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Weird and Fun

Image-of-plutos-surface
Science Fiction

HP Lovecraft: The man who saw horror in the cosmos

As it’s Halloween, we examine the life and works of HP Lovecraft, author of horror classics including The Call of Cthulhu and The Shadow over Innsmouth. How did his lifelong interest in astronomy influence his work? Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) is praised as one of the twentieth century’s most influential Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 10 years6 years ago
Concept Spacecraft

Could we visit an asteroid in the next ten years?

  It is 14 November 2019 and the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, when humans first walked on another world, has been and gone but today a new and exciting voyage begins. A massive booster stage pushes a spacecraft out of Earth orbit. This vehicle comprises two Orion Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years6 years ago
Concept Spacecraft

Project Orion: the incredible nuclear spacecraft

NASA’s next manned spacecraft will be the Orion, a capsule which will be carried into space by a rocket. Weighing 25 tonnes, each Orion will carry up to six people. Accommodation on board is cosy at best, cramped at worst. Orion was intended to take astronauts to the Moon and  Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years6 years ago
Concept Spacecraft

Mars by ’85? NASA’s alternative history

In the early 1960s, the sky had no limits for NASA . Planners for the agency foresaw an ever-expanding future of exploration through the Solar System. Some amazing missions were planned. Alas in August 1967, the US Congress refused to support NASA’s plans for the 1970s. Ever since then NASA’s Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years7 years ago
Concept Spacecraft

Rods from god: a terrifying space weapon?

“Rods from God” is the nick-name given to a hypothetical orbital weapon for bombarding targets on the Earth from space. Just how feasible is this concept?   There are undeniable links between the spaceflight and military communities but apart from a few tests of anti-satellite weapons, the odd armed space Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years6 years ago
Concept Spacecraft

The amazing Aldebaran spacecraft

  The late ’50s and ’60s were a different time from the anxious era that is today. Nuclear power and space travel were both cool and wonderful new technologies. The only thing that could be cooler and more wonderful would be to combine the two. One suggestion was the US Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years7 years ago
The Future

The end of the world

On 10 March 2010, I gave a talk covering the big picture to the IAA. I dealt with huge expanses of time from the distant past to the far future. One item I skipped over was the first scientifically informed look at the far future of our planet. That was Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years6 years ago
Image of Venus
UFOs and Fringe Science

Moses, Joshua and the wandering planet

We all know how the Sun, our Earth and the rest of the Solar System condensed out of a vast protoplanetary disc some 4.5 billion years ago. There were some early mishaps such as the collisions which birthed the Moon, toppled Uranus and gave Mars its present north-south divide. Also Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years5 years ago
UFOs and Fringe Science

Not even wrong

The Truth is out there? Conspiracy theories and pseudoscientific ideas abound. If there is life on other planets or the Universe popped into existence only a few thousand years ago we need to know! What if everything you thought you knew was wrong? We at Armagh Planetarium occasionally receive astonishing Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years6 years ago
IMAGE of manned orbiting laboratory
Science Fiction

Ministry of Space: Warren Ellis’ future that wasn’t

If you read the forums and the comments sections of blogs about spaceflight you will see many posts bemoaning how the conquest of space hasn’t quite gone according to plan. By now, rocket-launched capsules ought to have been rapidly superseded by reusable spaceplanes, spacestations should be huge wheel-shaped things, people Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 years7 years ago

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RSS Intergalactic Craic
  • Rocks to Rockets: 4 More Amazing Women in Science!
    Welcome to Season 2 everyone! Heather and Courtney kick off the new season with some amazing women in science that everyone should know. Any questions? Email us at podcast@armagh.ac.uk 
  • The Safest Dinner Party of 2020
    For the last episode of Season 1, Heather and Courtney suggest their ideal astronomy guests to a dinner party. They cover some of humanity's greatest astronomical achievements as well as discuss some of the rumours surrounding a particular famous astronomer's party behaviour! Need Some Space?
  • Turning Back The Clock - The History of AOP
    Join Heather and Special Guest Host Dr Rok Nezic as they delve into the archives and discuss the history of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium through their favourite objects. Clocks, books, instruments and rooms, they've got it all covered, and they have a bit of craic along the way.
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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!

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