Eclipses
- Partial Solar Eclipse 12 Aug
- From Ireland, this will appear as a deep partial eclipse with a large portion of the Sun obscured (e.g., over 90 % coverage), creating dramatic daylight dimming
- Partial Lunar Eclipse 28th Aug
Meteor Showers
- Quadrantids — Early January
- Peaks around early January with bright, fast meteors.
- Lyrids — 22–23 April
- Active mid-April; typically visible across Ireland when skies are dark.
- Perseids — 11–12 August
- One of the best summer meteor showers of the year with potentially high rates (up to ~100 per hour under dark skies).
- Orionids — 21–22 October
- Late-autumn meteor shower with fast, bright meteors.
- Leonids — Mid-November
- Visible around November 17–18; can produce modest activity.
- Geminids — 13–14 December
- Typically the most prolific meteor shower of the year — up to 120 meteors/hour at peak under ideal conditions and a favorite for observers in Ireland.
Planetary & Sky Events
- Jupiter at Opposition — 10 January
- Venus near Saturn in the evening sky (8 March).
- A close pairing of Venus and Jupiter around 8–9 June makes for a stunning sight low in the west after sunset.
- Saturn at opposition (27 June) and Neptune at opposition (20 September).
Seasonal Markers
- Summer Solstice — 21 June
- Winter Solstice — 21 December
Events
- Keep an eye on the webpage for I.A.S. events!
- Irish Astronomy Week — 20-28th Mar
- Science Week – Nov (TBA)