Birr Castle, the Earls of Rosse and the Giant Telescope ~ Brian Mills (Wealden AS)

A main feature on the grounds of Birr Castle is the "Great Telescope" or Leviathan of Parsonstown or The Rosse Telescope of the third Earl of Rosse, an astronomical telescope with a 183-cm (72 in) reflector. It was completed in 1845 and was used for several decades before the last observations were made in the first years of the 20th century. Its record size was not surpassed until the completion of the 100-inch (2.5-meter) Hooker Telescope at Mount Wilson Observatory in 1917. It was dismantled in 1914, but the structure was restored and the telescope reconstructed in the 1990s and is open to the public.

The talk looks at the history of Birr Castle and the Earls of Rosse, particularly the 3rd Earl who built a number of telescopes with the largest being the 72 inch "Leviathan of Parsons Town". This instrument, the largest in the world at the time, was used in the study of gaseous "nebulae" in an attempt to resolve them into stellar bodies.

Asteroids ~ Ronald anderson

At the meeting in January  a talk about 10-Hygiea was given questions were raised regarding this object.  How is the mass determined? the mass being 2.9% of the asteroid belt was questioned.

This talk will answer these questions (hopefully) and many more concerning the asteroid belt.