History and Heritage – Astronotes

History and Heritage

Exploring the Archives at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

As a student of Public History, I am fascinated by the invaluable, yet often underappreciated role played by archives and archivists. I was therefore delighted to undertake a thirty-day internship at the archives of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) as part of my Masters course. Under the supervision of Matthew McMahon, Museum Collections Officer, I spent the first portion of my time at the AOP archiving. This mainly included working with uncatalogued material and Read more

By Heather Alexander, 2 weeks ago

History and Heritage

Dr Mart de Groot (1938-2025) – Eighth Director of the Armagh Observatory

On 9 October 2025 Dr Mart de Groot passed away at his home in Richhill, Armagh. Dr de Groot stood as the 8th Director of the Armagh Observatory between 1976 and 1994, stewarding the institution through troubled times and celebrating the two hundredth anniversary in 1990. Mart de Groot Read more

By Heather Alexander, 7 monthsOctober 9, 2025 ago

History and Heritage

The Grubb 10-Inch Telescope in its 140th year

By Matthew McMahon (Museum Collections Officer) and Malcolm McCleery (Volunteer Researcher) Curators and Historians are not meant to have favorites. Like good parents or carers (the root of the word curator is to care after all), we are meant to love all our charges equally, from the oldest manuscripts to Read more

By Matthew McMahon, 7 months ago

History and Heritage

Armagh Observatory & Planetarium Marks 230 Years of Weather Records

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium marked a remarkable milestone this week, 230 years of daily weather observations, with readings taken every single day since 14 July 1795. To celebrate the occasion, the Observatory hosted a special gathering at its historic meteorological enclosure (“MET cage”) on Monday 14 July at 10 am, followed Read more

By Heather Alexander, 10 months ago

History and Heritage

How do we know what stars are made of? 100 Years of Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

Have you ever wondered what the stars are made of? It’s not like we can jump on a spaceship, visit them, and, using a special bucket and spade, take a sample from their surface to bring back to the lab for analysis, as a geologist or biologist might do. For Read more

By Ciarán Furey, 11 monthsJune 7, 2025 ago

History and Heritage

Armagh Planetarium Marks 100 Years of Planetaria with New Global Publication and Free Dome Shows

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) is celebrating a major milestone in the history of astronomy and science education with the launch of a new international publication:100 Years of Planetaria: 100 Stories of People, Places, and Devices, co-edited by AOP’s own Matthew McMahon. Published by Springer Praxis, the book honours the Read more

By Anna Taylor, 12 monthsMay 9, 2025 ago

History and Heritage

AOP Trees 2025

AOP Trees 2025 Trees 2025 started by accident on a perfect Sunday morning in November 2023. Since 1996, I have worked in Armagh, walked these woods, and watched the changing seasons. For over 200 years, these magnificent giant beech trees have watched over astronomers, walkers, runners, lovers, children, and all Read more

By Simon Jeffery, 12 monthsApril 30, 2025 ago

History and Heritage

Lord of Ether and Light – Earliest Astronomical Drawings on display at Armagh Planetarium

It takes a good telescope to see deep into space, but it takes a Great Telescope to change how we see the entire universe. In 1845 such a telescope was built by the 3rd Earl of Rosse, in the grounds of his castle in the town of Birr, County Offaly. Read more

By Matthew McMahon, 1 yearFebruary 28, 2025 ago

History and Heritage

The Ellison Reflector 1912

Rev. W.F.A. Ellison Rev. William Frederick Archdall Ellison was the sixth Director of the Armagh Observatory and was appointed to the role on 15 October 1918. He would remain in this position until his death on 31 December 1936. During that time, he made several telescopes and mirrors, both for Read more

By Anna Taylor, 2 yearsOctober 4, 2024 ago

History and Heritage

Cabinets of Curiosity – New Exhibition at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

By Matthew McMahon- Museum Collections Officer If you visit the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium this summer you will see our newest temporary exhibition, focused on some of the treasures held in our historic collection of scientific instruments and archives. Cabinets of Curiosity has been curated and designed by students from Read more

By Anna Taylor, 2 yearsMay 24, 2024 ago

History and Heritage

UK WIDE ASTRONOMY CONFERENCE RETURNS TO ARMAGH BIRTHPLACE AFTER 15 YEARS

British Association of Planetaria Event Kicks off Series of Four Conferences at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium September 2023 Leading astronomical research centre, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, recently hosted the British Association of Planetaria (BAP) Conference for the first time in 15 years . The September 1st event was the first Read more

By Anna Taylor, 3 years ago

History and Heritage

Science and the Arts meet at AOP

As a long-standing Arts & Humanities student, it’s typically assumed that we don’t have much of an interest in or know much about science (and attending the fascinating and complex student discussions here at the AOP certainly didn’t disprove the latter theory in my case!). However, when the opportunity cropped Read more

By Anna Taylor, 3 yearsJune 9, 2023 ago

History and Heritage

The Objects Collection- Brass and Glass

Article by: Matthew McMahon, Museum Collections Officer Brass might not have the appeal of other rich metals, like gold or silver, but ask anyone that has spent time around an old observatory and they will tell you that brass sparkles just as bright. At the start of 2023 we Read more

By Heather Alexander, 3 yearsMarch 10, 2023 ago

History and Heritage

The Life of Thomas Romney Robinson

Article by: Mark Grimley Thomas Romney-Robinson was the third director of the Armagh Observatory, long before the building of the Planetarium. He was born in Dublin in 1792 and became director of the Armagh Observatory in 1823. An office that he held for almost six decades, staying in the post Read more

By Anna Taylor, 3 yearsMarch 3, 2023 ago

History and Heritage

The William Frederick Archdale Ellison Collection

Written by Matthew McMahon, Museum Collections Officer On the 15 October 1918, a new Director took up the reins of Armagh Observatory. William Frederick Archdale Ellison arrived in Armagh having visited over the summer before formerly taking up his appointment. He and his family may have looked on their move Read more

By Anna Taylor, 3 yearsDecember 9, 2022 ago

History and Heritage

Rare Books in Focus – Part One

Matthew McMahon – Museum Collections Officer Armagh Observatory and Planetarium holds 249 books that have been designated as part of a specific Rare and Antiquarian Book collection. There are many more books in the historic collection that are also very old, however these 249 manuscripts represent over four hundred years Read more

By Anna Taylor, 3 yearsNovember 11, 2022 ago

History and Heritage

William Herschel — Measuring Sunspots With A Field of Wheat

Written by Chris Duffy, PhD Candidate AOP William Herschel, who died 200 years ago this year, is famous for a number of things we take for granted in modern astronomy, not least his discovery of Uranus in 1781 the first planet discovered in the modern era of astronomy. Less known Read more

By Anna Taylor, 4 yearsOctober 14, 2022 ago

History and Heritage

William John Roberts – Engineer, Astronomer, Linguist and Theologian

Written by Collections Officer, Matthew McMahon Armagh Observatory is no stranger to the amateur astronomer, and its history has been shaped, and preserved by numerous amateurs over the years such as Rev. Ellison, Patrick Corvan and many others. Today we are commemorating another amateur astronomer, who passed away eighty years Read more

By Anna Taylor, 4 yearsAugust 9, 2022 ago

History and Heritage

Basil Brown; a scholar of both Earth & Sky

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

By Anna Taylor, 5 yearsMarch 26, 2021 ago

History and Heritage

A Reflection on Ernst Öpik – Part Two

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 5 yearsMarch 19, 2021 ago

History and Heritage

A Reflection on Ernst Öpik – Part One

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 5 yearsMarch 11, 2021 ago

History and Heritage

Who was Caroline Herschel?

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

By Anna Taylor, 5 yearsJanuary 29, 2021 ago

History and Heritage

Discovering the Collection: Objects of the AOP

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 5 yearsNovember 19, 2020 ago

Intergalactic Craic

S3Ep6 - Intergalactic Craic On The Road
Welcome to a very special edition of Intergalactic Craic where we take it on the road! Join Rok, Zuri, Alice, and Andrew as they venture half way around the world to attend the ACM2023 conference in Flagstaff Arizona!
S3Ep5 - Craic with all these moons?
Heather and her new co-host Dr Rok are back! Taking time out of their busy schedules they have recorded an episode all about the dramatic increase to the number of moons of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn! They also delve into their own busy schedules and explain everything there is to know about AOP's […]
S3Ep4 - Wee Bitta Craic: Bout Ye Alice?
This month is the final 'getting to know you' episode of Intergalactic Craic: Wee Bitta Craic. Ethan and Zuri interview Alice and ask her all about how she came to be doing her PhD at AOP. Find out this and more in this info packed episode!

Enter the Archives!