IAA Summer BBQ, Armagh P, Lecturer position, 4th July.

Hi all,

1. IAA Summer BBQ & Rocket Launching, Sunday 29 June:
The IAA's summer BBQ will again be held at Greencastle Planetarium at the
Maritime Museum, Greencastle, Inishowen, Co Donegal, where we'll have a
planetarium show, followed by real live rocket launching under the expert
tutelage of the director, Ash McFadden, followed by our BBQ.

Normal admission prices to the Maritime Museum and
Planetarium.

Remember, Sunday 29 June, starting at 12 noon
if you want to build your own rocket from a kit, or 2 p.m. if you just want to
see the starshow & the rocket launching.

2.
Armagh Planetarium Summer Blast off!
Blast off into a fun filled
family weekend at Armagh Planetarium on Saturday 28th and Sunday
29th June. It will be packed full of free activities for all
the family such as face painting, rocket building and competitions, as well as
the chance to check out one of our spectacular new shows in Ireland's only full
dome digital theatre (you can get into one show per family for free but you must
pre-book!) Our new shows
for family groups and children
up to 10 years old is the amazing 'Zula Patrol: Under the weather'. This
CG-animated show features a cast of loveable characters who take the audience on
a rollercoaster ride across the Solar System teaching them about science and
astronomy in a very entertaining comedic style.

The Zula
Patrol are a crew of wacky alien space explorers who must stop the evil but
bumbling villain Dark Truder (and Trixie, his talking hairpiece) before he
steals weather systems from the planets. If Truder gets away with this, he will
have the key to finding a magic ruby and become ruler of Planet Zula. The story
is fun with some great catchy songs, engaging and cute characters and funny
jokes. The show is superbly designed and animated in a colourful 'retro' style
and the audience will pick up facts about Earth and its neighbouring planets
without even realising that they are learning. 'Zula Patrol' covers the whole
dome in exciting action so this is a great show for small people and their
grown-ups. I am sure it will go down a storm!

Can you name
the Seven Wonders of the World? What about the
Seven Wonders of the Universe? In its thirty minutes running time 'Seven
Wonders' (narrated by Sean 'Sharpe' Bean) will take our audiences on two
separate voyages to ancient times on Earth and then out into the remote depths
of Space. The show covers the ancient wonders of the world, depicting them as
never before in their full glory. The audience will investigate the theories of
how these wonders were created and the stories of their downfalls before moving
out into space to get a glimpse of some of the Universe's great celestial
natural wonders. There are spectacular views of globular clusters and nebulae;
they look stunning in the full dome format. Every astronomer has his or
her own list of most wonderful sights in the Cosmos, how many of yours will be
among the Seven Wonders?

'Invaders of
Mars' is a very special show. Made by Evans and Sutherland with assistance
from Goto, ESA and ourselves at Armagh, it
tells of how the planet Mars, that tantalising red beacon in our skies, has
intrigued people on Earth for centuries. Could it be the home of alien life?
Could we fly there to see its wonders with our own eyes? Nowadays robotic
explorers from Earth are revealing the ancient secrets of Mars and showing us
just how our neighbouring world is both alien yet so like our own
planet.

This
spectacular new show will let our visitors see Mars as the astronomers of the
past did, before taking you on an unforgettable trip to the Red Planet with our
space probes from the Mariners of the 1960s right up to today's Mars Express and
Exploration Rovers. They will see mighty volcanoes, the biggest canyon
ever discovered and signs of water ice, before taking a peek at future times
when humans voyage in person to this mysterious world. I hope the audience for
this show will feel as though they too are invading Mars in
person.

We are
also pleased to welcome Knights of the
Empire, who will be attending this event in full Star Wars costume.
Space, Fun, Astronomy, excitement… it's all at Armagh
Planetarium.

Admission to one show and exhibition area is
free! (Maximum one show per family)
Check our website for more details

www.armaghplanet.com.
Pre-booking is Essential Call 02837523689.

(Colin
Johnston and Alyson
Kerr)

3. Lectureship, University of Dublin, Trinity College

Post
Title: Lecturer in Astrophysics
Status: Permanent
Dept/Faculty:
School of Physics
Closing Date: 12 noon on Friday, 1st August,
2008
Salary: The appointment will be offered on the
Lecturer salary scale
€37,343 - €75,365 / €77,875 - €85,599 per annum.

The
School of Physics wishes to appoint a Lecturer in Astrophysics with a proven
research track record.
This permanent position is funded for the first three
years by the Higher Education Authority (Ireland)
under its SIF Cycle II
programme and thereafter by Trinity College.

Applicants must have a Ph.D.
in astronomy or astrophysics and at least two years' postdoctoral experience in
either solar or stellar physics. Ideally the successful candidate will develop a
research activity which strengthens existing themes in the group. The
candidate's publication and funding record must be
commensurate with
experience.

Currently there are 2 lecturers, 4 postdoctoral staff, and 8
postgraduate students working in the astrophysics
group. Current research
involves both ground- and space-based observations, and also utilises
high
performance computing facilities available both locally and nationally.
Information on these themes and the
group in general is available at: http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Astrophysics/research.php

The
successful candidate will join the two existing academic staff members in
handling an expanding
undergraduate astrophysics programme, as well as
participate in postgraduate supervision within the
School. As a result, the
candidates should have some previous experience in teaching to undergraduate
and/or postgraduate students. Previous success in obtaining research funding
will be advantageous. Background information on the astrophysics group can be
obtained at:
http://www.tcd.ie/Physics/Astrophysics

Lecturers from
other institutes currently assist in providing astrophysics courses and
supervising final year projects. In particular close ties are maintained by the
nearby Cosmic Physics School of the Dublin
Institute for Advanced Studies,
and interaction with staff and students through attendance at their
seminar
series is encouraged.

Candidates should submit a full
curriculum vitae, list of publications, research plan, summary of teaching
experience and a statement of the approach to teaching and the names of three
referees to:

Ms. Joanne Smith, Recruitment Executive, Staff Office,
Trinity College, Dublin 2
Tel: +353 1 896 1749
Fax: +353 1 677
2694
Email:joanne.smith@tcd.ie

WE WELCOME APPLICATIONS BY EMAIL.
TRINITY COLLEGE IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EMPLOYER"

4. Fourth of July. Are you ready to
celebrate? No, not USA Independence Day. For everyone on Earth, it's Aphelion
Day. That's the day when the Earth is furthest from the Sun in its annual
circuit around its elliptical orbit. From that day on, we'll start gradually
getting closer to the Sun again as we head for Perihelion, or our closest
point to the Sun, early in the New Year. The difference is not huge: the
variation is from 152m km to 147m km, and it's not enough to outweigh the
seasonal effects of the tilt of the Earth's axis, which gives us our Northern
and Southern summers and winters. But if you are observing the Sun USING ONLY
PROPER SOLAR TELESCOPES OR FILTERS OF COURSE! - then that's the day when the
Sun's image will be smallest.

Clear
Skies,

Terry
Moseley