Saturday 28th March 8PM at AI Headquarters Blanchardstown (location)
The biggest telescopes in Ireland will be there!
ANNUAL MOON WATCH
The Moon is by far the most fascinating object to see in a telescope.
The Moon is so close and big that the entire field of view of the telescopes will be full of detail as our powerful telescopes can see tens of thousands of times more details than your eye can!
You will see craters, and craters within craters, mountains in the centres of some of the craters, full mountain ranges in their own right outside of the craters, domes, lava plains, ridges and rilles.
“I’ve been looking at the Moon in big telescopes for decades and there is always something new to see – the view never gets old!” said David Moore, Editor of our Astronomy Ireland magazine (which you should get every month [link to /join] as it’s aimed at beginners especially)
David[link to /david] met and interviewed Neil Armstrong and he told him he had traced his ancestry and that his family came from Ireland, of which he was proud, even though there was some illegal activity involved.
David will explain what Neil said in his talk at the event, as well as explaining what we know about the Moon and how to get the best out of viewing it.
RADIO:
You can hear David talking about the Moon Watch and the NASA astronauts going there next week on a recent radio interview here
NASA ASTRONAUTS GOING BACK TO THE MOON NEXT WEEK!
Next week, after over half a century, NASA is sending 4 astronauts to the Moon on the incredible Artemis 2 mission!
In the telescopes you will actually get a better view than the astronauts will get out their window (they will be 4,000 miles above the Moon’s surface at their closest)
This is surely reason enough to come to our Annual Moon Watch?
David Moore will describe next week’s “Artemis 2” mission and the huge increase in lunar exploration that is now being planned in a new space race between China and the USA.
Hundreds of billions are being spent on this and, who knows, some of the young people at the Moon Watch could end up living and working on the Moon Bases that are now being funded, to be built from 2033 on!
JUPITER GREAT RED SPOT ALSO ON SHOW
We have picked this date as we will also be able to show you the planet Jupiter in all its glory in the big telescopes and its famous Great Red Spot will be visible that night in particular. Possibly less than 1 in a million people have ever seen the Great Red Spot ‘live’ in a telescope!
The event will begin at 8:00pm at our Headquarters in Blanchardstown (just off the M50) For map and directions visit:
The event is suitable for all ages, and we encourage families, children and adults to come along.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Will the event go ahead if it is raining?
YES! We plan our events in advance, therefore if it is raining the event will still go ahead. In the event of rain/cloud cover we will show you our telescopes and serve refreshments, PLUS Ireland’s best known astronomer David Moore will give a talk and answer all your questions.
Is the event suitable for children?
We welcome children of all ages to our events. Please note that children MUST be supervised AT ALL TIMES to ensure safety around telescopes and tea/coffee areas.
****SCOUT/SCHOOL GROUPS****
While we encourage scout and school groups to come along please call ahead in order to confirm if there are any prior groups arranged to come along. This makes it easier for our volunteers to enable all groups to view these amazing sights.
