Dunsink Observatory was founded in 1785 by Trinity following a bequest from Provost Francis Andrews. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, its facilities were used to measure the distances to nearby stars, and more practically, to set Dublin Mean Time. Among its most famous directors was Sir William Rowan Hamilton, who was appointed Royal Astronomer of Ireland at Dunsink at the age of 21, and it was at the observatory that he undertook his ground-breaking work on optics, mechanics and algebra. Soon after the establishment of DIAS, Dunsink was transferred to the Institute and has since then been used as a location for astronomical research and public engagement. In this talk, I will describe the history of the observatory, some of its resident astronomers, and talk about future plans for the observatory.

Peter T. Gallagher is Head of Astrophysics at the DIAS and an Adjunct Professor at Trinity. His research is primarily concerned with understanding solar storms and their impacts on Earth. He have a long association with ESA and NASA and leads the Irish LOFAR radio telescope project at Birr Castle. Peter received a BSc in Physics and Mathematics from University College Dublin in 1995, followed by an MSc in Optoelectronics and a PhD in Solar Physics from Queen’s University Belfast in 1999. He then spent six years in the US, firstly as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Owens Valley Solar Array and Big Bear Solar Observatory in California and then as an Instrument Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Before joining DIAS in 2018, he spent 13 (happy!) years undertaking teaching and research in Physics and Astrophysics at Trinity College Dublin.

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Registration for this event will close at 11pm on Tuesday 15th June.