astronomers – Astronotes

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, 4 days ago

Royal Irish Academy honours late Professor Denis O’Sullivan with Nobel Laureate Masterclass

Nobel Laureate Professor Reinhard Genzel delivers masterclass to top Irish students of astrophysics and high-energy particle physics. On Wednesday 18 February the Royal Irish Academy hosted thirteen postgraduate students for a masterclass facilitated remotely by Nobel Laureate Professor Reinhard Genzel. Professor Genzel is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Read more

By Heather Alexander, 2 months ago

Gavin Ramsay

Armagh Astronomers hunting for Cosmic Explosions

Armagh is a partner in two telescope projects whose key goal is to detect the optical counterpart of colliding massive dead stars. Albert Einstein predicted that when two massive objects spiral around each other, eventually merging to become one more massive object, gravitational waves would be emitted. Scientists spent a Read more

By Gavin Ramsay, 3 years 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

astronomers

An Astronomer’s Trip

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

By Anna Taylor, 3 yearsNovember 25, 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

Other Galaxies

The Unluckiest Astronomer in History

Article by Ed Snowdon Whether you are a researcher gathering data, or a hobbyist taking photos from your back garden, astronomy has always required a certain amount of good luck. Instruments can be uncooperative, data can be lost or damaged, and of course there’s the ever-present threat of bad weather. Read more

By Apostolos Christou, 4 yearsAugust 1, 2022 ago

Other Galaxies

Vera Rubin, the Vera Rubin Telescope and the Vera Rubin Prize

Ask any number of astronomers who they believe to be the most influential figures in 20th century astronomy and chances are you will hear the name of Vera Rubin being uttered a few times. Recipient of numerous awards and accolades including the Royal Astronomical Society’s Gold Medal, Vera Rubin (nee Read more

By Apostolos Christou, 4 yearsMay 25, 2022 ago

Finding the First Pulsar in the Armagh Planetarium with Jocelyn Bell

The story of Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s discovery of pulsars is one of the best known in astronomy. The story of how, as a graduate student at the University of Cambridge, she detected “a bit of scruff” on the chart recorder of the radio telescope designed by her supervisor Anthony Hewish. Read more

By Michael Burton, 4 yearsMarch 4, 2022 ago

Solar System

How to name an Asteroid

The first asteroids discovered in the early 1800’s were named after Roman and Greek mythological figures like Ceres, Pallas, and Vesta. Today, most asteroids are named after people, both real and fictional, places, animals, plants, and other natural phenomena. The discoverers of asteroids are responsible for proposing the name however Read more

By Sinead Mackle, 6 yearsJune 30, 2020 ago

Human Exploration

#WomenInCulture: The Women of STEM

As part of Museum Week 2019, some of the staff from Armagh Observatory and Planetarium have written a few words about which women in STEM inspire them particularly. Katherine Johnson by Helen McLoughlin With the excitement surrounding the 50th Anniversary of the first ever moon landing in 1969, I wanted Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 7 yearsMay 13, 2019 ago

Human Exploration

The IAU: An Introduction

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

By Michael Burton, 7 yearsMay 2, 2019 ago

Stars

Binary Stars – The Basics

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 7 yearsMarch 8, 2019 ago

Human Exploration

Hunting for the Moon – the struggles of an eclipse chaser

Michael Burton, Director of the Armagh Observatory and Planaterium Monday January 21, 2019 – the last chance to watch a total eclipse of the Moon from Armagh for over a decade. Should we hold a special viewing session to give people the chance of seeing this celestial wonder?! Easy question, Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 7 yearsJanuary 21, 2019 ago

astronomers

The Beginnings of Armagh Observatory – A Brief History

The Armagh Observatory has been a staple feature along the Armagh skyline since its creation in 1790. Astronomical research has been undertaken within the organisation since the 1790s and to this day it has seen several different Directors and numerous astronomers walk through its historical doors.

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsAugust 28, 2018 ago

Solar System

Jupiter’s Moons get an Update

Space is always changing. New things are discovered frequently, and the latest discovery was made inside our own solar system. Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, now has a staggering 79 moons in its orbit. Compare this to Earth’s lonely, singular moon and this shows you just how monstrous the gas giant planet is in size.

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsJuly 18, 2018 ago

Cosmology

Remembering Professor Stephen Hawking

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsMarch 14, 2018 ago

Armagh Planetarium

Celebrating the Planetarium’s 50th Anniversary: Lindsay’s great legacy

Article written by: Professor Michael Burton, Director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium The city of Armagh lays claim to a remarkable history that belies its small size. A history stretching from the neolithic era, and the mythology of Emain Macha (the ancient capital of Ulster), through the City’s Christian foundation Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsFebruary 23, 2018 ago

Solar System

Why study the Sun?

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsNovember 8, 2017 ago

Earth Satellites

The 2018 Robinson Lecture: Professor Louise Harra tells us about how astronomers research the Sun

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsNovember 1, 2017 ago

Milky Way

What is happening with Gaia?

Gaia is a satellite launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) on 19 December 2013. It is essentially a census gathering information on over one billion stars, totalling an amazing 1% of the galaxy’s total population, measuring their positions, motion, brightness and colour. Gaia’s primary objective is to create the Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 9 yearsSeptember 29, 2017 ago

Stars

Faulkes Telescope Project Converted Northern Irish School Students Into Astronomy Stars

During our school days, children in the developing and developed world could not even dream about getting a chance to look through a professional telescope; forget about playing with it for real observations! Those days, only the best professional astronomers/astrophysicists had access to such telescopic sites and networks. However one Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 9 years ago

Milky Way

I-LOFAR – a new radio telescope for Ireland

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

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 9 years ago

Human Exploration

TRAPPIST-1 and the march of Science

The discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 exo-planetary system is a truly remarkable event in science. It is an exemplar of how an armada of telescopes – some located on the ground and some in space, and collectively owned by a league of nations – can work together to chart new frontiers Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 9 yearsFebruary 26, 2017 ago

astronomers

Ancient Astronomy (Part 1)

At the planetarium it is often stated that every time you look into the sky you are doing astronomy, it has become a slight mantra that we chant to encourage people to gaze up at the visible universe and really grasp that astronomy and space is truly all around us. Read more

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 yearsFebruary 13, 2015 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!