Clear skies expected for astronomy events

Clear skies across the country are expected for one of the biggest astronomy events ever staged in Ireland which begins tonight.

100 Hours of Astronomy is an international initiative to celebrate 2009 International Year of Astronomy which in turn commemorates the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the telescope by the Italian scientist Galileo Galilei.

It is called 100 hours because it involves public events for the next four nights.

Astronomers will be setting up telescopes in 12 towns and cities across the country from 9pm this evening.

The main event in Dublin will be at the Papal Cross in the Phoenix Park which will be inviting the public to partake in looking at the heavens this evening. The Moon and the ringed planet Saturn are prominent in the sky at present.

"This is an event 400 years in the making and the biggest public telescope event in history," said David Moore, Chairman of Astronomy Ireland, "I guarantee that everyone who looks through a telescope over this weekend will get that same sense of awe that Galileo did in 1609."

Details of events can be found at http://www.astronomy.ie/100hours.html.