Public Lectures
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Carl Edward Sagan (1934 –1996) holds a special place in the pantheon of science communicators. He was an American astronomer and planetary scientist, held professorships at Harvard and Cornell, and is remembered for co-writing and narrating the 1980 documentary series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, which, it is claimed, has been seen by 500 million people in 60 countries. There are many contenders for a favourite Carl Sagan… “read more”
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The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is building the imaginatively named Extremely Large Telescope at Cerro Armazones, a mountain at an altitude of 3,046 metres in the central part of Chile’s Atacama Desert. The main image shows the telescope structure to the same scale as Cork City Hall. Whilst the bulk of the structure is now nearing completion, the next steps… “read more”
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Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars other than our Sun. Over 6,000 exoplanets are known, but only a small handful of them have been directly imaged. Taking these photos pushes the limits of our technology, requiring the largest telescopes, advanced optics, and complex data analysis in order to separate the faint signal of the exoplanet from the overwhelming glare of the… “read more”
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Claims that signs of life have been detected in the universe have so far proved erroneous — but November’s speaker, Dr Samuel Beiler (pictured below), will focus on the careful scientific process that may eventually allow for such claims to be believable. He will explore this through the lens of phosphine (PH3) — a molecule found on Earth, Jupiter, and… “read more”
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October’s public lecture will be delivered by Alan Giltinan, the title: “Photometry, a means to peak at the universe”. Photometry is a technique used in astronomy that is concerned with measuring the characteristics of light radiated by astronomical objects, from which much information about the emitting object can be gained. The speaker: Alan is Manager of MTU’s Blackrock Castle Observatory, and… “read more”
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What’s even more important to Irish amateur astronomers than if Jupiter’s moons are all in a row? The weather! Meteorologists Evelyn Cusack and Séamus Walsh will open our new season of public lectures on 8th September with a talk entitled “THEY SAY IT MIGHT RAIN = The Highs and Lows of Ireland’s Weather and Climate”. Evelyn retired from forecasting in 2023… “read more”
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Each day NASA selects what it thinks the best astronomy image and publishes it on its website. Professor Robert J. Nemiroff heads up the selection team and he will be attending the European Astronomy Society annual meeting in UCC in June. Robert has very kindly offered us a lecture on APOD which will take place in Boole 4, UCC, on… “read more”
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Prof Paul Callanan will give a public lecture with the mysterious title of the “The Third Test”. (Don’t ask us because we don’t know either—you’ll have to come along to see for yourself.) Paul is Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UCC and an honorary member of Cork Astronomy Club, and we are delighted to welcome him back for this… “read more”
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Where did all of the hydrogen in the Universe come from? Why is lithium such a rare element? What’s the connection between the date August 17th, 2017 and the iodine in your thyroid? Join Dr. Mark Kennedy as he answers these questions and more, through an astronomer’s view of the periodic table of the elements. Dr Mark Kennedy lecturers in… “read more”
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Many thanks to Sean Mac an tSithigh for his magnificent presentation “Celestial Echoes: The Night Sky in Irish Folklore” on 11th November. The event drew a packed house of over 80, and seldom has a talk generated so much excitement. The good news is the event was recorded and will be available in the near future on our YouTube channel.… “read more”