Lectures, Star Wars Ex, IYA2009 Mural, Photo comp, Big Moon, stamps

 

Hi all,

1. Public Lectures at Tara. Organised by Clare Tuffy of Bru na Boinne (OPW), this summer's series of lectures at Hill of Tara Visitors Centre, near Navan in Co Meath, are on an astronomical theme to mark International Year of Astronomy. They are held on successive Wednesdays, at 8.0. Admission is free.

(1)  July 1: "How the Ancient Irish Viewed the Skies" by Terry Moseley, Irish Astronomical Association.

(2)  July 8: "Galileo And The Copernican Revolution", by Prof. Markus Woerner, NUI Galway

(3)  July 15:  "Irish Astronomy In The Nineteenth Century", by Prof. Trevor Weekes, Smithsonian Institution, Washington.

(4)  July 22: "Exploring The Cosmos: The View from Hubble and Beyond", by Prof. Tom Ray, Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies". See www.newgrange.com/news23.htm

(No pressure on me, then....!)

2. Public Lectures by Prof. Carolyn Porco, head of the Imaging Team on the Cassini Mission to Saturn and its moons. See and hear about the latest amazing findings from this outstandingly successful mission, including the recent discovery of water on Saturn's moon Enceladus.

(1) Friday July 3, 8 p.m., Blackrock Castle Observatory, Blackrock, Co Cork. Booking essential.

(2) Wednesday July 8, 7.30 p.m., Armagh Planetarium. The tickets are free but they are
limited to one hundred seats. If anyone would like a ticket contact Neil Cullen with their home address and he will post a ticket out to you.
    Neil Cullen, Armagh Planetarium, College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DB, 02837 523689, 02837 512938 (Direct Line). E: neil@armaghplanet.com

3. Astronomy Ireland Lecture: Monday, July 13 - Trinity College Dublin - "Dark Matter" Professor Gerry Gilmore speaks about the dark matter which provides the gravity holding galaxies together and built the structure we see in the universe today. Drawing on research from the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Gerry will explain how astronomy is the way to discover how Nature works on the grandest of scales.

4. GALACTIC TREASURES at Armagh Planetarium. For all Star Wars fans - see the Armagh Planetarium website, www.armaghplanet.com for details of the August “Star Wars” exhibition at Armagh Planetarium.

5. Deirdre Kelleghan (IAS) has been involved in helping school children produce a mural in Dublin city centre to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy. More details at http://www.asod.info/?p=1902

6. Astro Photo Comp: Another photography competition (for students) has an astronomy theme. The closing date for DCU’s “Eye in the Sky” contest has now been extended to 30^th September 2009. More details available from http://www.science.ie/index.cfm/section/news/page/newsPage/news_key/969

7. IYA 2009: Many events are being run throughout Ireland for the International Year of Astronomy 2009.  Next month, the National Museum of Ireland will host a Moon week. More details are at http://www.astronomy2009.ie/. Some interesting pictures of the astronomy-themed Belfast City Carnival over the weekend are already on www.astronomy2009.ie

8. LARGEST EVER MOON IMAGE: Over the last 3 months, a team of some of the world's best astro-imagers took part in an incredibly ambitious project to create the largest ground-based mosaic image of the Moon, and in doing so, entered the Guinness Book of Records. The project, which was largely conducted from the home of Sir Patrick Moore in Selsey, Sussex, required specialist astronomy cameras, top grade amateur telescopes, and  specialist software to compile and mosaic the frames. The result of this impressive project is an astonishing and brilliantly defined shot of the Moon, far surpassing any other image taken so far by ground-based astronomers.

To see the image with full zoom capacity go to www.lunarworldrecord.com.

The image is available for purchase in various dimensions, and ALL money raised will be donated to Sir Patrick Moore's chosen charity, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

9. APOLLO STAMPS: Armagh Planetarium as special commemorative stamps, marking the 40th anniversary of the first Moon Landing by Apollo 11, for sale. See the website: www.armaghplanet.com

Clear skies,

Terry Moseley