Founded in 1978, Cork Astronomy Club is a vibrant group of amateur astronomers with interest in the planets, stars, the universe at large, space exploration and the history of astronomy. We hold monthly public lectures from September through to May. For members there are many additional activities, Saturday workshops, observing, outings, social events.
This website is to share our passion for the universe and the fascinating mysteries it holds and to bring you news, photos, links to articles, videos and other resources. You’ll also find out about our Club here. Follow us also on Facebook and Twitter, and let us bring you closer to ESA, NASA, Sky at Night and numerous organisations working on space programs.
Cork is home to Blackrock Castle Observatory, and we work together on outreach activities and events.
The Club
- Membership is open to all with an interest in astronomy
- A member of the Irish Federation of Astronomical Societies
- Lectures on astronomy related topics by experts drawn from club members and invited guests
- Viewing sessions, workshops, social events, field trips
- No connection with any firms selling telescopes
- A democratic club, committee elected by all club members at AGM each May
What we do
If you are not a member, you can get alerts for our lectures and other public events by subscribing to our free monthly guest bulletin. Our lectures are open to all.
For Club members, there are workshops, observing sessions, social events. site visits (recently the National Maritime College of Ireland at Ringaskiddy and Met Éireann’s weather station at Cork Airport), and a members’ newsletter. We maintain a WhatsApp group for members to exchange news, photos, advice and comments on their observing. In April members will visit Jodrell Bank, the world’s first radio astronomy observatory, near Manchester. The spring outiong is an annual event and previous destinations have included Greenwich Royal Observatory, The Vatican Observatory, Prague, Vienna and Amsterdam.
From September to May lectures are on the second Monday of the month at 8 pm in UCC. View our current season’s lecture programme here – all are welcome. To get news of forthcoming events you can subscribe to our free guest bulletin.
During Covid lockdown in 2020 and 2021 we discovered Zoom and our remote speakers included leading Irish astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Royal Astronomical Society president Prof Emma Bunce, Seth Shostak of California’s SETI Institute, and TED speaker Prof Ann-Marie Madigan. From time to time in the future we may hold additional remote lectures and host international speakers.
Explore recorded lectures on our YouTube channel. Workshops on telescopes, navigating the night sky etc are available for club members only. Workshop links available in the monthly newsletter.