Have scientists discovered a particle, popularly referred to as the "God Particle", that travels faster than the speed of light?
Dr. Ronan McNulty, currently researching this project at the CERN Research Centre Switzerland, will answer this question and many others at the Galway Astronomy Festival, taking place at the Westwood Hotel, Newcastle, on this Saturday, January 21
Members of the public are invited to a special event dedicated to unravelling the mysteries of the universe. The theme for this year’s celestial extravaganza is "New Frontiers of the Universe", and it will look at the topic from a professional as well as an amateur astronomer’s perspective. The festival, now in its ninth year, has
become one of the most popular events in Ireland, where amateurs and professionals meet in friendship and enquiry.
This gathering is instrumental in exchanging information, successful stargazing and mutual progress.
On Saturday at 10.00 am Carl O’ Beirnes from the JO9 Balbriggan Observatory, Dublin will show us some of his latest pioneering images, using one of the most powerful telescopes in Ireland from his backyard city observatory. Carl will be followed by Brian Harvey, Spaceflight author and member of the British Interplanetary Society, who will examine the possibilities of future missions to the Moon and Mars.
The afternoon session will begin with a talk given by Dr Niall Smith, founder of the internationally acclaimed Blackrock Castle Observatory. He will talk about its development from a derelict and decaying building into one of Ireland's busiest science centres, home to a research group that develops instrumentation for high-precision photometry. Finally, Dr Ronan McNulty from UCD will enlighten us on the latest fascinating discoveries from the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN ).
Tickets for the festival are available at the door from 9am, there will also be a telescope workshop and information stands at the festival. For further details of the Galway Astronomy Festival 2012 (including accommodation ) see the GAC homepage at www.galwayastronomyclub.ie .
