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World Space Week: World Space Week begins on Tuesday and runs until October 10th, and it's a week designed to turn our attention to the sky but also to remember the great history of space exploration.

The first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, launched on October 4th, 1957 – hence the timing – and there are space week events in 50 countries.

Blackrock Castle Observatory (BCO) in Cork has invited Nasa astronaut Shane Kimbrough to speak next Wednesday from 6.30pm at Triskel Christchurch in Cork city – it’s a free event open to the public.

BCO’s “First Fridays” event on October 7th in Blackrock Castle looks like being particularly lively. It starts at 6pm with a series of family-friendly half-hour hands-on sessions, learning how to observe Cygnus, the Swan and other stars.

This sounds like good preparation for the 2011 Great Worldwide Star Count, an international project which runs from October 14th-28th. During this event, everyone is asked to go outside, look skyward after dark, note the stars that they see and report their findings online.

Later in the evening, at 8pm, Leo Enright will give a talk about 50 years of human spaceflight.

Astronomy Ireland also has a series of moon watches and events at various locations around the country to mark space week.

* bco.ie

* astronomy.ie