Of the 24,000 meteorites that have been discovered on Earth, only 34 are known to have come from Mars. Dr Matthew Parkes show the general public one of these unbelievably rare Mars meteorites at the Astronomy Ireland August Lecture. He will also bring with him a piece of Moon rock that was brought back to Earth by the Apollo astronauts. Not only that, but Dr Parkes will also have a collection of meteorites that fell to Earth after being leftover from the creation of the Solar System to pass around among guests at the lecture. Every hour of every day the Earth experiences a rain of dust and leftover debris from the formation of the Solar System. When these particles enter the Earth's atmosphere at high speed, the friction of the air causes them to get extremely hot. What results is a spectacular streak of light in the sky, known as a meteor. Sometimes the pieces of debris are large enough to survive the burn-up process and can make it to the ground. When they do so, they are known then as meteorites. Dr Matthew Parks will talk about how meteorites can give us the opportunity to investigate the origins of the Solar System and how it was formed. He will explain how particularly unusual meteorites arrive on Earth (rock blasted from the surface of the Moon or Mars, for example). Finally, Dr Parkes will describe the consequences to Earth and humanity should a very large object strike our home planet. Dr. Parkes is a geologist with the National Museum of Ireland formerly with the Geological Survey of Ireland. The Mars meteorite on display in Dublin Book seats HERE Order DVD HERE The lecture takes place in: Fitzgerald Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2. And can be accessed by the Westland Row or Lincoln Place entrances. Click here for a building map of Trinity College campus Directions and map of area Admission: €7 (€5 members and concessions) This lecture is also available to members nationwide on DVD, which you can order by credit card online HERE or by calling (01) 847 0777 (alternatively post a cheque or postal order to: August 2009 DVD, Astronomy Ireland, PO. Box 2888, Dublin 5). DVDs of this and past lectures are just €7 each (add €5 for P&P for any number of DVDs). BOOK NOW                ORDER DVD ABOUT   CONTACT   MAGAZINE   NEWSLINE   EVENTS   SHOP