Click in to see all the venues where
National Drawing Day will go on !! :-)
Contact details end of poster.







What's Up for May 2009 features our sun :-)


What's going on ?

Introduction to Astronomy in Ireland -

Deirdre Kelleghan Outreach Coordinator IFAS

May 12th 2009 Ballymun Library 6:30 pm
Ballymun Library, Main St., Ballymun, Dublin 1 Tel. 842 1890, Email. ballymunlibrary@dublincity.ie Free talk


Ireland and The Moon Landings: Some personal reminiscences
An illustrated talk with Professor Denis O’Sullivan of NASA, to commemorate Irish involvement in the Apollo Space missions from 1969-1972
Dublin City Library & Archive, Pearse St. - Thursday 14th May at 6.30p Booking Essential on 01 6744873. Admission Free.

National Drawing Day 2009 May 23rd 3 pm in conjunction with The National Gallery of Ireland. Dunsink Observatory Moon drawing workshop contact Deirdre 0872893828 Free


My Museum Series May 24th National Museum Kildare Street Dublin.
Deadly Moons a Moon drawing workshop for children
with Deirdre Kelleghan Free event

Deadly Moons is an art/astronomy drawing workshop which has been absorbed into UNAWE ie Universe Awareness for Young Children. A cornerstone project for International Year of Astronomy 2009.


Enceladus by a pupil from Scoil Oilibhéir Blanchardstown

May Events Darwin 200

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Bealtaine Festival of Outdoor Science

Location: Southeast Ireland
Date: 17th - 24th May 2009

The annual Bealtaine festival of outdoor science in the Southeast is organised by CALMAST at Waterford IT and will have as its theme this year : Biodiversity through natural selection. Over 50 events scheduled.

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Is the Human Y Chromosome Running Out of Time?

Location: Royal College of Surgeons - O'Flanagan lecture Theatre
Date: Wednesday 20 May 2009 7 pm

This year in honour of Charles Darwin's 200th year anniversary, Professor Jennifer A. Marshall Graves will give the annual RCSI outreach lecture - the theme Evolution. In this exciting lecture, Professor Jenny Graves outlines why the human Y chromosome is running out of time and how it could lose its last 45 genes in just 10 million years. What happens when SRY disappears? Would this be the end of the line for humans? Professor Graves explains the latest scientific research and discuss why, as the human Y runs out of options, new sex determining genes may evolve, potentially leading to different hominid species. Jenny is an inspirational speaker and this event promises to be one of the most entertaining events in our calendar this year.

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The X Club - Thomas Henry Huxley

Location: National Location: National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
Audience: Ages 8-12
Date: Saturday 6 June 2009

Known as Darwin's Bulldog, Huxley was one of the first anatomists to link birds to dinosaurs. Join an anatomy class with a difference!

Booking essential - contact BookingsKS@museum.ie or 01-6486332

If you would like a moon drawing workshop for your school or group contact me
skysketcher@gmail.com

Easter Proms in Scarlet and Sunshine Yellow

PST 40 mm/8mm TVP eyepiece
Sketch 1 = 12:50 UT 11/04/09




Sketch 2 = 16:30 UT 11/04/09





Sketch 3 = 17:00 UT 11/04/09

Easter Saturday, a text from a friend snaps me out
of my miserable cold and entices me to look at
prominences on the solar limb. An active busy prom on the NW limb about 350 degrees PA ,
was accompanied by a spike like ribbon of plasma.What to use ? ink? pastel? pencil ? what suits my mood.?
Relax your sick an inner voice said, go the easy route have some fun.

Gorgeous Windsor and Newton inks in their individual packages always makes me smile.
Sunshine Yellow , with the Summer Sunburst dolly girl , yep cool plasma in a jar.

My new teeny tiny watercolor brushes, a mother's day gift.

I only managed three sketches in between large dawdling clouds.
Occasionally fast moving grey cumulus spilled into my h alpha view like squid ink
bursting, obscuring , the billions of tons of material in my target.

A relaxing slow afternoon , following the sun around my garden, with Miss Sunshine Yellow on a tiny brush.




Easter Sunday

The interesting prom dance continues , Sunshine Yellow to begin but I am itching to try new watercolors and the tiniest brush on the planet. Looking at my box of full pans, Scarlet seems the closest block to h alpha realism.



Sketch 4 = 14:20 UT 12/04/09



!5:00UT


16:30UT

17:10UT
Oh the joy of tiny action, tiny brush strokes, tiny imperceptible movement. Time lapsed drawings capturing monumental energy, flinging itself thousands of miles into space. Leaping energy anchored to our star by its massive gravity.

I decide on alternate ink and watercolor sketches as an experiment , why not.



14:40UT


15:20UT


I shield my eyes from the sunlight in order to see these features erupting outward from our star. My cat helps herself to a drink of scarlet tinted water , she likes to get involved.

17:00 UT my Mimosa tree is getting in the way of my prom. I have to move my whole shebang left twenty feet and backwards to catch the falling disc.

Time to throw dinner in the oven.


16:00UT


Watercolor tends to dry quickly in the sun, ink stays wet on the brush for longer. Both ink and watercolor work well for prominences, shade works , helps evaporation. The suns heat crystallises the ink on the rim of the bottle.

17:45 UT Tiny leafs swaying in the breeze block ginormous proms. I follow sun beams between trees to watch the distant show.


16:45UT

My tiny 5/0 brush barely exists , just a few strands.

17:55 UT My little block of scarlet sits neatly on my tripod head.
My oven is beeping , time to do the veg.

After finishing the set , I get the urge to super size the last two sketches , one ink, one watercolor.
I watch skinny twigs thirty feet away obscuring my view. They move like window wipers , my prom flickers. Another move backwards a quick view , two quick final sketches.


17:05 UT

17:20UT
Best to rescue the dinner now. Stuffed chicken , roast honey glazed ham, roast potatoes , york cabbage and carrots. Eaglehawk Cabernet Sauvignon and Ortas Rasteau Cote De Rhone. Chocolate

What's Up for April with Jane Houston Jones























IAS April Talk
Stephen Roche has taken a leap forward in his
imaging of night sky objects from his garden
in Waterford. Do come along and see for yourself
the stunning astro photo's he is producing these days.











Other April events in the Darwin 200 series

UCC Darwin Exhibition
This fascinating little exhibition contains some real gems from the
Universities library, Natural History and Geology collections.
Among the speciments on display are animals collected (and stuffed) by Darwin
on the Beagle voyage and among the books is a first edition of "The Origin
of Species" which was on the libraries lending shelves until the 1960's
and which contains "Darwin-denying" margin notes. The exhibition was due
to end last week but has been extended to run until Easter. Please
contact the Boole Library to check it is still on!



Alien Evolution
Location: Blackrock Castle Observatory
Date: April 6 - April 19 2009 from 11 am
The Alien Evolution workshop takes a fun look at how aliens might have
evolved on very different planets. Spend a morning making aliens over
the Easter break at Blackrock Castle Observatory. Just drop in any day
from next Monday April 6 to Sunday April 19 from 11am for the one and a
half hour workshops. Price €5.00 per child. Suitable for children aged
6-10. Younger children are welcome if accompanied by a parent.


Debating Darwin
RTE Radio 1
New six-part series presented by Damien Walshe, produced by Peter Mooney
Friday nights at 8:30pm, episodes also available for download after the
broadcast dates
Further details: http://www.rte.ie/radio1/debatingdarwin/1084146.html

One Hundred Hours of Astronomy in a nutshell

Many families enjoyed a good look at the night sky with members of The IAS and SDAS in Glendalough.






When you go down to the woods these days
you sure get a BIG surprise!!!

Saturn and our lovely Moon in Glendalough in International Year of Astronomy :-)

April 4th 2009 210 people attended this free public star party in Wicklow Mountains National Park.
The Irish Astronomical Society ran this event as part of 100 Hours of Astronomy, a cornerstone project for International Year of Astronomy 2009.
As well as being for 100 Hours it was also a Saturn Observation Campaign event. Cassini bookmarks and Saturn moon cards were given to all attending.
This event was part of 20 events in Ireland the majority of which were under the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies umbrella.
Our lovely moon and Saturn were the main targets, but many constellations were shown to the eager families who formed long queues at each of the eight telescopes. Many thanks to Michael Murphy, Val Dunne, David Branigan, Keith Deveney, James Kelly,Philip Lardner and Paul from The Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies who shared the wonderful sky with great energy and enthusiasm.
Thanks also to Wicklow Mountains National Park, Ian Edwards, John Kinsella and the park staff for being so attentive.

Other IAS events for 100 Hours

E learning in the bus provided by Dublin City Libraries Thursday April 2nd in Bluebell Dublin.


Teacher Rosin O'Shea is delighted to get Cassini information on the e learning bus. April 2nd

The bus driver gets a look at a lovely prom on the SW limb of the sun.
20 Children and their teachers get to look at the solar disc and prom

Dublin City Libraries e learning bus
outside Our Lady of the Wayside NS
in Bluebell on a blue day in Dublin April 2nd

Deirdre heads to the Central Library in the ILAC center to do a talk on Galileo April 2nd 6pm













e learning with astronomy software April 3rd Sandymount Dublin.




Denis from DIAS checks out Michael O'Connells meteorite collection at Dunsink Observatory on April 2nd


Observing with in the dome
Dunsink Observatory April 2nd

Michael O' Connell from MAC
gives a great public talk
on Meteorites