Written by Mark Grimley Stargazing July will hopefully treat us to pleasant weather for stargazing and some warmer evenings to do it. With the long days, it will be a little bit later before we can see the much in the night sky. So, you will have more time to Read more…
June night sky has plenty to offer – as long as you don’t wish for long, dark nights, that is; those are rather hard to come by in the month of the summer solstice! This means I’ll be talking mainly about things that don’t need a lot of darkness to Read more…
Returning for the first time since the pandemic, the International Astronomical Union hosted IAU Symposium 361: Massive Stars Near and Far; in the Slieve Russell; with Armagh Observatory and Planetarium taking part in the research discussions and educational outreach. This international conference bought together over 230 observational and theoretical astrophysicists Read more…
Astronomers using a network of radio telescopes across the entire planet have finally been able to take the first picture of the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. Members of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium were present to hear this news live. Commenting from Read more…
One the most common problems when someone begins doing research in Astronomy is the lack of previous observational experience with proper professional telescopes. Of course, the capabilities of these instruments are separated by an abyss when compared with amateur telescopes, as they are conceived to do science. Someone could Read more…
Welcome to April Stargazers! The month of April brings with it a new financial year, April showers (or snow showers?!) and of course plenty to look out for in our night skies. I’m going to walk you through what to look out for in the night sky over the coming Read more…
Astronomy, and I’m sure you’d agree, is the most wonderous science of all. You are dealing with, literally, the biggest questions in the Universe from “how was the Universe formed?” to “Is there other life out there?”, but it is also, arguably, the easiest science to do yourself. If you Read more…
FEBRUARY 2022 VERY WET, MUCH WARMER THAN AVERAGE, AND SLIGHTLY DULLER. WINTER 2021/2022 ALSO MUCH WARMER THAN AVERAGE, WETTER AND SLIGHTLY DULLER Armagh Observatory reports that February 2022 at Armagh was very wet, much warmer than average, and with slightly less strong sunshine than average. The meteorological winter (December 2021, Read more…
DRY JANUARY, MUCH WARMER AND SUNNIER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory, 8th February 2022: Armagh Observatory reports that January 2022 was drier than average. This was the driest January at Armagh for two years, the warmest January at Armagh for 10 years, and the sunniest for seven years. Total precipitation was Read more…
It wasn’t long after the invention of radio technology towards the end of the 19th century that scientists considered using the new medium to contact beings on other planets in the Solar System with Mars being the first target. However, with the early probes to Mars and Venus showing no Read more…