Old Event Reports

On Tuesday 13th December 2005, Kerry Astronomy Club held their annual Christmas social in Keanes, Curraheen. There was a good attendance and proceedings opened with a warm welcome and introduction 'as Gaeilge' by our Treasurer Kevin. (Go raibh mile maith agat)

Our Chairman Michael followed with an interesting slide show - a colourful combination of his personal excellent photographic views of the night sky right through to spectacular images of our universe. To sustain us on our cosmic journey Keanes supplied a nice variety of finger food. This was followed by Kevins' spot prize draw. Imagination and enthusiasm was obviously put into choosing the fine selection of prizes. These included astronomically inspired calendars, posters, books, clocks, a moon globe, a galaxy mug, all of which will no doubt be treasured by their new owners. Unfortunately our planned observation of the Geminid Meteor Shower wasn't possible due to cloud cover. This was disappointing as the Geminids are the largest shower of the year with 50-70 observed per hour.

In suburban locations expect to see about 10 per hour. They radiate from a point near Castor (Alpha Geminorum mag. 1.6) in the constellation Gemini. Best observed on 14th December midnight to dawn. Unfortunately the full moon on the 15th would have allowed only the brightest meteors to be observed. Geminid meteors show more colour than any other meteors (except for the Perseids).

The official launch of Spéir, our own club magazine

For members of Kerry Astronomy Club the highlight of the night was the publication of our first ever edition of Spéir, our new club newsletter. Spéir is a fine testament to the growing success and dedication of both the committee and club members who have supported us throughout the year.

Some picture from the night

Day trip on the 18th of June to Schull planetarium and Drumbeg Stone circle.

On Saturday June 18th Kerry Astronomy Club had a most enjoyable trip to Schull. Leaving Tralee at 9am we travelled to Macroom where we stopped for refreshments before making our way to Schull via Dunmanway.

On arrival in Schull we took a leisurely walk through the village and had a delicious lunch in a local hostelry. At 2pm our visit to Schull Planetarium commenced with a short talk by Mark Sweetham. This was followed by a video presentation on the planets. The lights were then extinguished (for optimum visual effect) and the Carl Zeis single sphere sky projector provided a replica of the night sky on the 8m domed ceiling. Mark gave a tour of the summer constellations and showed us some of the southern skies that are not visible from Ireland. The sky projector made it possible to see the change in star positions throughout the year.

We then moved outdoors to inspect the small observatory on the grounds of the college. It is a recent addition and houses a donated 14" f11 Celestron Schmitt Cassegrain in the classic orange colour.

Leaving Schull we travelled to Glandore and on to the late Stone Age Drombeg Stone Circle. The entire site is remarkably well preserved and accessible.

Drumbeg from the west with the Circle in the distance and the remains of the cooking trough and hut nearby.

The circle is composed of 17 large upright stones including the two entrance stones and an axial or recumbent stone.

The circle seems to be an excellent observational instrument for observing the position of the Winter Solstice setting sun. This involves an alignment from the two entrance stones to the recumbent horizontal stone in the south west of the circle to the hills behind it. At the solstice the sun sinks behind the hill and then reappears briefly in a gap between two hills.

Looking to the southwest to the Vee in the hills where the solstice sun sets

Standing in Drombeg I was struck by the similarity with Machu Picchu in Peru where the December Solstice (Summer in the Southern Hemisphere) sinks behind Pumasilo, the most sacred mountain in the Vicabamba Range. As well as the Winter Solstice alignment the Sommerville survey found a rough stone to the north east of the circle which alligned with the recumbant stone and a nearby hill during the Summer Solstice sunrise. He also discovered a Mayday allignment with a dry stone wall to the south of the circle.

While the members of our group were appreciating the stone circle the younger members were captivated by the Fulacht Fiadh, the "cooking pit" on site. These pits, which were also of late Bronze Age origin, were basically a stone lined trough which was filled with water. Then stones which had been heated in a secondary hearth, were added to the pit with a large jont of meat. Perhaps this "cooking place' was used during the Solstice festivities.

After our cameras had captured the intrigues of Drombeg we boarded our bus for the homeward journey eagerly making plans for our next outing. The day was a great success.

Some of the explorers at the Entrance to Drumbeg Stone Circle.

Our Christmas Social event was held the second Tuesday of December, on a night that coincided with the annual Geminid Meteor shower. We went for Keane's Restaurant on the Dingle road, a venue with dark skies outside town. However the rain and wind meant that no observing could be done.

We had a selection of reflector and refractor telescopes set-up in the room and they proved a great source of discussion through the night. A lot of the attendees would have looked through the 'scopes at our various observing sessions but this was their first opportunity to look "at" them. We also had magazines, books, posters, observing challenge's and planispheres to be examined.

Kevin calls the next lucky number

Following some hot food we held an impromptu slide show. This was followed by a draw for spot prizes and some further socialising.

Thanks to the thirty odd people that made the effort to support the event and to the sponsors of the spot prizes. Thanks also must go to Kevin Lawlor and Tony Curran who organised the event.

Given the success and the positive feedback from the event we hope to be making this an annual event in our calendar.

Some picture from the night