing a new node, designed to enhance the stations life support and environmental systems such as oxygen generation and water recycling. This mission marks the 33rd trip dedicated to the assembly, maintenance and improvement of the International Space Station, and is one of the last 5 flights of the shuttle programme which is due to be decommissioned in September. On Wednesday, February 17, at 4:17 p.m. EST all 11 astronauts and cosmonauts on the docked vehicles received a congratulatory phone call from President Barack Obama, who was accompanied at the White House by a dozen middle school students from across the country who are in Washington, D.C. for a national engineering competition. President Obama congratulated the crew on their work, and added that he was "very excited about putting research dollars into the technologies" that will get humans to Mars and beyond. To read more about President Obama's phone call click HERE. For more information about Endeavour and future Shuttle missions visit www.nasa.gov and to watch live space walks from this mission go to www.nasa.gov/ntv. 3. Fireball We have received reports overnight of a fireball that was seen all across the country at approximately 10:30pm last night, February 17. If you, or anyone you know, saw this spectacular event then please log on to our website and submit a Fireball Report. Each report is treated as real scientific data and contributes to our investigation of such incidents. For more information and to log your report click HERE. 4. Events February - Evening Classes Late Registration Special Offer 20% Discount (Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Tralee, Waterford) March 8 - 'Behold Mars' Public Lecture & DVD by Kevin Nolan Astronomy Ireland The world's most popular Astronomy Club www.astronomy.ie ( subscribe / unsubscribe ) Our Online Telescope Shop