About IFAS
Irish Astronomy Week 2023
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Irish Astronomy Week is set for Sunday 20th - Saturday 26th March 2023.
The IAW website is now available.
The webpages and events are not completed as more information from bookings is coming in on a daily basis, we strive to make sure all events are free, some are open to the public while other to only school children.
COSMOS 2023
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COSMOS 2023 has now been confirmed for the weekend commencing 24 March.
Venue: Midlands National Shooting Centre at Boora, County Offaly.
Details are available here.
Galaxy hunting
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Great night last night , unusually clear skies down here in south so went hunting some deep sky stuff with 12" Dobsonian from suburban garden.
Firstly went hunting Leo Triplet but sky not very dark about 10.30 pm so became Leo Duet M65,M66 ! About an hour later found NGC 3628 , the third member.Much fainter than others but larger. Three of them impressive in low power , 33mm wide angle eyepiece.
Took a trip into Ursa Major and as usual blown away by M81 and M82 , a real Star Trek thrill to watch in low power together in a dark sky. M82 particularly looks great through higher powers .
Back again to Leo and looked for NGC 2903 ,which I had found for 1st time previous night, a little below Lambda Leonis. While a bit fainter than some of the other galaxies it appears quite large through a scope and is closer than most at only 20million L.Y. away! Easy find so should try find if your sky dark enough.
Into the lair of galaxies in Virgo as a night cap! Got totally lost but as got darker more and more Blobs appeared , some beautifully obvious as spirals , others just faint smudges. Went looking for Markarians Chain and fairly sure I found eventually when I spied line of galaxies which appeared to be enveloped in slight haze or nebulosity? Unfortunately didn't hang around to positively identify any, got too cold!!
John.
Michael Murphy elected new IFAS Chairperson
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On Saturday April 16th at the IFAS Annual general Meeting held in Athlone, Mr. Michael Murphy from Dublin and a member of the Irish Astronomical Society (IAS) was elected as the new IFAS Chairperson.
He takes over from Seanie Morris from Midlands Astronomy Club, who held the position for the (maximum allowed) 3 years. Congratulations to Michael, and members of the IFAS and Irish astronomical community wish him well!
Subcategories
About Article Count: 15
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- Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)
- Hi Aubrey, Very many thanks for youfokind words, and for inviting me to submit the sketch for...
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Celestial Events
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- Comet C2022 E3 ZTF 29/1/23
- Hi Marios, This is an excellent sketch of the comet - very well done! Clear skeis, Darren.
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Observing Reports & Astronomical Sketches
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- Observations - 17/01/23
- Hi Aubrey, Very many thanks for clarifying what the term 'relfix' means - that's much appreciated!...
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Observing Reports & Astronomical Sketches
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- Observations - 31/1/23
- Hello everyone. Before I successfully observed Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF on Tuesday night 31st January...
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Observing Reports & Astronomical Sketches
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- The Cocoon Nebula in SHO
- Welcome back, Darren! I will be keeping Michael's image of the Cocoon Nebula for the next issue of...
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Astro Photography
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- Observations - 25 January 2023
- Hello everyone. I began observing on this Wednesday night from 17.30UT with my Williams Optics...
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Observing Reports & Astronomical Sketches
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- February 2023 Observing Guide
- Hi all, PLEASE NOTE THE BELOW SUMMARY AND GUIDE IS FOR AN APPROXIMATE LATITUDE OF 55 DEGREES NORTH...
- In Observing & Astronomy News / Celestial Events