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| NATIONWIDE SATURN WATCH REPORT |
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On Tuesday April 15th, Astronomy Ireland held Nationwide Saturn Watches. Clear skies and a gibbous Moon ensured a spectacular view of the mighty planet and some of its moons. People flocked to each of the different locations around the country and were all delighted to see, in such clear detail, one of our solar system's most interesting and beautiful planets. See below for individual reports from each of the co-ordinators.
CARLOW: Gerry Moloney reported " About 30 people showed up for the Astronomy Ireland Saturn Watch here in Carlow, skies were clear and the air was still. All who attended were very satisfied when leaving, a great night was had by all."
CLONMEL: Ray Parle reported "The Clonmel Saturn Watch had 9 very enthusiastic people in attendance, some came all the way from Kilkenny and we had calls from as far as Limerick also. There was light patchy cloud but it did not interfere with the viewing. We showed people Saturn at different levels of magnification through the telescope as well as other night sky features. Questions came from our enthusiastic 9 by the dozen and we were only too happy to answer them. It was a great night despite so few showing up."
CORK: Martin Lynch reports "We had about 30 people on the night, it was a bit cloudy and misty at first but skies soon cleared and everyone was delighted with the view through the 11-inch Celestron brought by Denis Walsh. Frances McCarthy of Blackrock Castle Observatory brought along a 12-inch telescope also. We wrapped the evening up at 11pm and everyone went home very pleased."
DONEGAL: Seamus Byron reported "A great evening and a bit of a miracle as we had 30 people show up for the Saturn Watch, by far the highest number of people at any of the Watches we've run before here in Donegal. Seeing was excellent and people were very happy."
DUBLIN: Sonya Farrell reports "The Phoenix Park provided a great location for the Saturn Watch, dark skies in the middle of the nation's capital city. About 200 people showed up and were treated to spectacular views of Saturn and its moons. We had 10 telescopes set up in the Papal Cross car park, the largest being a 14-inch Celestron that provided us with some awesome views. I was delighted to see so many young people there. As an extra treat, our Chairman, David Moore, gave a great tour of the night sky with his laser pointer, much to the delight of all. We had a great night, excellent viewing conditions, great crowd and the invaluable help from our volunteers."
DUNDALK: Derek Watters reported "Between 45-50 people showed up for the Dundalk Saturn Watch."
THE FUTURE? More Watches are planned for the future and we have venues in over 100 different locations nationwide, all looking for you to bring your telescope. Send an email to sec@astronomy.ie if you want to get involved.
If you want to get one a telescope, large or small, you can order online or call our Shop details here
Just some of the crowd at our Saturn Watch:
Keith Malone (far left) brought his new CGE 1400 as Carl O'Beirnes from our Shop aims it:
Even one of our 90mm AstroMaster refractors gave good views of the planet, its rings, and moons:
Tony McDermott brought his Celestron C11-S GT:
A budding astronomer at a Celestron 6-inch refractor:
Astronomers at the Saturn Watch:
AI Chairman, David Moore, points out stars and planets with a high power laser:
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