Astronotes
  • Main Site
  • Latest News
    • Press Releases
    • Research News
  • Solar System
    • Earth
    • Planets
    • Comets and Asteroids
    • Moon
  • Our Galaxy
    • Stars
  • Universe
  • Space Flight
    • Earth Satellites
    • Human Exploration
    • Robot Exploration
    • Rockets
  • Weird and Fun
    • Concept Spacecraft
    • Science Fiction
    • The Future
    • UFOs and Fringe Science
  • Monthly Sky Notes
    • April
    • August
    • December
    • February
    • January
    • July
    • June
    • March
    • May
    • November
    • October
    • September
  • Podcast

Solar System

Comets and Asteroids

Hartley 2: What has the Deep Impact flyby shown us?

NASA’s Deep Impact probe flew past comet Hartley 2 and revealed a odd-looking peanut-shaped nucleus. What are the first impressions from these exciting images? Only about a mile (1.6 km) from end to end, the nucleus of Comet Hartley2 is hardly the most impressive member of the Solar System. Never Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsNovember 5, 2010 ago
Comets and Asteroids

Asteroids collide: nobody notices until a year later!

Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt, a swarm  of millions of shards of rock, metal and ice.  Somewhere out here, between 5-10 February 2009, a small asteroid, perhaps 5m across, violently slammed into another, larger (120 m), asteroid at a closing speed of about 18 000 km/h. As much Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsOctober 14, 2010 ago
Planets

The bluffer’s guide to Saturn

  Ask anyone to draw a picture of a planet and I’ll bet they draw a ringed planet like Saturn. This giant world has always stood out from the other worlds of the Solar System thanks to its amazing rings, in astronomy books it was ‘The Ringed Planet’. Thirty years Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsOctober 1, 2010 ago
Comets and Asteroids

Hooray for Hayabusa: Japan’s asteroid pioneer

The team at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency deserve congratulations for the amazing (and hopefully record-breaking) Hayabusa mission to asteroid 25143 Itokawa. Launched in 2003 (the spacecraft was called MUSES-C at launch, but was renamed in flight), this mission has battled against an extraordinary run of bad luck and technical Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 years ago
Stars

Following a rainbow back to the Big Bang

Here’s how rainbows are made. Some 13.7 billion years ago, a mere millionth of a second after the Big Bang, the first hydrogen and helium nuclei condensed out of a hot, dense soup of quarks and gluons. It took another 380 000 years or so for conditions in the ancient Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 years ago
Planets

Phobos: ESA’s daring encounters

  In March 2010 that superb but underappreciated probe Mars Express made a series of very close passes by the Martian moon Phobos. On one occasion it came as close as 107 km to the tiny world’s surface. The purpose of these encounters was to determine information on Phobos’ interior Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsSeptember 24, 2010 ago
Planets

How Venus will kill you in less than 10 seconds

Venus was once thought to be a lush, life-bearing planet, but modern research has revealed an utterly lethal world. What perils await explorers of “Earth’s evil twin”?   Is there anyone who hasn’t admired the lovely beacon of Venus hanging bright in a cerulean sky? (So bright in fact, it Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsSeptember 24, 2010 ago
Stars

Will a rogue star cause chaos in the Solar System?

At first glance Gliese 710 is not a very distinguished star. A K7 class orange dwarf a bit more than half as massive as the Sun, it currently lies about 63 light years from us in the constellation Serpens. It is moving fast though and that is why one reason Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsSeptember 22, 2010 ago
Planets

Hubble sees Saturn in a new light

Saturn: the Blue Planet? The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals the secrets of the giant planet. This false colour image from the Hubble Space Telescope not only shows Saturn in an unfamiliar light, but displays some of the giant planet’s features. The image was created in early 2009, when Saturn Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsSeptember 17, 2010 ago

Posts navigation

Previous 1 … 22 23
Filter by category

Choose a Child Category
category
63d88a8b4af0a
1
0
8,34,40,10,41,38,78,1535,30,39,796,1164,1860,1363,3,2489,2575
Loading....
RSS Intergalactic Craic
  • S3Ep1 - Wee Bitta Craic: Welcome Ethan, Alice and Zuri!
    Want a Wee Bitta Craic? Then say hello to some of our PhD students, Ethan, Alice and Zuri. They will be hosting their own Wee Bitta Craic episodes and will give you an insight into the life of a PhD students here at AOP!
  • Season 3 - What's the craic?
    What's the Craic? Intergalactic Craic is back and it's shaking things up! Join Heather and her brand new co-host to find out more!
  • Space is Cloudy, Who Knew? Featuring Kerem Çubuk
    This week Heather and Courtney interview Armagh Observatory PhD Candidate Kerem Çubuk on his area of research - molecular clouds! Turns out we can't escape the cloudy conditions, even millions of lightyears away.  Kerem and his colleagues also have a Youtube Channel dedicated to science communication in Turkish. To find out more, visit ahtapot.club 
Welcome to Astronotes

Hello and welcome to Astronotes, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s official blog. Here you will find the latest news and views from all those who work in our organisation, from the fascinating worlds of astronomy and space exploration. We hope you will come here to learn what is hot and exciting, profound or even weird from worlds beyond ours . So that's the introduction out of the way, now on with the Universe!

Enter the Archives!
Visit our Main Website
  • Climate
  • Cookie policy (UK)
  • Podcast
  • WebsiteNI Testing Header
Hestia | Developed by ThemeIsle
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT