DECEMBER 2021 WETTER, WARMER AND DULLER THAN AVERAGE. RECORD-BREAKING 2021: WARMEST SEPTEMBER ON RECORD, WARMEST AUTUMN, AND SECOND-WARMEST CALENDAR YEAR SINCE RECORDS BEGAN AT ARMAGH AROUND 1795 Armagh Observatory reports that December 2021 was wetter, warmer, and duller than average. The month was remarkable for an unseasonably very warm period Read more…
VERY MILD NOVEMBER. DULLER THAN AVERAGE AND THE DRIEST NOVEMBER AT ARMAGH FOR 32 YEARS. WARMEST AUTUMN AT ARMAGH ON RECORD, AND DULLER AND DRIER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that November 2021 was very mild, duller, and much drier than average. This was the warmest November at Armagh for Read more…
JULY 2021 MUCH DRIER, WARMER AND SUNNIER THANAVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that July was the driest at Armagh for 21 years, the warmest for eight years and the sunniest for three years.Total precipitation was 25.55 mm (1.01 inches) including three trace values (i.e., 25.4 mm if trace values are ignored). Read more…
DRIEST JUNE AT ARMAGH FOR SIX YEARS, WARMERAND SLIGHTLY SUNNIER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that June 2021 was drier, warmer and slightly sunnier than average. This was the driest June at Armagh for six years, and the warmest and sunniest for three years. Total precipitation was 42.3 mm (1.67 Read more…
Exploring and learning new things have always been a passion for humankind. We like new challenges. Sputnik widened our perspective in 1957. Shortly followed by Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, in 1961. Today, only 60 years after Gagarin’s historical achievement, we have spacecraft all around the Solar System. Read more…
Do you remember comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko? It was the target of the ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft, which visited and ultimately crash landed into the comet in its previous passage close to the Sun in 2014-2016. Rosetta made history as being the first spacecraft to ever orbit and land (with Philae) on a Read more…
PDRA Stellar Astrophysics – Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Stellar Astrophysics. The successful applicant will work with Professor Simon Jeffery on a programme entitled “helium-rich subluminous stars and connections in stellar evolution”. The context for this programme is Read more…
It’s blast-off for Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s community outreach Delivering fun-filled Zoom sessions has proved to be a ‘Sure Start’ way to spark an interest in learning about space and the Moon for children living in Armagh. This month, the education team at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) delivered a Read more…
This week, AOP PhD Student Zuri Grey tells us all about Comet 2I/Borisov! 1) What is the difference between an interstellar comet and a regular comet? Solar System comets are believed to have come from two sources. Short period comets, which take less than 200 years to complete an orbit Read more…
MILD MARCH, DRIER AND DULLER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that March 2021 was warmer, drier and duller than average. This March was the warmest at Armagh for four years, the dullest for eight years, and equally dry as March 2020. Total precipitation was 44.8 mm (1.76 inches) including four Read more…
The second instalment on Ernst Öpik is here. Written by Alex Preston Öpik was regarded very highly in the United States. Newspapers acknowledged his work across the vast nation, ranging from New York and Washington, to name a few. Many highly regarded U.S newspapers, such as the San Francisco Examiner, Read more…
Written by Alex Preston Since Armagh Observatory’s establishment in 1790, many remarkable figures have paved the way in studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy, and Earth’s climate. Of all these figures, however, perhaps the most extraordinary individual is Ernst Julius Öpik. Öpik was a brilliant Estonian astronomer and Read more…
FEBRUARY 2021 WARMER AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE WITH ABOUT AVERAGE SUNSHINE. WINTER 2020/2021 COOLER AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE WITH AVERAGE SUNSHINE Armagh Observatory reports that February 2021 was warmer and wetter than average with about average sunshine. The meteorological winter (December 2020, January 2021 and February 2021) was cooler and Read more…
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium launches ‘Cosmic Classroom’ online sessions Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is excited to bring the wonders of the solar system direct to schools with their brand-new online offering of ‘Cosmic Classroom’. Students will learn how to navigate the night sky and travel to their favourite planets all Read more…
When will we find life? That question has been in the mind of quite a lot of people at one point or another… Well at least those of us who are interested in space travel and exploration. It is however, becoming an ever more common question for the general public, especially Read more…
AOP’s Dr. Andreas Sander has been involved in a scientific first unravelling the mysteries of rare stars! Within the constellation Cygnus, an elderly star and its massive companion are having one last hurrah, flinging off mass at an incredible rate before they explode as supernovae and collapse into a black Read more…
WET JANUARY, COOLEST FOR ELEVEN YEARS, SUNNIER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that January 2021 was the wettest at Armagh for three years, the coolest for eleven years, and the sunniest for four years. Total precipitation was 101.2 mm (3.98 inches) including 10 trace values, that is, 100.7mm if trace Read more…
AOP’s StarTracker Online Dates: January 27th, 24th February, 31st March 2021 Time: 8pm Ticket Price: free (donations are welcome) To book you ticket visit: https://armaghobservatoryplanetarium.ticketsolve.com/shows *Please note you only need to book one ticket for one household.* Armagh Observatory and Planetarium hosts “Armagh StarTracker Online”, a star show where we Read more…
Written by Dr. Gavin Ramsay One of humankinds greatest achievements was made on 14th Sept 2015 when the first direct detection of a gravitational wave event was made using the aLIGO observatories in Washington State and Louisana in the USA. This event was the result of two Black Holes, each Read more…
COOLEST DECEMBER FOR SIX YEARS, SLIGHTLY SUNNIER AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE. CALENDAR YEAR 2020 WARMER AND SLIGHTLY WETTER AND SUNNIER THAN AVERAGE. Armagh Observatory reports that December 2020 was cooler than average at Armagh, the coolest December for six years, and slightly sunnier and wetter than average. Calendar year 2020 Read more…
Stargazers could spot a bright light in the sky days before Christmas as Saturn and Jupiter will come the closest they have done in hundreds of years, creating what researchers describe as a “spectacular event in the sky” on Monday 21 December – which also happens to be the winter Read more…
By Dr Rok Nežič (Credit: DLR – German Aerospace Centre) Caption: Artist’s impression of Hayabusa2 firing its ion thrusters If you’ve been following space news in the last couple of years, you will have heard a lot about two space missions to nearby asteroids: Hayabusa2 – operated by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) – Read more…
The Armagh Observatory, as it sits nestled in trees on a hill, has an air of history about it. The building has been home, workplace and sanctum to directors, their families, astronomers, staff of all stripes and students over its ongoing history. The history of AOP now resides in our ever-expanding collection Read more…
By Prof. Simon Jeffery Enter the name ‘PHL 417’ in the public database which tells you nearly everything known about nearly every star in the sky, and you will find an almost blank entry. It is enigmatically identified as a ‘Blue object’ of the 17th magnitude, or about 200,000 times fainter than the faintest stars visible to the naked eye. It has no other names, and no scientific Read more…
Sunniest October at Armagh for 12 years, slightly wetter than average, roughly average temperature. Armagh Observatory reports that October 2020 was much sunnier than average, slightly wetter and with roughly average temperature. This was the sunniest October at Armagh for 12 years. The mean temperature was nearly 10.1 degrees Celsius Read more…
The presence of water on the Moon has long been suspected, although not in liquid or vapour form but as ice hiding deep in permanently shadowed craters found in the polar regions of the Moon. The NASA LCROSS and LRO space mission already confirmed the presence of water frost in the southern pole, but yesterdays’ NASA Read more…
By Dr Marc Sarzi, Head of Research After the first image of a supermassive black hole more than 60 million light years away from the Earth1 amazed the whole World last year, black holes are back on the news this week following the award of the 2020 Nobel prize in physics to UK mathematician Roger Penrose, for its theoretical work proving that Read more…
Mild, dry September and sunnier than average. Armagh Observatory reports that September 2020 was warmer and drier than average and with slightly more than average sunshine. This was the sunniest September at Armagh for five years. The mean temperature was nearly 13.7 degrees Celsius (56.6 Fahrenheit), which is approximately 1.2 Read more…
AN INCLEMENT MONTH: WETTEST AUGUST FOR 12 YEARS, WARMER AND DULLER THAN AVERAGE. SUMMER 2020 THE DULLEST FOR 33 YEARS, WETTEST FOR 8 YEARS AND COOLEST FOR 5 YEARS Armagh Observatory reports that August 2020 was the wettest at Armagh for 12 years, that is, since August 2008, and both Read more…
DULLEST JULY FOR 34 YEARS, COOLER AND WETTER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that July 2020 was the dullest July at Armagh since 1986, and cooler and wetter than average. The mean temperature was 14.65 degrees Celsius (58.4 Fahrenheit), approximately 0.2 C cooler than the long-term (1796–2010) average July temperature Read more…
A breakthrough in deciphering birth of supermassive black holes – astronomers zoom in on black hole with one of the lowest masses ever observed in nearby “ghost” galaxy. A research team led by Cardiff University scientists say they are closer to understanding how a supermassive black hole (SMBH) is born thanks Read more…
Want to learn more about what you can see with only a pair of binoculars? AOP’s own Prof. Simon Jeffery explains how to get the most out of a pair of binoculars, and also issues you a challenge! A popular caricature of an astronomer shows an elderly gentleman with a Read more…
Following the launch of the Boardroom Apprentice Programme 2020, Dr Kirstin Lemon tells us about her experience on the programme last year. Dr Kirstin Lemon a senior geologist at the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI) participated in the Boardroom Apprentice Programme 2019 with Armagh Observatory & Planetarium, an Arm’s Length Read more…
26th June is Kids in Museums ‘Digital Takeover Day’. Here at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium we wanted to give our young followers a chance to be published in our blog. Read all about their favourite planets below. Thank you to everyone who entered! Mars My favourite planet is Mars Read more…
In a new paper, Simon Jeffery reports the discovery of standing waves on two small hot stars similar to the pattern of jet streams seen in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Friday 26th June is Digital Takeover Day and we want children and young people to takeover our blog. What do you have to do? Write about which planet in our solar system is your favourite one and why! You can write about any reasons why you love the planet – Read more…
One of our Astronomers, Dr Gavin Ramsay, reflects on his memories of some of the amazing telescopes he has travelled to throughout his career! When the telescope was invented in early 17th century, they were generally used in the urban environment. Gradually they were housed in quite grand purpose-built buildings Read more…
Article written by: Ciara, from Ciara’s Journey Blog It’s an umbrella term for Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Meteors, Meteorites and Bolides. It’s anything that is in our Solar System and that isn’t a planet or a satellite! In this blog post I have explored what each of these things are – Read more…
Lying somewhere between young main-sequence stars and old white dwarfs, hot subdwarfs are blue stars with about half the mass, a tenth the diameter and ten times the brightness of the Sun.
The 2019 Nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three scientists: James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. This blog post will briefly outline why Mayor and Queloz were awarded their prize. In 1995 these Swiss astronomers announced the discovery of the first planet orbiting another ‘solar type’ star. Read more…
Following from last week’s introduction to our climate change series, this week we have an article explaining how climate change actually works and why it happens. Firstly, we will be drawing on our sister planet Venus as an example. Earth’s Evil Twin Earth and Venus are, on the face of Read more…
Measuring Gravity As part of a survey to determine the true topography of Ireland by Ordnance Survey Ireland, AOP has recently hosted an experiment designed to measure the Earth’s gravity to an incredible precision, just 10 nms-2! That’s an incredible 0.00000001 ms-2! To put into context just how accurate that Read more…
When the first module of the International Space Station (ISS) launched from Kazakhstan in 1998, humans just had a small orbiting home, about the size of a bus. Over the past two decades it has expanded beyond recognition, and is now an orbiting science laboratory that is literally out of Read more…
We don’t like to think about it, but the world will end one day. It is likely to be engulfed by the Sun as it expands into a red giant star 6 billion years from now, but whether humans survive to see that day is up for debate (climate change…). With regards to the universe, Read more…
Continuing our weekly Astronomy & You series we have an article explaining the invention of Wi-Fi from Tony Beasley. Tony is an IAU member and is President of Commission B4 Radio Astronomy within the organisation. Tony is also the Director of The National Radio Astronomy Observatory in the USA. The history Read more…
Summer’s here! The weather’s heating up and skies will hopefully be clear for a bit of stargazing! There are lots of interesting sights in the sky this July, so while you may have to wait longer for it to get dark, get outside, allow your eyes to adjust and get Read more…
This week our Astronomy & You series takes a look at Electronic Imaging Detectors and their effect on our lives. This piece was written by Ana I. Gomez de Castro. Ana is a full professor in Astronomy and Astrophysics and member of the Mathematics Faculty in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid Read more…
This week’s edition of our Astronomy & You series is a piece on the applications of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to our everyday lives. The following piece was written by Gabriele Giovannini; vice-President of the IAU’s Division B and full Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy in Bologna Read more…
Its June and school is nearly out. The summer holidays are fast approaching and whether you are planning a holiday home or abroad there will so many interesting objects to observe in the June Night sky; let’s just hope the weather is kind to us and offers good clear skies Read more…
Continuing our weekly instalments outlining astronomy’s impact on your everyday life, we have an article by Jan Mathijs van der Hulst. Thijs is an astronomer, Professor of Radio Astronomy at the University of Groningen, and member of the IAU’s Division B steering committee. Below he outlines how time keeping owes Read more…
Continuing our weekly series on the application of astronomy to technology, we have an piece written by Dmitrij Bisikalo; Professor at The Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Astronomy and the President of the International Astronomical Union’s Commission B1 on Computational Astrophysics. In this piece, he outlines the link between Read more…
As part of Museum Week 2019, some of the staff from Armagh Observatory and Planetarium have written a few words about which women in STEM inspire them particularly. Katherine Johnson by Helen McLoughlin With the excitement surrounding the 50th Anniversary of the first ever moon landing in 1969, I wanted Read more…
This week’s instalment of the Technical Applications of Astronomy to Society features a piece written by Professor Antonio Mario Magalhaes; astronomer, IAU member and Full Professor at the Instituto de Astronomia, Geofisica e Ciencias Atmosfericas of the University of São Paulo in Brazil. In this piece, he outlines the wider Read more…
There’s lots to look forward to in the Month of May: the evenings are brighter, there’s the promise of good weather and most importantly – not one, but two bank holiday weekends! There’s also lots to look forward to and look out for in May’s night sky. There’s the chance Read more…
While you may be familiar with black holes from sci-fi and many artists’ renditions of the phenomenon, our first actual view of the event horizon of the supermassive black hole which is at the centre of a neighbouring galaxy, Messier 87, was released 4 weeks ago to the day. What Read more…
In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of The Bovedy Meteorite falling in Northern Ireland on Friday 25th April 1969, Artist Noel Connor has compiled some thoughts and reflections on his experience with Bovedy. The sky always seemed low over our street in Andersonstown, with the Black Mountain looming behind the Read more…
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of The Bovedy Meteorite falling in Northern Ireland, some of The Education Team at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium have written pieces about their favourite meteorites and craters from across the globe. The Mysterious Mbozi by Helen McLoughlin The Mbozi meteorite is the eighth largest meteorite Read more…
Looking up at the wonders of the night sky is an amazing pastime, and whether you use a telescope or binoculars all you really need is the naked eye, but remember to give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adapt to the dark to ensure that you can see Read more…
Article by Armagh Astronomer Tolis Christou Imagine being outdoors on a sunny day, following the Sun as it rises from the east, heading towards the south and then on towards the west where it sets. Now think back: when did you feel the hottest: when the Sun was highest in Read more…
Satellites, our lives wouldn’t be complete without them. Since the beginning of the Space Race, Satellites have become a major part of how we observe our Solar System and the Universe, and also keep a close eye on our own planet.
How is it March already? 2019 has just flown in! Although we have had a mild winter, we can start to wave goodbye to the dark evenings and say hello to Spring as the date that I have been longing for ever since the evenings got shorter – the Spring Equinox on the 20th March fast approaches.
Article by: Gavin Ramsay Unlike our Sun, around half of all stars have another stellar companion. The closest stars to the Sun are two bright southern stars, alpha Centauri A and B, which orbit each other every 80 years and Proxima Centauri which orbits A and B every few tens Read more…
Before addressing Black Hole sizes, we should first go back to see what astronomers mean when they use the term “Black Hole”. This may be easiest to understand when considering the end products of stars.
The hottest February day ever in Armagh.
Next week, all being well a Falcon 9 rocket will take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida carrying a very special payload: a spacecraft built by a Tel Aviv-based company aiming to be the first privately-funded mission to land on the Moon. The launch follows an announcement, about a year Read more…
Finally, we have left the January blues behind us, the month that never seems to end and it is now time for February fun! The chill in the air has well and truly settled in and it looks like it will be staying with us for a while yet.
In a nutshell, comets are small bodies of ice and dust in orbit around the Sun. When they pass near the sun, they start to vaporize creating long tails of dust and gas. Even this small amount of information makes us ask so many questions about these members of our solar system.
Michael Burton, Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planaterium Monday January 21, 2019 – the last chance to watch a total eclipse of the Moon from Armagh for over a decade. Should we hold a special viewing session to give people the chance of seeing this celestial wonder?! Easy question, Read more…
Article written by: Heather Alexander, Education officer At the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium we have been having a look at all the things that are going to happen throughout the year and trying to select some of the events that we are most looking forward to. Needless to say this Read more…
21st January 2019, sky-watchers will witness a rare total eclipse of the Moon. This will be the last opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse from the British Isles for three-and-a-half years, until 16 May 2022.
Our view of the cosmos is biased by the vista that is apparent to our eyes. This is what the view in what we call the optically visible portion of the spectrum. To the unaided eye it is a view of a universe full of stars, together with five planets, one Moon and of course the Sun. When augmented with a telescope, our eyes can then see a universe full of galaxies – giant cities of stars.
Article written by: Helen McLoughlin, Education Officer Let’s face it, New Year’s Resolutions like ‘I’m going to the gym three times a week’ or ‘I’m going on a diet’ are all well and good but fizzle out after a week or two. Why not take up stargazing once a month Read more…
Here we are, on the count down to Christmas, and we’re having a look at all the Astronotes that have been written for our blog this year. We’ve had input not just from the Education Team this year, but also the Academic Staff of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.
Christmas Eve of 1968 saw the arrival of the first humans at the Moon – the crew of Apollo 8. A truly momentous event in history, the arrival of humans to another world for the very first time.
The rapidly-approaching 2019 will let us mark a half-century since human beings took the first steps on a body other than the Earth, namely our own Moon. But, come the New Year, lunar exploration is likely to make the headlines for one other reason: a number of robotic spacecraft built by three different nations will attempt to repeat the feat accomplished by the Apollo programme and land on the Moon’s surface.
The long cold dark nights have well and truly settled in, and now that it’s December it’s officially acceptable to say the C word. Christmas, Christmas is coming! And so is Santa Claus! Decorations are going up, there’s mad panic to buy Christmas presents and families are organising who’s having dinner and where. Ahh I love this time of year.
With Space Exploration comes theories and conspiracies. In our latest blog we debunk some of the more infamous ones.
Some seven months ago, a NASA spacecraft called InSight was launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket and headed to Mars (Figure 1). If all goes well, the spacecraft will land on the Martian surface at around 8pm UK time this Monday 26th November and begin its science investigation. InSight is a fixed lander (see Figure 2 below), a much simpler affair than the Curiosity rover that arrived in 2012 and continues its trek across the floor of Gale crater to this day. Mobility, is however, not required for the specific aim of the mission.
NASA has announced the retirement of the Kepler spacecraft. After launch in March 2009, it began a continuous observation of a 115 square degree field of view (the diameter of the moon is 1/2 a degree) between the constellations Cygnus and Lyra.
October is over and the nights are drawing in. Instead of lamenting the fact that we are driving to and from work in the dark, let’s think of the positives – more time to stargaze! And there’s plenty of interesting objects and constellations to look out for in November.
As had been reported on in an earlier Astronotes blog article, the International Astronomical Union was putting to the vote whether to change the name of the law relating to the expansion of the universe. Of the 11,000 professional astronomers entitled to vote on the motion, over 4,000 did. The Read more…
An interview with resident PhD Student Rok Nezic about his recent adventure to the European Planetary Science Congress 2018, held in Berlin, Germany.
As an earlier Astronotes article reported on, during its XXX General Assembly in Vienna, held in August 2018, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) put forward a draft resolution to rename the Hubble law as the “Hubble–Lemaître law”. The resolution was proposed to recognise Lemaître’s research on the expansion of the Universe, and to pay tribute to both Lemaître and Hubble for their fundamental contributions to the development of modern cosmology.
The discovery of planets orbiting around other stars has been one of humankinds greatest achievements. The existance of these ‘exo-planets’ can challenge our perception of our place in the universe. Since the first confirmed detection of a planet around another normal star (51 Peg) in 1995, many thousands of planets have been discovered. Indeed, it is likely that most stars will have their own system of planets. It is important in answering the question – is there intelligent life out there?
October is here! It is one of our favourite months as there is so much more to see in the sky and the nights are getting deliciously darker. One thing to remember when you are stargazing is to wrap up warm when you venture outside. The nights are getting much colder, and with some of the best stargazing occurring in the early hours of the morning, we don’t want anyone catching a chill. Thermals and a thermos filled with hot chocolate or coffee will do the trick. Also don’t forget that we will be starting our Star Tracker evenings in the coming months!
The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is under construction on the summit of Haleakalā on Maui, Hawaii. Since DKIST will be observing the Sun’s corona, the sky above the telescope needs to be as free of dust, aerosols and pollutants. The isolated islands of Hawaii provide optimal conditions for clear, “coronal skies”.
Have you ever wondered what is it like to live in space? How you put things down when there’s no ‘up’ or ‘down’? How do you sleep when nothing holds you to your bed? How you wash your face when the water does not behave normally? Here are some interesting facts about life in space.
Have you ever been worried about the impact of an asteroid wiping out human life? Well, I have some disturbing news for you: there is another possibility involving the explosion of a massive star that gives rise to a gamma-ray burst (called by astronomers simply a GRB), when the star ends its life producing a black hole.
After a special vote in the IAu General Assembly, we interview Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Director. Professor MIchael Burton, on the renaming of the Hubble Law.
This September is a relatively uneventful month (astronomy-wise). Few visible planets, quiet Sun and overall a very poor month for meteor showers.
Space is forever changing. Here is a list of 10 things we used to believe about Space.
The Armagh Observatory has been a staple feature along the Armagh skyline since its creation in 1790. Astronomical research has been undertaken within the organisation since the 1790s and to this day it has seen several different Directors and numerous astronomers walk through its historical doors.
September 2018 will see over 50 astronomers from around the world gather at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium to discuss the latest news about hydrogen-deficient stars. These stars have lost nearly all the hydrogen from which they were made, to leave only nuclear ash. Astronomers want to learn how these rare and short-lived remnants formed, and what drives their spectacular changes in brightness.
July 4, 2018 saw the 150th birthday of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868 – 1921), one of the most important astronomers of the 20th century. Born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, Leavitt graduated from Radfcliffe College, Harvard, in 1892. She then stayed on at the Harvard College Observatory as a volunteer research assistant. Whilst attempting a graduate degree in astronomy and travelling in Europe, she became ill with grave consequences for her hearing. In 1902, then director, Edward Pickering, invited Henrietta to join the permanent staff at Harvard, where she was assigned to study “variable” stars.
Armagh Observatory, 3rd August 2018: Armagh Observatory reports that July 2018 was much warmer and sunnier than average, with only slightly less than average total rainfall. The mean temperature was 17.0 degrees Celsius (62.6 Fahrenheit), approximately 2.2 C warmer than the long-term (1796–2010) average July temperature at Armagh and 1.2 C warmer than the most recent (1981–2010) 30- year average. This was the warmest July at Armagh for five years. The warmest day (highest maximum air temperature) was 27.1 C, which occurred on the 4th, followed by 26.7 C on the 22nd. Both these maxima wereslightly more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The coldest day (lowest maximum air temperature) was 14.4 C on the 11th. The coolest night (lowest minimum air
temperature) was 7.6 C on the 10th, and the warmest night (highest minimum air temperature) was 16.6 C on the 27th followed closely by 16.5 C on the 23rd. The minimum grass temperature was 0.3 C on the 10th, so there were no ground or air frosts.
During the summer every year, we observe the International Asteroid Day (“Asteroid Day” for short) on 30th June. The United Nations has proclaimed it will be observed globally on that date “to raise awareness about asteroids and what can be done to protect the Earth, its families, communities, and future generations from a catastrophic event.”
While their topics certainly have some overlap, the date for the Asteroid Day was not chosen in acknowledgment of the film Armageddon (which was released on 1st July 1998), but to commemorate a much more real and to this day somewhat mysterious occurrence: the Tunguska event (which would also make a good movie title!). This summer marks the 110th anniversary of what is believed to be the largest impact event on Earth in recorded history.
It’s the beginning of a new month, filled with new exciting events in the night sky. Here is a brief summary of what to expect in the next few weeks.
Astronomers now know many hundreds of planets orbiting other stars in our Galaxy. These show an incredible amount of diversity in their basic properties such as size and temperature with no two planets being quite the same. But the Earth is still unique among planets within or outside our solar system in its ability to support life
The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium are holding a special event to mark the lunar eclipse, coming at almost the same time as the opposition of Mars. The event has proved so popular that tickets sold out within a couple of hours of being released, so we have written this blog entry to tell you about what will happen if you missed out on obtaining a ticket or are going to try to observe the eclipse from elsewhere.
July 20 1969 saw, arguably, the most famous event in all of human history when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon and left his footprints there – a mark still indelibly framed in the lunar dust today, some 49 years later. It may seem almost as incredible that it is indeed nearly half a century ago that this epochal event occurred, one that united all of humanity for a short while, as we stared at that yellow orb in our night skies to know that one of our species was walking on it surface.