The Plato Science Working Team usually meets four times a year at the European Space Agency’s ESTEC site in the Netherlands. On this occasion one of the team was retiring so we met at her institute — Paris Observatory. Certainly, grander and a change from the usual cold breeze on Read more…
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) is proud to announce that three of its esteemed astronomers have been elected as Presidents of specialist Commissions within the International Astronomical Union (IAU) at the recent XXXII General Assembly held in Cape Town, South Africa. This marks a historic occasion for both the IAU Read more…
World renowned astronomical research centre, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, has co-authored a research paper that announces the discovery of eight new and very hot stars with effective temperatures exceeding 100,000K. Published by the Royal Astronomical Society, the paper* is based on data gathered using the Southern African Large Telescope Read more…
Written by AOP PhD Candidate Chris Duffy Although much of the work of a modern astronomer is behind a desk number crunching and working out what our data is telling us, there are also opportunities to be involved in taking that data. At AOP we have recently joined there BlackGEM Read more…
Written by Gavin Ramsay A number of Armagh astronomers travelled this week to the University of Warwick in England to take part in the first `in-person’ UK National Astronomy Meeting since 2019. Over 800 people participated either in person or remotely. For many PhD students it was the first big 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…
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…
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is delighted to announce its latest elected members to the organising committees of the prestigious International Astronomical Union (IAU), cementing its place as a leading research institution of influence on the global stage. Three Astronomers working at the Armagh Observatory, Stefano Bagnulo, Michael Burton, and Simon Read more…
AOP scientists lauded for ground-breaking computer model Scientists at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) have developed a ground-breaking new computer model which will play a key role in explaining how Supermassive Black Holes are formed as well as having the potential to shape the world of Astrophysics for the next Read more…
Scientists track comet which has been in orbit for millions of years in another solar system An international team of scientists led by Armagh Observatory and Planetarium astronomer, Dr Stefano Bagnulo has conducted ground-breaking research on a comet which has been in orbit for millions of years in another solar Read more…
By Matthew McMahon, Observatory Museum Assistant “History is essential to science as roots to a tree. Modern Astronomy may be likened to a great city built on foundations dating back so far as to almost as old as the human race.” Basil J. W. Brown The study of astronomy has 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…
If you’ve ever had any burning questions you wanted to ask an astronomer, here is the place to do it! We’ve answered some common questions here, but if you have any more you’d like an answer to, comment on this post.
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…
Chances are, if you’re interested in astronomy, that you’ve heard of William Herschel. A bit of a polymath, he was an accomplished musician, composer and even philosopher, but is best known for his discovery of Uranus, the first planet to be discovered with a telescope (one he’d built himself). Someone you might not be as familiar with, however, 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…
NGC stands for the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars, which is an astronomical catalogue of deep sky objects and was compiled in 1888 by the 4th director of the Armagh Observatory John Dreyer. To this day the NGC catalogue is still used by Astronomers all over the world and remains one of our many claims to fame! The catalogue contains 7840 objects Read more…
by Apostolos Christou An international team of planetary scientists led by astronomers at AOP have found an asteroid trailing behind Mars with a composition very similar to the Moon’s. The asteroid could be an ancient piece of debris, dating back to the gigantic impacts that formed the Moon and the 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.
By Gavin Ramsay, AOP Research Astronomer In previous AstroNotes we have highlighted the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) project of which AOP is a partner. Although its main aim is to detect the optical counterparts of cosmic explosions, it has been used to observe some Comets. Last week GOTO observed Read more…
By Simon Jeffery, AOP Research Astronomer In 1930, Dorrit Hoffleit reported that star number #4749 in the Harvard List of variables had faded four times between 1897 and 1929, and identified it as an R Coronae Borealis (RCB) variable. RCB stars are luminous low-mass stars (red giants) with surfaces around 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…
Have you ever wondered about the impact that you may have as an amateur astronomer? How much can amateur and professional astronomers gain from each other? Can amateur astronomers impact research? Please listen below to a short audio piece by Lucie Affronti and Neasa Cumiskey; two Postgraduate Media students at Read more…
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…
To kick off our new weekly series on the Technical Applications of Astronomy to Society, inspired by a recent publication of the IAU (The International Astronomical Union), our Director Michael Burton has written a brief summary of the history and purpose of the IAU, as well as outlining some of 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…
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.
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.
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?
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.
Approximately every other star in the Milky Way galaxy is in a ‘binary’ system. These binaries are made up of two stars orbiting around a common centre of gravity. The time taken for the stars in the binary to make one revolution is called the ‘orbital period’. Binaries have a wide range of orbital period. The closest stellar system to the Sun is alpha Centauri which has two stars not unlike our Sun orbiting around one another every 80 years. A third member of the system, Proxima Centauri, which is much smaller red dwarf star, orbits around these two stars once every 10,000 years.
Article by Michael Burton, Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover recently discovered organic molecules in 3 billion year old Martian rocks. This material may have been delivered by meteorites and comets to the young planet. Deep space is full of organic matter. Organic matter contains Read more…
Article by Jorick Vink , Astronomer at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium When you are fortunate enough to have a clear view of the night sky, and you start wondering about the properties of all these sources of light, you might be amazed to find out all these stars have Read more…
Article by: Tom Watts In collaboration with universities in England, Australia and Thailand, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is part of a team operating and commissioning the new Gravitational wave Optical Transient Observatory (GOTO) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory on the island of La Palma. GOTO, once operational, Read more…
No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before. – Professor Stephen Hawking Today, 14th March 2018, marks a very sad day in the world of physics and the world in general. One of Read more…
Article written by: Phil Hall Two weeks ago, a space-suited mannequin was strapped inside a cherry red car, the car was strapped inside a rocket, and the whole lot was launched into space. Although the shiny convertible might be the first of its kind in space, the mannequin, dubbed ‘Spaceman’, Read more…
Recent observations of the helium star HD144941 have been obtained from space. Armagh astronomers Professor Simon Jeffery and Dr Gavin Ramsay have discovered that they show a light curve best explained by darker and lighter patches on the star’s surface coming into view as the star rotates with a period Read more…
Since the beginning of the space age, humanity has been sending robotic emissaries to all corners of the solar system. These represent some of the most complex technological undertakings ever conceived. Travelling for years and even decades to their destinations, they have helped form a modern picture of the solar Read more…
