Upcoming Events from 16/11/2003 onwards

Redshift

This thread is for notification of upcoming organized astronomy related events only.
If your club has an event or you know of one coming up please post the following.

Name of Club:
Type of Event:
Date:
Purpose of Event: i.e. Observing Mars
Location and Directions:
Admission Fee:
Brief synopsis: i.e. special guest speaker.
Website Link if available:

In order to keep this thread tidy please make a new thread if you wish to discuss an event.

Don't use this thread to advertise sales it is for observing events and lectures only.

albertw

These details were posted on the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies board, www.irishastronomy.org. Please use the contact details below if you want more information.

Cheers,
~Al

Name of Club: Galway Astronomy Club
Type of Event: Star Party
Date: Saturday 24th of January 2004 @ 10pm (Registration 9.15-9.45)
Location and Directions: Galway :-)
Admission Fee: 20EUR
Brief synopsis: isee not so brief synopsis below!
Website Link if available:

Date/Time: Saturday 24th of January 2004 @ 10pm (Registration 9.15-9.45)

Venue: The Westwood House Hotel, Newcastle, and Galway City

Admission: 20 Euro inc. Coffee/tea break (Free parking)

Official Opening by The Lord Mayor of Galway City: Ald. Terry O'Flaherty.

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1. Dr. Robert Lambourne: Open University, Head of Physics and Astronomy Department.

The New Universe: This will be a review of recent developments in cosmology, with an emphasis on supernova cosmology and the results from the MAP probe.

2. Prof. Michael Redfern: NUIG, Department of Experimental Physics.

Black Holes: First discovered in the 19th century Prof. Alexander Anderson of University College Galway. Since then black holes have changed from being a theoretical concept to one, which is well established observationally. We can now observe small black holes in binary systems and super-massive black holes in the cores of galaxies including our own galaxy.

3. Dr. Andrew Shearer: NUIG, Department of Information Technology.

The Crab Nebula: The Crab Nebula in the Constellation of Taurus is the debris of a supernova explosion that occurred on July 6th, 1054. The explosion was seen by Chinese astronomers and recorded by Anasazi Indians in New Mexico. At its peak it was about four times brighter than Venus. Despite this, there are no known European sightings of this event. Since then, studies of the nebula have given us a detailed insight into the death of a large star. The name “Crab Nebula” comes from drawings made by the Third Earl of Rosse around 1844. Modern day photographs show the shape to be more like Ireland than a crab. This talk will describe the latest research by Dr. Shearer on the Crab Nebula & its Pulsar from observations at the William Herschel Telescope in La Palma and the Westerbork Radio Observatory in Holland.

4. Prof. Paul Mohr: Emeritus Professor, NUIG, Department of Geology.

A Feisty Tuam Amateur Astronomer in Exciting Times:-A rapidly expanding universe in mid-19th century astronomy received major input from amateur observers. In Ireland these included such as Agnes Clerke of Skibereen, Co. Cork, Edward Cooper of Markree, Co. Sligo, William and Charles Parsons (Earls of Rosse) of Birr, Co. Offaly, Wentworth Erck of Bray, Co. Wicklow, William Wilson of Daramona, Co. Longford, and John Birmingham of Millbrook, Co. Galway. It was in his fiftieth year that John Birmingham attracted the attention of astronomers the worldwide. Shortly before midnight on 12 May 1866, his roving and knowledgeable eye perceived a star in the constellation of Corona Borealis (the Northern Crown) where no star was previously to be seen with the naked eye. It was the brightest "nova" in the heavens since 1604, and its discovery astonished and excited the global astronomical community. Afterwards he focused astonishing energy in making a renowned catalogue of variable red stars and their spectra, but equally in disseminating critical reviews of the many frontiers of astronomy for the educated public.

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The Star Party may continue with informal meetings of workshops on Astrophotography, CCD & Web cam imaging, Variable stars etc. If anyone has any ideas/suggestions please email galwayastro@email.com

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Observing will take place at the new NUIG Optical and Radio Observatory.

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Trade stands: North Down Telescopes, Armagh Planetarium

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Also possibility of a small John Birmingham Exhibition with a collection of his work and his beautiful 4.5 inch Cooke Refractor

Galway Astronomy Club History

http://homepage.eircom.net/~galwayastronomyclub/

The Galway Astronomy Club was founded in 1998 by several local enthusiasts interested in promoting astronomy in the West of Ireland by providing a formal amateur organisation for our city of over 60,000 people. Our first meeting was attended by just six people but since then our membership has grown to over 70 members governed by an 8-person committee. We are a very active club and our activities include at least two public planet watches per year, a pre-Christmas telescope display, an annual coach trip for members, Slide shows at local Schools, Scout dens and to various societies. We are also involved with Science Week Ireland and produce a monthly Newsletter. Having a professional Astronomy Course at NUIG gives a great boost to our monthly meetings as this ensures we always have a great choice of speakers to choose from. We have just launched a brand new website from which u can access further information on our Connacht Starparty plus an extended accommodation list. Link to our website via www.irishastronomy.org. You are all very Welcome to Galway!

The Westwood House Hotel is a 4 star Hotel situated in the western suburbs of Galway City close to NUI Galway. For anyone unfamiliar to the area it is on the N59: Clifden-Galway Road.

http://www.westwoodhousehotel.com/

Accommodation Near hotel
Owner’s Name Name of premises Address Phone No.
Mr & Mrs Pat & Helena Hanlon Clochard 4 Spires Gardens, Shantalla Rd (091) 521533
Mrs Mary Corless Coolavalla 22 Newcastle Road (091) 522415
Ms Margaret Walsh De Sota 54 Newcastle Road (091) 585064
Mr & Mrs Michael & Nora Corley Lisnagree 1 Cherry Park (091) 520230
Miss Bridget Phil McCarthy Petra 201 Laurel Park (091) 521844
Mrs Nancy O'Neill Ros Gal 2 Ashgrove (091) 524723
Mrs Maureen McCallion Villa Nova 40 Newcastle Road (091) 524849


Anyone requiring any additional information can contact our Club President
Martin Quirke on 091 528347 or view our website which will be updated shortly with a large accomadation list. We think that for our inagural event we have a very interesting line up of speakers and a enjoyable day for all is assured.

albertw

Name of Club: South Dublin Astronomical Society
Type of Event: Meeting
Date: Tonight, Dec4th 2003
Location and Directions: 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin.
Admission Fee: FREE

--
a few speakers lined up for the evening with the main focus being on Daniel Lynch and the account of his trip to see the November 23rd total solar eclipse over the Antarctic on a plane flight from Australia. Should be fascinating.

Philip Lardner will give a talk on building a telescope as we are keen to see if there is interest in starting telescope making classes.

we'll also have various people showing their photos and slides of the recent aurora and, if time, a video on The Christmas Star.

finally, if clear, observing from the grounds of the College.
--

Cheers,
~Al

albertw

2. Another reminder about the flourishing Galway Astronomy Club's "Connaught Star Party. It's on 24 January, @ 10a.m. (Registration 9.15-9.45), at The Westwood House Hotel, Newcastle, Galway City.
Admission: €20 inc. Coffee/tea break (Free parking)
Official Opening by The Lord Mayor of Galway City: Ald. Terry O'Flaherty.
SPEAKERS:
(1) Dr. Robert Lambourne: Open University, Head of Physics and Astronomy Department. "The New Universe": This will be a review of recent developments in cosmology, with an emphasis on supernova cosmology and the results from the MAP probe.
(2) Prof. Michael Redfern: NUIG, Department of Experimental Physics. "Black Holes": First discovered in the 19th century Prof. Alexander Anderson of University College Galway. Since then black holes have changed from being a theoretical concept to one, which is well established observationally. We can now observe small black holes in binary systems and super-massive black holes in the cores of galaxies including our own galaxy.
(3) Dr. Andrew Shearer: NUIG, Department of Information Technology. "The Crab Nebula": The Crab Nebula in the Constellation of Taurus is the debris of a supernova explosion that occurred on July 6th, 1054. The explosion was seen by Chinese astronomers and recorded by Anasazi Indians in New Mexico. At its peak it was about four times brighter than Venus. Despite this, there are no known European sightings of this event. Since then, studies of the nebula have given us a detailed insight into the death of a large star. The name "Crab Nebula" comes from drawings made by the Third Earl of Rosse around 1844. Modern day photographs show the shape to be more like Ireland than a crab. This talk will describe the latest research by Dr. Shearer on the Crab Nebula & its Pulsar from observations at the William Herschel Telescope in La Palma and the Westerbork Radio Observatory in Holland.
(4) Prof. Paul Mohr: Emeritus Professor, NUIG, Department of Geology. "A Feisty Tuam Amateur Astronomer in Exciting Times": - A rapidly expanding universe in mid-19th century astronomy received major input from amateur observers. In Ireland these included such as Agnes Clerke Edward Cooper, William and Charles Parsons, Wentworth Erck, William Wilson, and John Birmingham of Millbrook, Co. Galway. It was in his fiftieth year that John Birmingham attracted the attention of astronomers the worldwide. Shortly before midnight on 12 May 1866, he discovered 'T Corona Borealis', the brightest "nova" in the heavens since 1604, and its discovery astonished and excited the global astronomical community. Afterwards he focused astonishing energy in making a renowned catalogue of variable red stars and their spectra, but equally in disseminating critical reviews of the many frontiers of astronomy for the educated public.
The meeting may continue with informal meetings of workshops on Astro-photography, CCD & Web cam imaging, Variable stars etc. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please email galwayastro@email.com
Observing will take place at the new NUIG Optical and Radio Observatory.
Trade stands: North Down Telescopes, Armagh Planetarium
Also possibility of a small John Birmingham Exhibition with a collection of his work and his 4.5 inch Cooke Refractor."
More details from <galwayastro@email.com>

albertw

From the IAS:

Monday 2nd February 2004 at 8pm

Does Anti-Matter matter?
by James O'Connor(I.A.S.)

Venue: Ely House
8 Ely Place, Dublin 2

All welcome. €2 admission, members free.

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From TAS:

The next TAS public lecture is on next Monday February 2nd @ 8pm in the Order of Malta Training Room, Tanyard, Tullamore:

Neil Tappe - InfraRed Astronomy

All are welcome to attend, and there will be observing afterwards... if it is clear!

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albertw

hi everyone,

you are all very welcome to the next meeting of SDAS/Gonzaga College Astronomy Club this week. Details of the forthcoming talk are below.

see ya there!

John Flannery,
SDAS



South Dublin Astronomical Society and Gonzaga College Astronomy Club

next meeting scheduled for Thursday, 5th February 2004 at 8pm in Gonzaga College, Ranelagh, Dublin


A talk by John O'Neill of the Irish Astronomical Society on

"Two Great Comets for Spring 2004"


Comets C/2001 Q4 NEAT and C/2002 T7 LINEAR are adhering to their promise to be two fine celestial sights that will grace the late-Spring skies of 2004. Both are within binocular range though Comet C/2001 Q4 NEAT is too far south to be seen in Irish skies at present. Both comets will be easy naked eye objects at their brightest and will evoke memories of Comet Hale-Bopp which was admired by millions in early 1997.

John O'Neill is one of Ireland's foremost amateur astronomers, a veteran of six total solar eclipses, and countless hours logged observing the night sky. His talk will focus on some of the great comets of the 1990s that were seen from Ireland and looks ahead to the prospects for observing the two great comets this Spring. The lecture was recently given to the IAS and John's slides of Comet Hale-Bopp are simply stunning and not to be missed.

www.irishastronomy.org

albertw

Hi,

The second big astronomy gathering of the year falls on March 19-21st this year. The tullamore astronomical Societies COSMOS star party.

Full detals on http://www.seanie-m.com/cosmos.htm but here is the lineup so far.

Cheers,
~Al
--
www.irishastronomy.org

Friday March 19th

19:30 ...Registration
20:30 ...David McCann, TAS - Title TBC

Saturday March 20th

09:00 ...Registration & opening of exhibits
10:00 ...Paul Mohr - Planet Earth's Galactic Predicament
11:30 ...Coffee Break
12:00 ...Tony Farrell - Chaos In The Solar System
13:30 ...Lunch!
14.30 ...Credihe Sullivan, NUI Maynooth - Probing the Early Universe
16:00 ...Coffee Break
16:30 ...Table Quiz
18:00 ...Break for the evening
20:00 ...Cosmos Dinner Party & QUIZ RESULTS
22:30 ...Observing (Weather Permitting) or 'Fun & Games'

Sunday March 21st

10:30 ...Workshops (be afraid…. be very afraid! Astrophotographers, bring your camera's!)
12:30 ...Lunch!
13:30 ...Bart Busschots, NUI Maynooth - Virtual Telescopes in Education
15:00 ...Close and Farewell

albertw

Hi,

There is a lunar eclipse on May 4th. The moon will rise in shadow at about 9pm so this has some nice photo oppertunities.

So far there are two clubs that are organising eclipse watches, more to follow in the coming days I expect.

Tullamore Astronomical Society
Seannie Morris
half way between Tyrrellspass and Kilbeggan!
Contact TAS http://homepages.iol.ie/~seanmck/tas.htm

Shannonside Astronomy Club
Dave Lillis
Boher, Co. Limerick
Contact SAC http://www.geocities.com/shannonsideac/

These events are free but please contact the clubs in advance for exact details & times etc.

To find your nearest club (so you can pester them about the eclipse or venus transit!) see http://www.irishastronomy.org/ifas/members.php
The list now includes two recently formed astronomy clubs in the southeast.

Cheers,
~Al
--
Got Milky Way?
www.irishastronomy.org/ilpac

albertw

IRISH ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY

Dublin SideWalk Astronomersof the I.A.S.
"BAD MOON RISING: LUNAR ECLIPSE"
Tuesday 4th May 2004

Public Star Party
Start 9.00pm,
at the Sandymount Tower car park, Dublin 4.

No Charge.

albertw

More details:

Shannonside Astronomy Club
Dave Lillis
Boher, Co. Limerick
Contact SAC http://www.geocities.com/shannonsideac/

Hi All,
Shannonside in Limerick will be having an eclipse watch from our usual observing site, 8 miles south of Limerick city, we have a great horizon at this site and we'll all be there on Tuesday evening.
ALL ARE WELCOME, if you want to come along, send me an email at
davelillis@eircom.net
leave your name and a contact phone number, I'll check my email around 6pm on Tuesday, and give you a call.
You dont need to have a telescope, we'll have telescopes/bincoulars there.

Were also having our May meeting on Wednesday with a talk from Dr Kevin Nolan (ITT Dublin), he'll be giving a talk on "Current Exploration of the Solar System".

We'll also be showing the photographic results from the eclipse, and details on the all important upcoming Venus Transit across the Sun in June.
_________________
Dave L.
Shannonside Astronomy Club