The Galway Astronomy Club

Astrofest 2025
2025-02-08 09:30 - 18:00 UTC | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Full AstroFest 2025 details can now be found here https://www.galwayastronomyclub.ie/astrofest-2025/

Accommodation:
If you wish to avail of a reduced Astrofest rate when booking at the Menlo Park Hotel for the 7th & 8th February 2025,
please email reservations@menloparkhotel.com or call 091-761122 to make a reservation to receive the discount.
Make sure to mention you are attending the festival.

GAC January Meeting: by James Dire (Blinn College)
2025-01-06 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Talk: ‘The History of Innovations in Telescopes’
This talk will start with the invention of the telescope in the late 16th century and cover all of the innovative improvements in telescope designs for astronomical use from the 17th through 21st centuries. The talk will not only concentrate on the innovations, but also on the scientists and engineers responsible for the improvements throughout the centuries.
Speaker: Dr James R Dire (Blinn College)
Dr James Dire earned bachelors degrees in chemistry, physics and mathematics from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He went on to earn a MS degree in physics from the University of Central Florida and a MA degree in atmospheric science from The Johns Hopkins University. Subsequently he completed a PhD from Johns Hopkins in planetary astronomy. His dissertation was on the seasonal photochemistry in the atmosphere of Saturn’s moon Titan.
After 23 years in the armed forces, which included duty as a physics and astronomy professor at both the US Naval Academy and the US Coast Guard Academy, Dr. Dire became a college administrator. He served as an associate provost at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Spring North Carolina and as Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Hawaii’s campus on Kauai, and Chancellor of Methodist College in Peoria, IL. He currently is the Dean of Physical Sciences at Blinn College in Bryan, Texas.
Dr. Dire is a seasoned astronomical observer and astrophotographer. He has authored a deep space column in the Astronomical League’s Reflector magazine since 2010 and is contributes myriad article to Astronomy Technology Today and Solar Astronomy Today. in Astronomy Technology Today. He is a past president of the Astronomical Society of Kansas City and currently is a member of the Peoria Astronomical Society, the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, and the Kauai Educational Association for Science and Astronomy.

GAC December Meeting: by John Flannery (Irish Astronomical Society)
2024-12-02 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our December club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 2nd December in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

Talk: “The World of Atmospheric Phenomena”
Rainbows, along with the ring we sometimes see around the Moon, are the most familiar and frequent types of optical phenomena in the atmosphere, but a new and refreshing appreciation of the daytime sky is revealed by becoming aware of the many other classes that exist. Many of the complex and beautiful patterns result, in most cases, from the interplay of light with two simple substances – air and water. This talk will explore marvels from the blue sky to the zodiacal light.

Speaker: John Flannery (IAS)
One if Irelands leading amateur astronomers, John is editor of the IAS quarterly journal and is active in astronomy outreach. He also compiles the IFAS calendar of celestial events for the year ahead, and writes astronomy columns for Whitaker’s Almanac and The Irish Times. His main interests as an amateur astronomer are the sky lore of world cultures; binocular observing; and astronomical history.

New members and attendees are very welcome.
We look forward to your company.

GAC November Meeting by Dr Matt Redman (University of Galway)
2024-11-11 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our November club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 11th November in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

Talk: ‘Of planets and planetary nebulae’
Planetary nebulae were so named due to their planet like appearance in very early telescopes. They are now understood to be the spectacular result of sun-like stars throwing off their outer layers at the end of their lifetimes. A mystery remains though as to how spherical stars can produce the widely diverse range of shapes of nebulae that are observed. Here I will discuss a new idea for shaping such nebulae where the planets that likely surround these aged stars are able to sculpt the outflowing materials. In this way, despite the original misnomer, planets could in fact have an important role in planetary nebulae after all.
Speaker: Dr Matt Redman
Matt Redman is Director of the Centre for Astronomy NUI Galway, and leads a group with research interests in star formation and star destruction processes. He uses radio and millimetre telescope data to investigate the collapse of star forming molecular clouds, and optical and millimetre data for studying the shaping mechanisms of planetary nebulae, novae and supernova remnants. He works at the observational and theory interface, simulating data from telescopes using radiative transfer, photoionisation and spatiokinematic codes.

GAC October meeting - by Howard J Simkover
2024-10-07 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our October club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 7th October in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

Talk: ‘Celestial Shadows – Eclipses of the Sun’
Every couple of years, somewhere on the Earth, the Moon’s shadow touches down and sweeps
at supersonic speed across oceans and continents. People situated in the path of this celestial
shadow experience the unforgettable sight of a total eclipse of the Sun. While some ancient
civilizations had a good understanding of solar eclipses, it was not until the early 18th Century
that the date, time and trajectory of an eclipse could be calculated with reasonable precision.
This presentation is about the various types of solar eclipses – what they are, when they
happen, the underlying geometry that causes them, why they are perceived to be rare events,
and the spectacular beauty that they offer to us.
On Monday, April 8, 2024 a total solar eclipse occurred in Mexico, the US and Canada. Public
awareness was handled extremely well by the astronomical community and the media. While
parts of the eclipse track experienced clouds, huge numbers of people were able to view this
stunning celestial alignment safely in clear skies, and to stand within the shadow of the Moon.
Speaker: Howard J Simkover
Howard Simkover was born in Montreal, Canada and obtained his education
there. He graduated as the leading student in McGill University’s Faculty of
Electrical Engineering, and was awarded the British Association Medal for Great
Distinction. He is a Professional Engineer, Ontario, and currently works as a
consultant in policy and governance with Health Canada (federal government
department).
Howard’s lifelong interest in astronomy began at age 7, when he obtained his first
telescope and used it to observe the planet Mars. Later, he became active in the
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, where he served on the Observation
Committee and the Board of Directors of the Montreal Centre.
For more than two decades, Howard produced numerous shows and lectured on
astronomy at the Montreal Planetarium. Some of his shows played at other
planetaria in Canada and the United States. He has also lectured about
astronomy at the Canada Science & Technology Museum and Carleton
University. He continues to speak to audiences in Canada’s National Capital
Region and to groups elsewhere in the world via online technology. He owns and
regularly uses several telescopes to observe the sky. One of his passions is
eclipses of the sun, which he has “chased” over two dozen times all over the World.

Howard will be joining us via video link from Canada.

GAC September meeting - by Dr Gary Kenny (ATU Galway)
2024-09-02 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our September club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 2nd September in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

Talk: ‘Stars of the Universe’
This talk on the stars of the universe is suitable for beginners in astronomy.
Speaker: Dr Gary Kenny (ATU Galway)
Gary Kenny’s astronomy background was Ground Based Gamma-ray using the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. He has a B.Sc. from Galway Mayo Institute of Technology. He did his Ph.D in High End Astrophysics in the University of Galway.
He was a Senior Technical Officer in the School of Physics in University of Galway to 2012 and since 2012 has been working as a lecturer in Physics and Instrumentation in the Atlantic Technological University.

New members and attendees are very welcome.

GAC May Meeting - Astrophotography talk by club member Brendan Spelman + AGM
2024-05-13 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our May club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 13th May in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

This is our last meeting of our current season and we will have:

Our AGM where club members can voice their opinions on all things club related. Our AGM will offer members the opportunity to join the new club committee for next season.
An interesting talk by club member Brendan Spelman on ‘Deep Sky Astrophotography’. More details below.
A chance to win a telescope and a few other prizes when we will be making the draw for our club raffle. Tickets can be purchased below!
Free tea and coffee on the night and we invite everyone to stay and have a chat before we break up for the summer.

May meeting speaker.
Talk: ‘Introduction to Deep Sky Astrophotography’
Brendan has shared some wonderful images of the night sky on our WhatsApp group throughout the year and we decided to invite him to speak about how he takes these wonderful images. We are delighted to have him as our May ‘guest’ speaker.
Speaker: Brendan Spelman (GAC)
“Brendan is a native of Galway and an IT professional. Always having had a fascination with the universe, his interest in astronomy really kick started when he received a telescope as a gift during the early days of the COVID lockdowns. With a long-standing passion for photography, it was only natural for him to gravitate toward capturing the wonders of the night sky. Fascinated by the intersection of science and art, he eagerly anticipates clear nights, always on the lookout for breaks in the clouds to indulge his curiosity. When hindered by clouds, Brendan enjoys playing board games with his wife and 3 young children. “

Club raffle draw tickets can be purchased here.
The May Meeting Raffle prize is for a Skywatcher 1145 PS (AZ Pronto) telescope.
More prizes are to be announced…

GAC April Meeting by Dr Emma Whelan (Maynooth University)
2024-04-08 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our April club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 8th April in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

Talk: ‘Star Formation with the ESO VLT.’
I am an observational astronomer studying star formation and the earliest stages of planet formation. The majority of my data is obtained with the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope. The VLT is one of the worlds most advanced optical telescopes and the flagship facility for European ground-based observatory. I will discuss the VLT, the instruments that have been most important for my work and present some of the most recent results from my group.

Speaker: Dr Emma Whelan (MU)
Emma Whelan graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2001 with a BA in Physics with Astrophysics. From 2001 to 2005 she studied at the Dublin Institute for Advanced studies for a PhD in observational astronomy specialising in star formation and graduated with a PhD from Trinity College Dublin in 2005. She continued her work in this area at the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies as part of the Marie Curie Research and Training Network JETSET from 2005 to 2009. In 2009 she was awarded a Marie Curie Fellowship at the Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble and studied there until 2011. In 2012 she moved to the Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik Tübingen. In 2016 she was appointed as a lecturer in the Experimental Physics Department. Dr Whelan is also a research associate of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.

Irish Astronomy Week
2024-03-09 08:00 - 2024-03-16 17:00
Irish Astronomy Week takes place from March 9th to 16th.

There are many events countrywide including Galway City and County.
Please go to https://www.irishastronomyweek.ie/ to see what is happening near you.
Galway Astronomy Club will be taking part including a public ‘Moonwatch on the Prom’ at 7pm across from the Atlantaquarium on the evenings of March 13th/14th (Weather permitting).
Please check our Facebook page for weather updates on the Moonwatch event.

GAC March meeting by Dr Elizabeth Butler (QUB)
2024-03-04 19:30 - 21:30 | Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway, Ireland
Galway Astronomy Club are pleased to announce details of our March club meeting, which will take place at 7.30 pm on Monday the 4th March in the Menlo Park Hotel, Terryland, Galway.

Talk: ‘Living with a (Active) Star’
Space weather is a very complex field, involving many different subject areas, that as a community we are still working to grasp. This talk will discuss what some current points of concern are, and the science and missions being directed at them.
Speaker: Dr Elizabeth Butler
Elizabeth Butler grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, hating physics. She wanted to write novels about dragons instead. Something shifted in high school – enough that she graduated from Northern Michigan University with a double bachelors in physics and writing.
After taking a gap year to drive mowers and utility carts around 32 miles of hiking trails while composing poetry in her head, she was accepted as a graduate student by the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department of the University of Colorado in Boulder. There, she fell in love with planetariums, solar physics, and the developing field of space weather, and later used all three to become a Fellow in the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research program.
After weathering two wildfire evacuation notices, a mass shooting, and a global pandemic, she graduated with her PhD in 2022, defending a dissertation that was two thirds solar flare physics and one third human subjects work on bridging the space weather research and forecasting communities.
She then accepted the opportunity to move across the pond to work at Queen’s Astrophysics Research Centre, where she has only received one of the seven visits threatened by friends and family. “

New members and attendees on the night are welcome. We look forward to your company.
