Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG update

Mary McAleese warns against a Brexit leave vote result for Ireland

    

Mary McAleese has warned of the dangers of Brexit.

A BREXIT VOTE RESULT WOULD CAUSE TURMOIL AND RADICALLY ALTER RELATIONS BETWEEN BRITAIN AND IRELAND, SAID THE  FORMER IRISH PRESIDENT MARY MCALEESE.

Mary McAleese has also claimed Ireland’s peace and prosperity would be in danger if Britain votes to leave the European Union next week.

She said: “Reassurances that nothing will change are at best wishful thinking and bluffing most of us at worse.”

Mrs McAleese, who was president from 1997 until 2011, will throw her weight firmly behind the Remain campaign as she launches a new report from the British Influence think tank at Westminster later.

In her speech she will urge British voters to avoid a choice for “drift” and loss of influence in Europe. She will also call for the 600,000 Irish citizens resident in the UK to vote stay.

She will also say that the benefits in Anglo-Irish relations, now taken for granted, could be put in peril while the future of 400,000 jobs and the open road border between Northern Ireland and the Republic would also be uncertain.

“The concerns of Ireland are legitimate and well-founded,” she said.

“They involve the economy, trade, immigration controls, the hardening of the land border, security, the weakening over time of the excellent current relationship between Ireland and the United Kingdom, the impact on the peace process and the impact on European development of Britain’s voice being absent from the European Union table.”

Meanwhile, the British Influence paper, Brexit: The Irish Dimension, outlines the top seven problems that would upset Anglo-Irish relations in the event of Brexit:

They include the impact on Ireland’s economy; disruption of the free movement Common Travel Area and the re-introduction of border controls as well as the ending of current extradition arrangements with the Republic of Ireland.

Other potential difficulties would be disruption to the peace process and the ending of EU-funded programmes while the all-Ireland electricity market and the energy relationship with the UK could also be affected, the report claims.

Peter Wilding, director of British Influence, said: “Vote Leave’s ‘It’ll be all right on the night’ attitude is playing with fire when it comes to the future of our relations with Ireland.

“Our report demonstrates – and Mary McAleese together with the entire Irish Government knows – that Brexit means trouble ahead for jobs, investment and the peaceful stability of the island of Ireland.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Bailey, who sponsored the report, said he did not want to see the progress of the last two decades derailed.

Most minimum wage workers are in the‘Irish middle income families group’and just below the poverty line?

    

INCREASING THE MINIMUM WAGE WILL NOT TACKLE POVERTY BECAUSE THE MAJORITY OF WORKERS EARNING IT ACTUALLY LIVE IN MIDDLE-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS, A NEW STUDY CLAIMS.

The startling findings come as the Government is under pressure to increase the €9.15-an-hour statutory rate.

A new report by the ESRI, which is partly State-funded, warns that increases in the basic statutory pay rate will do little for households living below the breadline.

The report, to be published today, questions the impact increases in the statutory wage have on reducing poverty. It finds that recent hikes in the national minimum wage have mainly benefited people in ¬middle-income households.

The economic think tank found the proportion of low-wage employees rose from 20% in 2005 to 23% in 2014. But it added: “Results also confirm that very few low paid individuals are found in households with incomes below the most commonly used poverty line income cut-off.”

The report reveals that ‘Low Pay, Minimum Wages and Household Incomes: Evidence for Ireland’ – says 11 out of 12 low paid workers are living in households above the poverty line.

In most cases, low paid employees are not the sole earners. It finds that even where they are the sole earners, fewer than one-in-five are at risk of poverty.

The report notes that a young adult may be earning a low wage but living in the family home where the parents’ income is enough to keep the household above the poverty threshold. In addition, low wage earners with few dependants will be at lower risk of poverty.

In contrast, employees with an above average wage may be more at risk of poverty when they are the sole earners in the household or have many dependants.

But it notes a young adult may be in a poverty trap at home because they could not afford to buy or rent a home, while other workers may feel they are not earning enough to start a family.

REDUCING POVERTY?

“This is not to say that a minimum wage policy is flawed if it fails to reduce poverty,” says the report. “Rather, it is important to understand the possibilities and limitations of targeted efforts to increase wages.”

It notes that government policy may, of course, be concerned with low individual incomes as well as with low household incomes.

“But it is important to be clear about what minimum wage policy can, and cannot, achieve. It is also important, as recent UK experience illustrates, that the design of tax and welfare policy changes should take such factors into account from the outset,” it says.

The Government has committed in the Programme for Government to a hike in the wage to €10.50-an-hour over the next five years in a bid to reduce “poverty levels” for the 124,000 workers on it.

Unions want the Low Pay Commission to recommend it boosts the rate beyond this when it reports next month due to the economic recovery and a hike in the minimum rate in the UK.

The leader of Mandate trade union said it would be “ill conceived” if the Government does not increase the minimum wage.

“It’s disappointing that a body that would have had a social agenda in the past would come out with a negative statement in relation to pay, particularly low pay,” said John Douglas. “The Low Pay Commission hasn’t come up with any proposal as yet to increase the minimum wage but an increase is vital.”

He said raising the minimum wage was not a “cure-all” to ¬poverty, but an essential part of tackling poverty.

IT Sligo students win Engineers Ireland Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award

   

Their innovative design, titled ‘Automatically fed post driver’, allows tractor operators to drive posts without having to dismount their tractors, significantly improving the safety and efficiency of the process, and was deemed the best innovation by the Engineers Ireland judging panel.  Previously there had been no post drivers that are able to hold, feed and drive a post without the operator having to dismount the tractor.

A human-powered washing machine, an advanced limb prosthesis, a clean-energy inflatable tower, a flexible robotic arm and a safe-release building hook were other projects also short listed for the final, which was sponsored by Siemens.

The Engineers Ireland Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award is an annual competition that focuses on showcasing innovation excellence amongst engineering third-level students across Ireland.

Dermot Byrne, Engineers Ireland President, said the innovative skills which engineers possess were becoming increasingly valuable in a world of rapid change.

“Engineering is transforming how people work, live and experience the world.  In energy, transport, health, water, the digital economy and more, engineers are at the heart of the endeavour to improve lives and living standards in complex environments.  It is imperative Ireland can bring new techniques, processes and skills to all sectors so that we can compete on a global stage with our competitors.

I believe the diversity and creativity of contemporary engineering is very much reflected in this year’s projects which span areas such as robotics, clean energy and mechanical engineering.  Congratulations to Colm, Shane, Caolan and Conor for winning the 2016 Engineers Ireland Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award and praise to all of the participants in this year’s event who have acquitted themselves so well.”

Michael O’Connor, Corporate Communications Manager, Siemens Limited said: “All the projects on show today have taken a unique approach to a challenge through original thinking, technical excellence and hard-work. Developing close links with leading educational institutions and industry partners is a key part of Siemens’ innovation strategy.

“The Engineers Ireland Innovative Student Engineer of the Year Award is a valued initiative in this regard and challenges students to think conceptually and strategically.   Competitions such as this are invaluable to companies such as Siemens, helping us to reach tomorrow’s talent.

“Siemens is very pleased once again to support a competition that engages and encourages young people to develop their engineering expertise for commercial use and the good of society.  It is a fundamental element of our programme of engagement with young people around the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) agenda and of our relationship with Engineers Ireland.

“Congratulations to all of the finalists here today, particularly Colm, Shane, Caolan and Conor for winning the award outright, and based on the quality of submissions we have seen, I have every confidence they will enjoy great success in their respective careers ahead.”

The runners-up in the competition were:

1. Aisling Lee (DIT) – ‘Actuation and Control of Transradial Upper Limb Prosthesis’
2. Antara Barbara, Ahmed Kone, Sebastien Course (CIT) – ‘Haelios Solar Technologies™ – Solar Updraft Tower Development’
3. Ben Frost (DIT) – ‘Design and build of a Human-Powered Washing Machine’
4. Darren Kingston (CIT) – ‘Construction Sector Safety Hook Design and Development’
5. Noel Frisby (Trinity College Dublin) – ‘The design and development of a under-actuated, compliant anthropomorphic hand capable of dexterous grasping for a Service Robot’

€10m sought by Minister for Jobs in small business

   

The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor (above), is hoping to secure a further €10m of exchequer funding to keep Microfinance Ireland afloat beyond 2017.

MICROFINANCE IRELAND IS THE STATE-BACKED PROJECT AIMED AT FUNDING SMALL BUSINESSES.

Ms Mitchell O’Connor also said the €11.7m lent by Microfinance Ireland has helped sustain some 2,000 jobs.

In a written Dáil reply to Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins, she described the output by Microfinance Ireland as “a very satisfactory performance in a difficult market at a very difficult time”.

Ms Mitchell O’Connor said that, since its inception in October 2012, Microfinance Ireland has approved 867 loans out of 1,826 loan applications received.

Some 591 applications were declined with 317 being withdrawn.

Microfinance Ireland was established by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise, and Innovation under the Action Plan for Jobs.

Ms Mitchell O’Connor said: “To secure the future development of Microfinance Ireland my officials are in negotiations regarding securing a tranche of €10m additional exchequer funding required to keep the fund operating as a going concern beyond 2017 in line with company law requirements.

“This equity injection is combined with additional bank funding of €15m.”

Last year, the State-backed, not-for-profit lender had a record 50% rise in the number of loan applications.

Approvals for start-ups, sole traders and small businesses reached an all-time high in 2015 with the lender approving €5.4m in funding to 357 businesses across every county in Ireland, supporting the creation and maintenance of 930 jobs in the process.

A total of 752 businesses applied for loans in 2015, compared with 508 for 2014, an increase of 48%. The average loan size approved during 2015 was €15,190.

Figures provided by Ms Mitchell O’Connor, show the highest number of loan approvals to the end of March this year totalled 196 with the number of loan approvals in Cork at 70, Limerick and Meath at 42, Galway at 38, Tipperary at 33, Wexford at 33, Cavan at 32, Kildare at 34, Mayo at 33, Wicklow at 30, Waterford at 28, and Kerry at 23.

The fund offers business loans of €2,000 to €25,000 to companies with fewer than 10 employees, and with a turnover of less than €2m.

According Microfinance Ireland data on the gender breakdown of those making loan applications, 76% were from males and 24% from females.

Cats can understand the laws of physics, researchers now claim?

    

USING A PLASTIC CONTAINER, SOME MAGNETS, THREE IRON BALLS, TWO VIDEO CAMERAS AND 30 CATS, RESEARCHERS FROM KYOTO UNIVERSITY HAVE CONCLUDED THAT FELINES UNDERSTAND THE LAWS OF PHYSICS.

The research paper titled There’s no ball without noise: cats’ prediction of an object from noise was published in Animal Cognition.

Twenty-two cats from Japanese cat cafes and eight domestic cats were carried off to separate rooms to take part in an experiment which supposedly tested their abilities to understand gravity.

The researchers rattled a plastic container lined with an electromagnet. Inside was an object made from three iron balls. At the flick of a switch, the magnetic force of the magnets attracted the iron balls – restricting their movement – so the container made no noise when it was shaken.

When the researchers shook the container with the switch turned off, the iron balls rattled against the inside of the container. After the container was shaken, it was turned upside down to reveal the object inside.

The researchers proposed that the event where there was no sound and no object or a sound and an object “matched with physical laws.” They called that a congruent condition. But the events where there was no sound but the appearance of the object, or sound but no object, defied physical laws and was called the incongruent condition.

The cats were required to sit and watch each event and their reactions were filmed with video cameras.

After analyzing each video, the researchers found that the furry creatures stared longer at the container when it made a noise, as they could predict that there was an object inside. But, they also stared at the container even if the events did not make sense to them – the incongruent condition.

“Cats use a causal-logical understanding of noise or sounds to predict the appearance of invisible objects,” said Saho Takagi, lead author of the study.

In the paper, the researchers claimed: “This study may be viewed as evidence for cats having a rudimentary understanding of gravity.”

For those who remain unconvinced that cats can understand physics, since they held their gaze on the container in both the congruent and incongruent condition, the researchers said: “It is not appropriate to directly compare these two conditions because the main effect of object would overshadow the effect of the expectancy violation. Thus, the absence of a difference between these two conditions does not weaken our main conclusion.”

“Expectation violation” is a theory that analyzes how individuals respond when they are faced with unexpected events. The theory was proposed in the late seventies by Judee Burgoon, professor of Communication, Family Studies and Human Development at the University of Arizona.

Unfortunately, the conclusions of this study cannot be compared with other findings since there has been “no study specifically testing knowledge of this fundamental physical rule in cats.”

The ability for cats to predict where objects are fits in with their hunting style, Takagi explained. In the future, he hopes to devise another test to examine if cats can extract information such as the size or identity of an object from the sounds they hear.    

Donie's Ireland daily news BLOG.

Eir ebitdata seen as stable in ‘competitive telecoms market’

FITCH SAYS CONSUMERS HAVE NOT BENEFITED FROM LOWER PRICES SINCE THREE ACQUIRED O2

   

FITCH SAID RETAIL FIXED-LINE COMPETITION IS “REMARKABLY SIMILAR” TO THE UK WITH THE INCUMBENT EIR FACING STIFF COMPETITION FROM BUNDLED SERVICES PROVIDED BY RIVALS.

Ireland’s telecoms market is “vibrant, crowded and competitive,” according to a new report that finds the sector generated about €3.7 billion in revenues last year.

The latest Irish Telecoms Dashboard from ratings agency Fitch forecasts that investment in the sector will remain high in the coming years, primarily due to spending by Eir on its fibre network.

The report also says that consumers have not benefited from lower prices in the almost two years since Three acquired O2. It adds that with increased operator consolidation, competitive emphasis is increasing focused on network quality, rather than on costs.

“Domestic average revenue per user (ARPU) trends remain under pressure and Ireland has some of the lowest ARPUs among advanced western European mobile markets,” Fitch said.

The agency said retail fixed-line competition is “remarkably similar” to the UK with the incumbent Eir facing stiff competition from bundled services provided by rivals such as Virgin Media and Sky. It said customer losses to Eir from fixed line operators were less dilutive than losses to Virgin, its only last mile retail access competitor.

“Eir’s retail broadband position has been eroded but its revenue share of the Irish fixed market appears to be stabilising at around 49% with the success of Sky and Vodafone’s broadband offers generating sizeable and growing wholesale revenues for the incumbent,” Fitch said.

It added that with improving APRU trends at both the retail and wholesale levels, along with sizeable cost-cutting, Eir has managed to stabilise its fixed earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda).

Publication of the report comes a week after Fitch revised Eir’s outlook grade to positive from stable and affirmed its long-term issuer default rating at ‘B’.

New Sligo IT science discovery could stem spread of deadly super-bugs,

IN A GAME CHANGING BREAKTHROUGH?

      

Professor Suresh Pillai with John Browne (above middle pic), of Kastus Technologies, in the Nanotechnology Research Laboratory at Sligo IT.

A new discovery by a team of scientists in Sligo Ireland could stem the spread of deadly superbugs predicted to kill millions of people worldwide over the coming decades.

The researchers found an agent that can be baked into everyday items like smart-phones and door handles to combat the likes of MRSA and E. coli.

The nanotechnology has a 99.9 % kill rate of potentially lethal and drug-resistant bacteria, they say.

Lead scientist Professor Suresh C Pillai, of Sligo Institute of Technology’s Nanotechnology Research Group, says the discovery is the culmination of 12 years’ work.

“This is a new game changer,” he said.

“It’s absolutely wonderful to finally be at this stage. “This breakthrough will change the whole fight against superbugs. It can effectively control the spread of bacteria.”

The findings were published on Thursday in the international journal Scientific Reports.

Last week British Chancellor George Osborne warned superbugs could become deadlier than cancer and are on course to kill 10 million people globally by 2050.

Speaking at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, he warned drug-resistant bugs could escalate into a global crisis costing £70 trillion.

Scientists have been in a race to find a way of preventing the spread of the bacteria which causes the superbugs.

The new discovery works by building or baking a water-based antimicrobial solution that kills micro-organisms or inhibits their growth into everyday products as they are being manufactured.

These could include anything made from glass, metallics and ceramics including computer or tablet screens, smartphones, ATMs, door handles, TVs, handrails, lifts, urinals, toilet seats, fridges, microwaves and ceramic floor or wall tiles.

Professor Pillai says the innovation will be of particular use in hospitals and medical facilities which are losing the battle against the spread of the killer superbugs.

“Every single person has a sea of bacteria on their hands,” he said.

“The mobile phone is the most contaminated personal item that we can have. Bacteria grows on the phone and can live there for up to five months.

“As it is contaminated with proteins from saliva and from the hand, it’s fertile land for bacteria and has been shown to carry 30 times more bacteria than a toilet seat.”

The research has been funded for the past eight years by John Browne, founder of Kastus Technologies, who will now work to bring the product to a global market.

The team says the nanotechnology is non-toxic and has no harmful by-products.

They are already working on how to adapt it for use in plastics and paint, allowing even wider use.

Sugar tax will not solve Irish nation’s dental crisis?

GREATER FOCUS ON EDUCATION IS NEEDED?

     

MANY IRISH CHILDREN HAVE HIGH LEVELS OF TOOTH DECAY, BUT INTRODUCING A SUGAR TAX TO TACKLE THIS ‘WILL NOT PROVIDE A MIRACULOUS QUICK FIX SOLUTION’, DENTISTS HAVE WARNED.

According to the Irish Dental Association (IDA), studies show that around half of all Irish 12-year-olds and three-quarters of all 15-year-olds already have some decay in their permanent teeth.

A significant amount of this this decay is thought to be due to the consumption of sugary drinks and recently, the British Chancellor, George Osborne, announced a plan to introduce a sugar tax on the producers of sugar-added soft drinks, with the revenue raised being spent on school sports programmes.

However commenting on this issue, outgoing IDA president, Anne Twomey, said that the focus should not be on how much people are paying for these products. Instead, it should be on encouraging people to reduce their consumption.

“There is overwhelming evidence that sugars in food and beverages are the main dietary causes of tooth decay and erosion in children and adults. In addition to decay, people who consume excess sugar suffer higher rates of heart disease and diabetes.

“We believe the best approach to this issue is through a coordinated programme of education and promotion, in tandem with an effective school screening programme at junior infant level, or even via free dental care for the under sixes,” she said.

While no studies have been carried out on lost school time in Ireland, international research suggests that children with poor oral health are three times more likely to miss school as a result of dental pain.

The IDA said it would support public health warning labels being placed on carbonated soft drinks. However it also said that if a sugar tax was introduced, all money raised should go towards oral healthcare programmes.

The association questioned whether companies hit with a sugar tax would reformulate their products, or simply increase their prices to compensate.

“Have any studies been carried out to test the effectiveness of sugar taxes where they have been introduced? What about the 60% of the population here who do not consume sugar-sweetened beverages?

“As well as fizzy drinks would the tax also cover fruit juices? What happens if consumers switch to alternative untaxed sugary drinks? What about the disproportionate effect such a tax will have on lower income households? These are important questions and we really haven’t heard convincing answers to any of them,” Ms Twomey commented.

She also highlighted the fact Irish children are among the highest per capita consumers of soft drinks in the western world. However, rather than trying to tackle this issue, ‘the HSE made severe cuts to its dental service catering for children’.

“There has been a 20% net reduction in dentists employed by the HSE to care for children and now those children and their dentists are dealing with the consequences of that decision. Studies show it is children from more deprived backgrounds who have a higher risk of decay and unfortunately, these are the very people who have been hardest hit by the HSE’s cutbacks in the public dental service,” Dr Twomey added.

Stunning photo of surfer in Mullaghmore Co Sligo up for major award

    

SURFER TOM BUTLER RIDES A BIG WAVE IN MULLAGHMORE, CO. SLIGO IN A A PHOTO LAST OCTOBER 2015 OF WHICH IS NOW UP FOR THE US$ 14,000 TOP PRIZE IN THE BEST BARREL CATEGORY AT THE 2016 XXL BIG WAVE AWARDS.

This stunning photograph of Tom Butler deep in the tube at Mullaghmore in Co Sligo is in the running for a major surf award.

Taken by South African Ian Mitchinson last October, it is among the final five photographs vying for the $14,000 top prize in the Pure Scot Barrel of the Year category at the 2016 WSL Big Wave Awards, the winners of which will be announced on April 23rd in Los Angeles.

Fellow South African Frank Solomon has been nominated in the Billabong Ride of the Year category, which carries a top prize of $93,000 for the surfer and $9,000 for the videographer, for a wave the same day at Mullaghmore. Captured on video by Irish man Peter Clyne, it was his first ever ride at the world-renowned big wave spot.

Mr Mitchinson and Mr Butler are part of a tight-knit crew of surfers and photographers chasing huge swells off the Irish coast. “We live on the fringes of society in Donegal chasing waves without really making any money doing it, but we go to the extremes to be amongst the most insane waves in the world that come to Irish shores each winter,” Mr Mitchinson said.

NFU calls for better store layouts that encourage more Fruit and Veg consumption

FOR OUR HEALTH’S SAKE?

     

The UK’s National Farmers Union (NFU) has said that retailers have a responsibility to ensure store layouts and labelling are conducive to getting consumers to eat more fruit and vegetables.

The group has outlined 34 ‘Options for Action’ in its recently published Fit for the Future report, including multi-siting fruit and vegetables in more places in stores, redesigning food service areas to offer more prominence to them, and developing fun-shaped fruit and veg options for kids.

The recommendations, based on a wide range of international studies and initiatives, have been proposed to help reverse the obesity crisis currently facing the UK, as well as increase the consumption of fruit and vegetables.

The report highlights that the ‘food swamping’ of healthy produce – or crowding them out with less healthy foods – and increasing consumer ‘decision fatigue’ are two of the major stumbling blocks in increasing fruit and veg consumption.

The NFU therefore, recommends making fruit and vegetables available in multipacks, snack packs, with lunchtime meal deals, alongside ready meals and even at the checkout – in other words, throughout the store and in various different formats.

NFU President Meurig Raymond commented, “At the moment, although most people understand the reasons why they should eat more fruit and veg, consumption simply isn’t increasing and this has to change.

“We are calling on all parts of the industry and government to work with us and to implement initiatives that will drive consumer purchases.”

ALL GOVERNMENTS should Put fruit and veg consumption at the heart of the forthcoming Childhood Obesity Strategy to deliver positive, engaging messages around food and nutrition. And ensure its objectives are followed through, regardless of the EU referendum result.

• Develop a cohesive strategy for enabling fruit and veg consumption with a view to promoting the need for increased fibre and micronutrient consumption to ensure the nation’s health, in addition to existing initiatives.

• Provide more information on the nutritional benefits of potatoes and the essential micronutrients they contain within the messaging around the Eatwell Guide.

• Revisit planning regulations with regard to enabling choice architecture at community level and ensuring that healthy foods are not simply ‘swamped out’ by energy-dense food alternatives.

• Redesign the layout of food service areas and positioning of food products in schools, hospitals and government workplaces in order to have increased fruit and veg availability at the start of the buffet setting, plus the use of convenient options for fruit and veg products in vending machines.

• Promote increased visibility of fruit and veg within the School Food Plan with an associated choice architecture strategy in the serving setting as outlined above. And ensure delivery of the plan is consistently applied across local authorities. Going forward, as all schools move towards Academy status, ensure that fruit and veg consumption remains a priority in any new school food initiatives.

• Undertake a feasibility study to determine applicability within the UK policy environment for the development of an equivalent Community Food Projects Competitive Grants Programme (CFPCGP) in order to implement a nutrition incentive based approach (e.g. fruit and veg prescriptions) as has been developed in the US where it currently involves 110 community based partners, 730 community health care centres, hospitals and food hubs.

• Extend the Healthy Start programme to include all families with children under 16. • Provide additional advice on juice and juicing of fruit and veg so consumers understand the balances required to benefit from their nutritional values.

• Provide an enabling environment for food reformulation for example through the Public Health Responsibility Deal.

The smallest full Moon of 2016: see the Slooh webcast tonight

    

THE FULL MOON OF MARCH 23, 2016, SHINES BRIGHTLY IN THIS IMAGE TAKEN IN CHAPMANVILLE, WEST VIRGINIA, 

The smallest full moon of 2016 will light up the night sky this weekend, and you can get a sneak preview of the lunar event in a free webcast from the Slooh community observatory tonight (April 21).

The full moon of April, which is traditionally known as the Full Pink Moon or Pink Full Moon, actually occurs on Friday night (April 22). This year, April’s full moon will be the smallest of the year because the moon will be at the farthest point from Earth in its elliptical orbit. Slooh representatives have dubbed the event a “mini-moon” and will showcase live views of the full moon on Slooh.com beginning at 8 p.m. EDT (0000 GMT) tonight.

“As the Earth and moon move to their furthest points from each other, we’ll all get a unique chance to see the full moon as it appears smallest to us here on Earth … a ‘mini’ moon, and a Pink Full Moon at that,” Slooh representatives said in a webcast announcement. You can also watch the April full moon webcast on Space.com here , courtesy of Slooh. [The Full Moon Explained: Why It Happens (Video)]

During tonight’s webcast, Slooh astronomer Bob Berman and host Paul Cox will be joined by Janice Stillman, editor of The Old Farmer’s Almanac, to discuss the upcoming full moon, why it’s known as a Pink Moon and why it is the smallest of its kind this year. Live images of the moon will be provided by Slooh’s flagship observatory at the Institute of Astrophysics in the Canary Islands.

  Viewers will be able to ask questions about the moon via Twitter by sending messages to @Slooh or by joining the webcast’s live chat, Slooh representatives said.

You can find tips on how to observe the moon in our infographic. If you need some photography tips, check out Space.com’s photo guide for moon observers by veteran night sky photographers Imelda Joson and Edwin Aguirre

Smallest-full-moon-2016-slooh-webcast-tonight.html#sthash.ivgdoGJR.dpuf.