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…
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium reports that, if skies are clear on the morning of 10th June 2021, sky-watchers will witness a partial eclipse of the Sun. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, in effect casting a shadow on our planet. When the Read more…
What do a tree, a colander and a piece of cardboard have in common? The answer: they can all be used to observe a solar eclipse! Our Sun – the brightest star in the sky – has been the subject of intense scrutiny ever since human beings began to interrogate Read more…
The transition region in the Sun is the atmospheric layer that separates the cooler chromosphere from the hotter corona. Studying the structure and dynamics of the transition region requires greater attention as these provide critical information on the supply of mass and energy from the lower atmosphere to the corona and Read more…
By Professor Gerry Doyle The solar chromosphere is a complex magneto-plasma system that offers the evolution of a variety of plasma dynamics (e.g., jets, mass motions, shocks) as well as magnetic waves. It is separated by the inner corona through the particular discontinuities of mass, density, temperature, characteristic speeds, etc. Read more…
Just released are first images and videos from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) – revealing unprecedented detail of the Sun’s surface, with experts saying it will enable a new era of solar science and a leap forward in understanding the Sun and its impacts Read more…
AOP researchers have used data from a NASA space mission to shed light on one of the most violent phenomena in our solar system – magnetic explosions on the surface of the Sun. Abhishek Srivastava, formerly a research associate at AOP and now a solar scientist at the Indian Institute Read more…
Observers in Ireland and Great Britain will have an opportunity, weather permitting, to observe a rare astronomical event on Monday 11th November, when the planet Mercury will transit across the Sun. Transits occur when a planet lies directly between the Earth and the Sun. With suitable observing equipment, Mercury may Read more…
The Sun’s corona is maintained at a temperature in excess of a million degrees. The corona lies above the solar photosphere which is maintained at 6000 degrees. These regions are only a few hundred kilometers apart. A major scientific problem in solar physics is how and why is the corona Read more…
To follow on from last week’s post on grid computing in our series on the technological applications of astronomy to society we have an article on spectroscopy and the discovery of a new element in the cosmos – helium – by Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s Michael Burton. He is our 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.
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”.
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.
This summer experience our world and beyond as you sit back and relax in the Planetarium’s 360-degree dome theatre. With six different shows running Monday-Saturday throughout July and August there is so much to choose from, including a brand new film.
Article written by: Conor Byrne As an astrophysicist with a keen interest in space from a young age, the opportunity to witness a rare astronomical phenomenon is naturally quite high on the ‘bucket list’. So when I was attending a research workshop in the United States in August 2017, just Read more…
After telling us about the Sun, in part two of this posting Armagh astronomer Gerry Doyle takes us through the telescopes and satellites being used to study the Sun. The Solar Physics community needs continued access to state-of-the-art observational facilities (both space- and ground-based) that cover a broad range of wavelengths and Read more…
Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s Robinson Lecture this year will be about the Sun. To lead into this here is the first of two articles about why astronomers study our Sun, and the range of telescopes and satellites co-opted to the the task. Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that Read more…
The 2018 Robinson Lecture will be given by Professor Louise Harra of University College London. Her topic is about the Solar Orbiter, a new spacecraft to be launched to study the Sun. It will be held in the Archbishop’s Palace in Armagh on Wednesday 22 November, 2017, starting at 7pm. Read more…
The Sun is a constant presence in everyday life from rising in the morning signifying the beginning of the day, to setting at night representing the time to rest. With the human race ever more dependent on technology it is important to monitor solar activity and the potential harm it Read more…
As the summer draws to a close September is a perfect time for stargazing before the cold nights of winter finally creep in. With sunset around 9pm and a forecasted heatwave, fingers crossed for some clear skies with some lovely mild temperatures. A key feature of the summer night sky Read more…
Michael Burton, Director, AOP On 27th July 2017, the RoI Minister John Halligan switched on I-LOFAR telescope, the largest radio telescope in the world, at Birr Castle in Co. Offaly. The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is a member of the 8 institutions across the island of Ireland that came together to build I-LOFAR. Read more…
Get your sunglasses on, and break out the sun tan lotion! July is here and we’re glad to see it. Summer is fully upon us and many of us will be on our summer holidays this month. The month of July was named after Julius Caesar by the Roman senate, Read more…
Name a famous scientist. Who was the first person that came into your head? Steven Hawking, Albert Einstein or Isaac Newton? Maybe for those of you out there that watch The Big Bang Theory you might be familiar with some of the more obscure people and said Erwin Schrodinger, Galileo Read more…
As everyone knows on Friday 20 March 2015, a total solar eclipse will occur across the far northern regions of Europe and the Arctic. A partial solar eclipse will be seen over a much wider area of Earth including northern Africa, Europe and northern Asia. Across the island of Ireland Read more…
The ancient Chinese thought they were stars inside a solar orb. The Aztecs thought their Sun god had pockmarks on his face. A Renaissance astronomer thought they were undiscovered planets. Some believe they are the cause of climate change or the reason for loss of signal or a “static” on Read more…
The aurora is a stunning celestial event associated with Earth’s polar regions. Recently Ireland has been witness to this beautiful phenomenon. If you are standing looking up at the sky in Canada, Alaska or in Norway on a clear dark night you may see a bright reddish or greenish Read more…
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…