groups going out stargazing in dublin

im getting a scope soon enough, but i currently live in stillorgan, and have no car. viewing in stilorgan will be limited with light pollution and travelling far is difficult without a car. are there any star parties weekly where a bus of people head out or anythiing? if not , theres not much point in me getting a scope.

There are light pollution filters you can get to improve the viewing. I've no experience with them myself but maybe others here have?

Your best bet would be to try and make it to a south dublin astronomical society meeting. Perhaps someone there lives near you and could give you a lift to observig sessions.

Those light pollution filters cost a pretty penny! They work akin to Ha (Hydrogen alpha) filters on the Coronado PST - they are sensitive to certain elements and their absorbtio/emission lines. The typical light pollution filter will then typically absorb the nanometers of light that create the wavelength of Sodium (orange) light.

fguihen (whatever the heck your name is! ), perhaps if you are thinking about meeting other like-minded astronomy hobbyists, why not start promoting yourself as such, you know, with a notice in e.g. your local Centra notice board and so on...

South Dublin Astronomical Society are having their next outing on Saturday October 20th at Cloon Wood in Wicklow. I live not too far away from Stillorgan, in Ballybrack, I have never gone out with SDAS before, though I have been to Cloon Wood. Contact me through IFAS and I'll see what I can do.

Paul

You may be pleasantly surprised at what you can see even in Dublin's light polluted skies. I'm very new to this hobby and last night I was able to view the Andromeda Galaxy, M13 and the double cluster through my refractor from the city centre with a gibous moon nearby, in a common garden with lots of local lighting, would have be nicer from a dark site, but still viewable.
South Dublin Astronomical Society as recommended by Paul are a pretty friendly group and may be able to help you getting to sites, they have a meeting tomorrow night (Thursday 5th Oct)in Gonzaga college, Ranelagh

Also try this web site Urban observer they've some advice for observing from the urban environment.

Finally you could think about investing in Binoculars instead, they are lot more portable than a telescope.