Launching the Irish Astronomy Week with Ronan Newman

In this podcast Melanie Boylan speaks to Ronan Newman who is launching the first annual Irish Astronomy Week this March.

Learn how this came about and how he has brought this to life.  Ronan wants everyone to understand that “The Stars are for Everyone” and wants to inspire the next generation of star gazers into this rewarding field.

With over 100 events happening over this week its promising to be a huge way to start!

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST USING THE LINK BELOW:

Ronan Newman

Ronan is based in Claremorris, County Mayo and ha s been an amateur astronomer since he was 8 years old.  Since then he has been interested in the hobby through its various forms including Noctilucent Clouds, the Aurora Borealis, Astrophotography, Comets, Binocular Astronomy, Deep Sky Objects, Double Stars and Meteor showers.

His very first telescope was a Christmas present from his parents and it was a spotting telescope with a maximum magnification of 35x.  Not many 8 year olds get to see Jupiter’s Moons and the Phases of Venus for Christmas.

His true astronomy journey began as a founding member of Galway Astronomy Club in 1997 when Comet Hale-Bopp was travelling across the evening sky.  Shortly after that he bought his first 6 inch home-made Dobsonian telescope and in 1999 a Meade LX10 8″ Schmit-Cassagrain and started reading Astronomy magazines.  His  involvement in the club spanned from starting off as Observing Director to becoming Secretary and eventually to Chairperson. He was the main organizer for their annual yet highly successful Astrofests and club meetings/outings.  In 2016 he was instrumental in helping the Mayo Dark Sky committee gain their eventual accreditation for a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park see https://www.darksky.org/our-work/conservation/idsp/parks/mayo/ and was founder of the original 2016 Mayo Dark Sky Festival.

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About Melanie Boylan

Melanie has been a Freelance Journalist on the Irish Tech News senior team since November 2016.  Her background knowledge in Space, Science, Sustainability, Climate Change, STE(A)M, StartUps/ScaleUps and Social Media has allowed for some great chats with some amazing podcast guests.

Melanie also is a Social Media Trainer, Digital Marketer, Mentor, Speaker and separately Co-Founder of STOMP Social Media Training Ltd and The Monday Morning Marketing Podcast and Brand Ambassador for AgoraPulse UK and Ireland.  Melanie is the winner of the Social Media Training Provider of the Year 2022/2023 with the Republic of Ireland Prestige Awards.

If you would like to learn more, please visit her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieboylan/