In The Footsteps of Galileo Exhibit Sept 18th 2009 at Birr

Thanks for inviting us to the lecture last night Dee.
Carolina gave a great talk - well worth seeing.
Inspirational person. Loads of energy.

Best of luck with the exhibit Friday night!

Michael.

The latest news has a bit chunck of WOW !!! factor

Lord and Lady Rosse have include four original sketches from
The Third Earl of Rosse including The Whirlpool Galaxy , The Crab Nebula,
plus two Herschel objects, Amazing !!

So think about popping down here for 6pm today September 18th All welcome

Thanks Michael and Dave , Carolina is a wonderful speaker , she will talk a little on the work of UNAWE and open the exhibition this evening in Birr Castle Science Centre.

Deirdre Kelleghan
www.deridrekelleghan.com
skysketcher@gmail.com
0872893829

Great news, Deirdre!

See you there....

-- Jeff.

Just got back from a weekend trip to Birr and Kilkenny. The opening of the exhibition in Birr was definitely the highlight of the trip.

It all started with a few words from the current Earl of Rosse, who spoke of Sir Patrick Moore's disappointment at not being able to attend in person, and whose speech included the memorable quote "it's a pleasure to see In the Footsteps of Galileo in the shadow of the Leviathan."

Carolina's talk was also most interesting, focusing on UNAWE's teaching of young children about the scale and beauty of the universe as a counter to narrow-mindedness and extremism.

The exhibition space in the museum is a fantastic venue for displaying all the great sketches collected from the four corners of the globe. There are some must-see works from some of my favorite sketchers including Sally Russell, Les Cowley, Dale Davis, Erika Rix and of course the curator herself, Deirdre Kelleghan! The more historical works from Sir Patrick Moore and the 3rd Earl of Rosse give the exhibition an unexpected gravitas, and a visceral, concrete appreciation for the contributions of amateur astronomers over the ages.

A display of childrens' moon drawings from schools around the globe rounds out the exhibit. In fact, my daughters thought this was far more interesting than all the "adult" stuff, although I'm sure it didn't hurt that it included drawings from their school.

Anyway, it's all definitely worth a visit.

Cheers,
-- Jeff.

Photo credits Bernard Kelleghan

The exhibition gallery at Birr Castle Science Centre , the setting for
In the Footsteps of Galileo - an exhibition of astronomical sketches.




The 7th Earl of Rosse on his knees to the 3rd Earls original Whirlpool Galaxy sketch
a very interesting addition to the exhibition.




Jeff Young chats to Lord and Lady Rosse




Spot the Jeff



Dee talks sketching at the launch of In the Footsteps of Galileo




Dr Carolina Odman ( UNAWE ) gives her speech to open the exhibition in Birr


Just a few images to give you a flavor of the opening of our exhibition in Birr Castle Science Centre on Friday.

I am overjoyed that it actually happened , it is two years to the month since I first got the idea for this.

There are 53 pieces of work in the exhibition , including my canvas ( a reproduction of the sketches from Sidereus Nuncius)

Lord Rosse ( The 7th Earl of Rosse) , had four of the 3rd Earls original sketches framed and included them on the walls with the rest of the 20th and 21st Century sketches.


The Whirlpool Galaxy, The Crab Nebula sketched through the 6 ft Leviathan , and through the 3 foot telescope, and H 450 , which I think is the Owl nebula .



So we are literally hanging around with The 3rd Earl


So do try to visit, I would love to hear what you think about it . Jeff Young has four beautiful sketches and Martin McKenna contributed his lovely sketch of Comet Lulin.

The children's work is a small sample of the large volume created by children all over Ireland and in other countries. I projected over 400 children's moons on the wall , they were seven foot tall and a riot of color on the night.


Deidre Kelleghan

Outreach Coordinator IFAS
www.irishastronomy.org/
www.deirdrekelleghan.com/
twitter.com/skysketcher

Deirdre --

Congratulations on the exhibition and the opening. The girls took a couple of your photos into their classes today.

FWIW, I think h.450 is the Eskimo, rather than the Owl. The 3rd Earl sketched both, but he found the Owl to have "a most intricate group of spiral arcs, disposed round two starry centres, looking like the visage of a monkey", while his discription of the Eskimo more closely matches the sketch: "the ring exactly circular, its light mottled and flickering, and within it what is evidently a globular cluster".

Cheers,
-- Jeff.