As part of their 60th Anniversary celebrations, the Society for Popular Astronomy will visit Belfast and Armagh. This invitation from Prof Alan Fitzsimmons…

On behalf of Queen's University Belfast, Armagh Observatory and the Society for Popular Astronomy, we would like to invite all amateur astronomers to an all-day meeting held in honour of the SPA's 60th anniversary.

The meeting will take place in the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 9:30am until 5:30pm on
Saturday 21st September, and will consist of a series of popular-level talks given by professional
astronomers on their research here in Northern Ireland.

Additionally, on Sunday 22nd September there will be an organised visit to Armagh Observatory.
Visitors will be given a guided tour of the observatory and astropark, followed by a lunch reception
hosted by the Lord Mayor of Armagh. Please note that this visit is restricted to 45 people due to venue
and transport limitations.
More details and bookings can be made at the following website: https://sites.google.com/site/spabelfastmeeting

Attendance at the meeting is free,  but we ask that people register so that we can estimate numbers
for tea/coffee.
 
Best Wishes, Prof. Alan Fitzsimmons, Astrophysics Research Centre, Queen's University Belfast

"Mega Telescopes: how and why?" The European Southern Observatory will soon blast off the top of a mountain in the Atacama desert to start construction of a telescope five times bigger than any existing today. This telescope is known as the European Extremely Large Telescope, or E-ELT. The primary mirror will be made from 798 mirrors and will be 39m in diameter and be controlled to nanometre accuracy. In this lecture Prof Cunningham will describe the engineering challenges of this giant telescope and give a preview of some of the exciting astronomical discoveries that may result, from the first galaxies to Earthlike planets.

Prof Cunningham is Director, UK E-ELT Programme, and is also involved in projects with ESA and the UK Space Agency.
  
The lecture is free and open to all, including free refreshments. It will be held in the Bell Lecture Theatre, Physics Building, Queen's University, Belfast, at 7.30 p.m.

Thanks to the Astrophysics Research Centre, QUB, for help in hosting these lectures.