Below you will find an overview of what students can expect from the week. Please note that details are subject to change.
Monday
On Monday students will get a tour of the observatory buildings and grounds before being given an overview of the plan for the week. Team building exercises will give the students time to get to know each other before being split into their research project groups. They will have time to select the topic of their project before starting some research.
Tuesday
Day 2 will begin with the introduction of the EM spectrum and a series of tasks to explore the effects of radiation at different wavelengths. Students will also explore the topic of magnetism and how it relates to Earth and other planets.
Wednesday
Day 3 will focus on meteors and meteor detection. Students will use triangulation to investigate how we use triangulation to determine the location of a meteor. Time will also be set aside for students to work on their group research projects.
Thursday
The final full day will focus on the Sun and space weather. Students will be introduced to some of the projects that the solar physicists in the observatory work on. The second half of the day will be dedicated to the group research project.
Friday
Students will take part in a telescope workshop in the morning before putting the finishing touches to their group projects. In the afternoon the students and their families and friends will be invited to the observatory for the presentation of the group research projects.
Please not that we do not offer Transition Year work experience placements at the Observatory.
Transition Year Week
Applications for that week will are now CLOSED! Information for our 2026/2027 TY Weeks will be available in August 2026.
For questions regarding our Transition Year programme, please contact dunsink-education@dias.ie .
Programme
Below you will find an overview of what students can expect from the week. Please note that details are subject to change.
Monday
On Monday students will get a tour of the observatory buildings and grounds before being given an overview of the plan for the week. Team building exercises will give the students time to get to know each other before being split into their research project groups. They will have time to select the topic of their project before starting some research.
Tuesday
Day 2 will begin with the introduction of the EM spectrum and a series of tasks to explore the effects of radiation at different wavelengths. Students will also explore the topic of magnetism and how it relates to Earth and other planets.
Wednesday
Day 3 will focus on meteors and meteor detection. Students will use triangulation to investigate how we use triangulation to determine the location of a meteor. Time will also be set aside for students to work on their group research projects.
Thursday
The final full day will focus on the Sun and space weather. Students will be introduced to some of the projects that the solar physicists in the observatory work on. The second half of the day will be dedicated to the group research project.
Friday
Students will take part in a telescope workshop in the morning before putting the finishing touches to their group projects. In the afternoon the students and their families and friends will be invited to the observatory for the presentation of the group research projects.
Please not that we do not offer Transition Year work experience placements at the Observatory.
Latest News
Director of DIAS Dunsink Observatory elected a member of the RIA and a trustee of the RAS.
Read about our Mirrors to the Sky zine launch here!
Read about Aurora and Space Weather here.
Events
Check out our upcoming events at dunsink.dias.ie/events.
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