There's no need to go via Kenmare, unless you want to of course. Lovely wee town.

Take the N71 from Killarney up to Molls Gap (the best drive in Ireland) and make sure to stop at the Ladies view or Molls Gap to enjoy the spectacular view back down the valley.

Then take the R568 for Sneem.

Watch out for the tourist coaches!

*****Important Notice Skellig Star Party Talks Saturday******

Please arrive on time, talks will start promptly at 12 noon at Cable's. The event is totally sold out. We cannot possible accommodate any more attendees. Please bring your ticket as these will be checked at the door. Persons without tickets will unfortunately not be admitted. For safety reasons we must stay within the allocated ticket numbers. If for any reason you cannot attend please contact us as we have a waiting list for cancelled tickets.

SSP Team

Geraldine Gribben (NIAAS) has a spare ticket which was booked for someone who is now not attending. She will be down some time on Thursday.

Hello everyone
Just wondered, I'm going at the last minute and all tickets gone for everything, so just arriving on sat for observing, weather permitting. If I arrive at the lodge in the evening, do I wait for everyone, set up or what. It's only a Dob, so no big deal. Is there an etiquette or pecking order etc? Thanks
Barry

I have one spare ticket - my wife now plans to do something else for the afternoon.
Brendan.

Tut tut do something else!! : ) I please need that ticket Brendan for someone from Meath Astronomy.

Thanks Kevin

Sorry, another question. What is the ground like at the lodge? Is it level? Or will I need something to make up levels there. Haven't decided whether to bring the 10" or the 16" and the 16" with the wheelbarrow wheels needs a decent area to sit down on. You folks with tripods are ok! Thanks for any advice.
Barry

Hi Kevin........"Tut tut do something else!!" you didn't hear me complaining

Unsure if there is an "official" waiting list......if not then its yours.

I'll be around from Friday afternoon.......staying at Tig an Rince

Brendan.

Thanks Brendan, the people I need tickets for are on top of the official waiting list. Thanks catch you there.

For Sure bring the 16" : ) loads of level ground.

Well Barry, you've mentioned you have a 16"... so now you have to bring your 16". Quite simple really- i really want to have a look through it so please bring it!!! Mmmmm... 16 inches of awesomeness.... Wait, that sounds distasteful

Sean

Sean
You have a 12" LB, have you seen the height and width of the base for the 16"?!?! Just for you, I'll try to get it down there.
Concerns: will it fit? Will it survive 3 hours each way on Irish roads?
If igappear with the 10" you know it wasn't physically possible
Barry

Haha- im well aware it's a beautiful beast of astronomical goodness, and therefore not the easiest to transport. But if you can get it down, it would be great. If not, no hassle at all of course, but we'll have to meet up some other time so i can have a gander!!!

See ya down there

Sean

I'll find you down there so Sean. Fingers crossed for the weather!

Good luck with the weather everyone, I hope you get clear skies.
I've sent alot of time in that neck of the woods over the years, it is indeed pitch black down there.

Great weekend guys.

Thanks to all who did all the hard work organising it.

Michael.

Yep, really enjoyed the whole weekend. Top, top work lads.

Sean

Well done to Dave, Kevin, William, Roy and Stephen for organising a great event!
Top marks to Brian, Nick and Kimberly for 3 very enjoyable talks!
Roll on 2016.

Another great event, brilliantly organised. Well done to everyone involved.

And 3 excellent talks on the Saturday.

We got two clear nights. The seeing on Wednesday was a bit poor, but most people were just sitting back and watching for Perseids. Much better on the Friday night, with some great views, although no Helix nebula or NGC253 this year

All from the NIAAS contingent thoroughly enjoyed it and we are all looking forward to next year.

On behalf of the Skellig 5, as we are now known thanks to Kim Smith, can I thank each and every person who made the trip down to SSP2015. We really think we hit our stride this year and hope that everyone enjoyed themselves. I think we all made some new friends, ate very, very well and enjoyed some top class astronomy. All 3 talks (and the one Nick did on Friday), just brilliant. I think we saw a star in the making in Brian. Everyone was talking about how professional his talk was. I really think Kim could have spoken for another 2 hours, her enthusiasm for her subject was infectious.

A big shout out to Freda and her staff for the lend of her Lodge for the few days. Lu Lu for the cakes, yummy! Collette and Geraldine and the NIAAS lads for Roy's cake. And the Cables guys for the use of the room and the PA.

So onto 2016, we have taken the feedback many of you gave us and decided to move the party back a week in 2016. Its an awkward month for the new moon, which happens at the start of August when its too bright and early September when the kids are back at school for many of us. So we are going with the 26th - 28th August. This will give us a few hours of moonless skies each night before the last quarter moon comes up in the small hours.

In the next few days we will have an announcement on the details of next years event. We have a few surprises in store. So Stay Tuned.

Sounds like it was a great couple of nights. Clear skies 2 years in a row, you couldn't ask for more. It's great to see so much of an interest & people travelling to dark skies for observing. IMHO that's what it's all about.

Big thanks to everyone involved in the organisation of the weekend. It was a great success, looking forward to next year's event already

Below is a brief guide of what to expect sky-wise next year (Times are approx).

Sunset will be at 20:40, with Astro twilight ending at 22:50 and not starting again until 04:30. On the night of the 26th/27th, the waning crescent will rise at 00:45, on the following night it is 01:30.

In terms of the planets on view - Mercury will be too low to be seen, Venus and Jupiter set 30 mins post sunset. Mars sets at 23:30 with Saturn leaving the scene at midnight. Uranus rises just after 22:00 and Neptune rises shortly after sunset.

There will be no "major" meteor showers visible, but we can always expect a few sporadics/minor shower activity. There will hopefully be the usual ISS/Iridium and general satellite activity. Tiangong 1 may be visible again.

In terms of comets nothing standing out at this very early stage but to quote David H Levy "Comets are like cats; they have tails, and they do precisely what they want" - so who knows!