ASTRONOMY FOR BEGINNERS & participants of Autumn 2007 Beginners Astronomy course at Tara who have indicated that they wish to repeat the course

Colin Johnston (Armagh Planetarium)

This course will cover our knowledge of the Universe and the amazing objects it contains. The course is aimed at those new to the field and will be descriptive rather than mathematical. It will follow human understanding from prehistoric times to the latest discoveries from spacecraft. No prior knowledge is required. If you have ever wanted to take a first step into the world of astronomy, this course is for you.

The course content which will be offered here at Tara is exactly the same as what Colin presents at Queen’s University Belfast. Though essentially the same as what was presented at Tara in Autumn 2007, there are significant updatings and variations on that material.

Over the ten weeks the class will discover fascinating topics including:

• What can we see in the sky tonight?
• Our neighbours in space, the Moon, planets and the Sun
• Space junk: meteors, comets and asteroids
• The lives of the stars
• Black holes, pulsars and other strange objects
• The origins of the Universe and Solar System
• Stargazing through history from Newgrange / Stonehenge to space probes
• “Are we alone in the Universe?” and other big unanswered questions

At the end of the course there will be an optional session held in Armagh Planetarium on Wednesday 3rd December 2008.

Date:

Wednesday Evenings

24th September 2008 – 26th November 2008 (inclusive)

Time:

7.30 pm to 9.30 pm

Cost: £50.00 (10 weeks) or £5.00 per night