Astronomers gather at Birr Castle hoping to view the eclipse of the moon.
The eclipse of the moon can be seen through some of the most powerful telescopes in Ireland.
For the members of the Astronomy Society of Ireland in the grounds of Birr Castle tonight, it's one of the most exciting nights of the year.
A fitting location, Birr Castle has become known as the cradle of modern astronomy marking the spot where Lord Ross's large telescope was built in the 1840s.
It assisted in many scientific discoveries.
It is anticipated that tonight's eclipse will be one of the darkest ever after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. David Moore of Astronomy Ireland describes what happened at Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Mount Pinatubo erupted spewing millions of tonnes of dust into the earth's upper atmosphere and blocks out the light that would normally give the moon a slight coppery red colour during a lunar eclipse.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 9 December 1992. The reporter is Gerry Reynolds.
