Hello and welcome to my first attempt at an Astronotes blog! My name is Stephen and I’m finding out about our sky as I go during my time here in the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. So, I hope you’ll join 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 Read more
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, Read more
It is common knowledge that the Earth is running out of resources, we’re constantly plagued with images and statistics supporting renewable energy and changing our way of thinking but what if we gathered resources from Space and gave the Earth Read more
A team of scientists in Australia are scanning the Universe for signals from extraterrestrial life. Professor Matthew Bailes, based at Swinburne University in Melbourne, is the lead scientist in this project funded by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner. Milner has donated 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 Read more
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 Read more
Welcome stargazers to that haven where in the midst of our busy lives, between all our comings and goings, we can look up and find solace, and be inspired by the quiet glittering beauties overhead. So let’s start with the 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 Read more
Named after a famed 17th Century Italian-French astronomer the Cassini spacecraft took 10 years to reach a distant location in the Solar System, that of Saturn and its surrounding neighbourhood. Since its arrival in 2004 it has made a number of 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 Read more
Would you like to live on Mars? This is a question that we here at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium ask on a daily basis. There never is a solid yes or no answer from any of the groups Read more
It’s hard to believe that the summer has come around and we are half way through 2017. Time may be flying by but the good weather means a chance of clear skies at night and with lots to see this 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 Read more
The spring night sky has well and truly sprung, and although these months are sign of brighter evenings and therefore later bedtimes if you want star gaze, there are still lots of interesting patterns and objects that we can see. Read more
Michael Burton, Director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Have you been enthralled by the BBC’s Stargazing Live Australia, hosted by Brian Cox and Dara O Briain and shown over three nights at the end March this year? A spectacular show, Read more
Given that astronomy dates back to early written records from the Babylonians around 1600 BC if not earlier, black holes are a relatively new addition to human knowledge of the cosmos. Black holes cannot be seen therefore it took a Read more
Goodbye February, the shortest month of the year, and hello March! The desperate chill of winter is starting to lift and at the end of this month we will have the March Equinox. On the 20th March the Sun will Read more
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 Read more
Are we alone in the Universe? This is an age old question that has been the driving force for our ventures into space exploration. And with the record breaking discovery of 7 exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, it definitely Read more
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a powerful instrument which can be used to observe the Sun at high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution. ALMA consists of a giant array of 12-m antennas, with baselines up to 16 km, Read more
Over the past few weeks I have been hearing the term “The Big Bounce Theory,” quite a lot. At first I thought it was a sequel to the brilliant “The Big Bang Theory” TV show. When listening to Read more
It’s that time of the year again for the third annual Northern Ireland Science Festival and this year is bigger and better! The Armagh planetarium has been holding events under NISF from the beginning so we could not Read more
On Monday 14 November 2016 the skies over the UK and Ireland will be graced by a beautiful bright full moon. Also on this this day there will be a “supermoon”. This is a term I have a love-hate relationship Read more
At Armagh Planetarium we hosted our very first video game based workshop. This summer we immersed ourselves into the blocky world of Minecraft. Using MinecraftEdu, the children that took part in these workshops got to explore possibly one of the Read more
As we welcome back the colder weather we are also welcoming back the beginning of the best months of stargazing thanks to the onset of longer dark evenings. Mix this with the spooky objects visible in the crisp autumn month Read more
One of the European Space Agency’s flagship missions reached its grand finale on Friday 30 September 2016. After 20 years in development, a 10-year trip around the Solar System and two years on station at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the Rosetta mission Read more
1 September 2016 saw the first full meeting of all of the staff of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. We are looking forward to carrying Armagh’s impressive heritage of astronomical research and public education forward into an exciting future Read more
Astronomers have made the exciting discovery of an Earth-mass exoplanet in the habitable zone of our nearest neighbouring star, Proxima Centauri, a red dwarf star 4.25 light years (1.3 parsec) from the Sun. The new-found world, designated Proxima b, is Read more
It’s August and suddenly the nights are getting a bit longer so what is there to see in our night sky this month? Everyone should watch out for August’s amazing Perseid Meteor Shower. You probably know already that Read more
We are delighted to welcome Michael G. Burton as Director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. Professor Burton is an internationally renowned researcher who specialises in using infrared and millimetre-wave astronomy to study how stars form in the interstellar medium Read more
Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm; it seems that everyone is playing it. If you see someone walking in circles with their head down and looking at their phone, you know they’re on the game…and maybe part of Read more
At the end of Part Two our Galactic explorers had produced the first true maps of our Galaxy, showing its shape and extent, by using radio telescopes to map the distribution of atomic hydrogen, so revealing the spiral arm structure. Read more
Let us go outside somewhere in Northern Ireland about midnight on 15 June 2016 and see what there is to see in the sky. Hercules. Muscular hero and demi-god! Killer of the Hydra! Victor over the Nemean Lion! Slayer Read more
In March 2016, Armagh Planetarium debuted a new workshop for schools ‘Robotics in Space’. This interactive workshop highlighted the roles of robots and robotics in space missions, discussed what robots are currently in space as well as how can they Read more
As a species we human beings are rather obsessed with the end of our world and how that is going to happen. From zombie apocalypses to giant asteroids hitting the Earth, we’ve pretty much thought of everything. However there is Read more
It’s the middle of May! Let’s go out tonight and look at the stars! At this time of year in the UK and Ireland, our nights are getting later and shorter, partly due to our planet’s axial tilt and partly Read more
At the end of part one of this article we left our galactic explorers uncovering the first hints of the existence of spiral structure within our Milky Way. In part two we see how the new field of radio astronomy Read more
Picking books for children can be difficult, not only are we adults battling with TV, game consoles, tablets and toys, it’s hard to fit the old-fashioned entertainment of a book into a child’s life. There’s no doubt children have a Read more
Armstrong and Aldrin were the first two people on the Moon when Apollo 11 landed there in July 1969. This astonishing achievement (which it should not be forgotten was followed by five more successful landings) continues to fascinate our readers Read more
Spring has truly sprung. Welcome to the month of April, and doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun. We can hardly believe that it is April already, and we’ve had so much fun stargazing at the Planetarium so far this Read more
Dim and isolated, the dwarf irregular galaxy Wolf–Lundmark–Melotte (WLM) could be described as an astronomical “living fossil” as it seems to have developed without ever interacting with any other galaxy since it formed billions of years ago. First Read more
We live in a galaxy – a star city with several hundred billion residents. Moreover, we know our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, with prominent arms of bright young stars that spiral outwards from a central bar that is Read more
For those of you that are still bearing the psychological scars from Pluto’s demotion from planet to dwarf planet a decade ago, here is news that may add salt to the wounds. Published recently in the Astronomical Journal, Konstantin Batygin Read more
See you later February, you’ve been a wonderful month, but now it is time to welcome March. Something we delight in here at Armagh Planetarium is how the months got their names. March is a particularly nerdy one. March got Read more
Goodbye January blues, hello February fun! We’re already into the second month of our new year and it’s been absolutely amazing for stargazing already. Before we get in to what you can hope to gaze at this month, I want Read more
Happy New Year! Welcome to January 2016, and if you haven’t made a New Year’s resolution yet (or you have made one but want to sneakily change it,) why not challenge yourself to star gaze this year. Star gazing is Read more
In 2015 Armagh Planetarium’s website (including Astronotes) received well over 2.6 million page views (and over 75 million web hits*) from all over the world. It seems we’re doing something right! But what were all these people coming to see? Read more
For anyone who is not feeling the Christmas spirit yet this Christmas, Armagh Planetarium is definitely the place you will find it! We held our 5th annual Christmas Card Competition this year at Armagh Planetarium and we were astounded by Read more
Tim Peake is clearly a man who likes a challenge and has a keen sense of adventure, for in his spare time the father of two enjoys skiing, cross-country running, climbing and caving. However the UK-born former pilot from Chichester Read more
What’s that we hear? Sleigh bells? It’s the month that hosts the Christmas holidays, it’s December. We’re getting into the heart of winter and the night sky is likely to be crisp and clear and we get into the colder Read more
A spectacular multi-coloured fireball was witnessed in Ireland and Scotland by dozens of people on the evening of 29 November 2015. This was the fiery descent of a meteor through the Earth’s atmosphere. The meteoroid itself was a Read more
Is this a new dawn for suborbital travel? The Blue Origin company’s New Shepard rocket test vehicle made a successful flight into space on its second mission from its West Texas launch pad on 23 November 2015. Blue Origin aims Read more
With Christmas only around the corner, finding the perfect gift for loved ones may be on the to-do list. So find below a list of gifts available to purchase from the Planetarium’s gift shop right here in Armagh. Why not Read more
Newly discovered small Solar System body V774104 may seem just another tiny, cold and remote world beyond Neptune but this is an important finding as its mere existence suggests that the wastes of the outer Solar System are considerably more Read more
While suspicion, fear, and fantasy, at times were closely associated with the Cold War period in terms of how the USA and the USSR viewed one another’s respective actions, it became clear that space projects were not exempt from this Read more
The nights are getting very dark and there is a definite chill in the air. Hello November, and hello to some brilliant stargazing opportunities. The Earth’s tilt means that now the southern hemisphere is in its summer, and sadly we Read more
New Horizon’s arrival at Pluto this year, after a nine year-long traverse through the Solar System has revealed many new things about this little icy planet. Pluto used to be the ninth planet but was demoted in 2006 to the Read more
When I heard about this book I immediately wanted to read it, being a space enthusiast and very interested in the journey to Mars, I had to know how one man stranded on the Red Planet could try to survive. Read more
Welcome to October! The nights are now longer and the stars come out earlier. Yes it may be getting close to winter, but who doesn’t like autumn? October is full of exciting events, and one event that we are looking Read more
It is widely accepted that our Solar System was created about 4.6 billion years ago based on dating of meteorites. Scientists believe the Solar System formed when a cloud of dust was disrupted by the shockwave from the explosive death Read more
It’s September and the schools are back in session. The summer holidays have come to an unfortunate end and now we all have to get back to our daily routines. July and August have been great months for stargazing, but Read more
Various claims about the end of the world and “Judgement Day” can be found threaded into the long history of humanity and has become a common re-occurrence that, most likely, will always be something that raises its needless anxiety-inducing head. Read more
After entering the Twittersphere in 2010 Armagh Planetarium’s online presence has grown over the past few years encompassing the Astronotes blog and Facebook accounts. We at Armagh Planetarium have also recently launched a Pinterest account for you to follow or Read more
Have you ever stopped and really thought about the possibility of finding life in the universe or maybe that extra-terrestrial life finding us! And then, when they find us, what if they aren’t exactly friendly and they want our planet Read more
In July 2015 Belfast Met opened its doors to budding astronauts, pilots and app geniuses with a new series of STEM summer camps. The free activity camps took place at Titanic Quarter Campus for over 16’s interested in fun experiments Read more
August, it’s one of our favourite months of the year. Whether you’ve been on your summer holidays or not, August is a month to relax, and have fun with family and friends. The month August was named after the infamous Read more
Peer deep into the constellation Sagittarius and you will find a spectacular young star cluster and its associated stellar nursery. These are M8 and the Lagoon Nebula. More than 4300 light years (1320 parsecs) from the Solar System, this Read more
Nine years of waiting are over! New Horizons has been to Pluto! Well done humans! Pluto has turned out to be slightly bigger than we thought having a diameter of 2370 km. This means Pluto is about 30km larger Read more
Maybe you have seen one of the alarming videos or emails circulating around the internet claiming that the End is Nigh. The claim is that an enormous dinosaur-killer of an asteroid is going to smash into the Earth sometime between Read more
July is here and that means it is officially the summer holidays. School is out and we are all planning our holidays either abroad or at home. Whether you leave the country or stay in it, there will be many Read more
The space programmes of the USA and USSR began in a spirit of bitter Cold War rivalry but by the early 1970s internation tensions had eased a little into a détente and what had been unthinkable ten years earlier was Read more
Recently the idea of people living on Mars has been the talk of the astronomy circle and has captured the minds of many. Once posed with this possibility, the natural inquisitiveness of people kicked in. Is it possible? Why are Read more
Some of us who have vivid memories of famous spacecraft and rockets that ‘had their day’ in the consciousness of the world may wonder what prominent space agencies are working on today that in stature could match their former technological Read more
Our Solar System is vast. We on Earth cruise around the Sun in an orbit with a radius of about 150 million km (93 million miles), but the most distant planet, Neptune, is about thirty times further from the Sun. Read more
It is already one of the biggest films to hit cinemas this year, and if you haven’t seen Avengers: Age of Ultron yet, then I urge you to go and see it. Not only is it a brilliant action film, Read more
My relationship with Tom Mason nearly got off to a rocky start when I thought I was going to have to throw him out of his own planetarium! Once upon a time when the world was young, I didn’t Read more
June is finally upon us, and the summer is officially in full swing. The nights may be brighter for longer, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t some brilliant stargazing to be had. If anything, summer is a wonderful time Read more
When was the last time you ever stopped to have a good think about the giant natural satellite that orbits our planet? The Moon is something that has fascinated us for centuries, but by and large, we have now come Read more
If you missed the Lyrids meteor shower in April, starting of May you had another chance to see some shooting stars as the Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks on the 5th of May into the morning of the 6th. The Read more
A research group called the Eagleworks at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas is tasked with investigating novel space propulsion techniques. These include both warp drive concepts to enable faster than light travel and reactionless drive schemes where electric power Read more
In November 2014, the European Space Agency’s washing-machine-sized investigation and analysis lander lab Philae, did something that no other automated probe had ever done before, it successfully landed on a comet. But apart from this monumental achievement what has the Read more
The ‘Dog Star’ or Sirius is a star that has its influential place in astronomical history. It is mentioned as far back as the Babylonians and was used to help signal the annual flooding of the river Nile with the Read more
As we head into spring it’s time for dusting off those telescope lenses and brushing up on some constellations. With the warmer weather coming in there’s also hope to see some meteors as April finishes off with the Lyrids meteor Read more
With a ‘space-exploration CV’ big enough to eclipse the achievements of most of the other space probes in its class, the Cassini-Huygens orbiter has revealed much from one of our Solar System’s most fascinating planetary systems, Saturn. Cassini-Huygens’ fact-finding days Read more
One year or 365.25 days, the length of time it takes the Earth to complete one orbital path around the Sun and the length of time American astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko will spend out of this Read more
In July 2015, we will finally have our long-awaited closeup views of the dwarf planet Pluto and its moons when NASA’s New Horizons probe flies past the tiny and distant worlds. Assuming all goes well, suddenly we will have revealed 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 Read more
Would you like to discover more about the night sky? Stargazing the Night Sky is a short and very informal course is for complete beginners who want to know more about the wonders of the cosmos. The course takes Read more
In association with BBC Stargazing Live 2015 and the Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomical Society (NIAAS) Armagh Planetarium is opening its doors for a free open evening on Tuesday 24th of March 2015. We will be open from 7pm-9pm with Read more
So far this year we have seen QVC presenters discussing whether the moon was a star or a planet. On having searched online a voice in their earpiece told them the moon is a natural satellite, however this did not Read more
Already the year 2015 is proving to be a great year for stargazing with planets, comets and meteorites gracing the skies but prepare for March as it brings a ‘micro moon’ and a solar eclipse. The planets are still sticking Read more
If you’ve ever looked up at a sky full of stars and wondered just what else is out there then you might want to come to Ballyhackamore Public Library on 23 March 2015. The library will be hosting Read more
Seventy thousand years ago our world, unmarked by agriculture and industry, was a very different planet. Back then Earth was shared by at least four separate types of human being. Tough and sturdy Neanderthal folk hunted mammoths and built huts Read more
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 Read more
The shortest month of the year holds a lot of promise when it comes to the nights sky and whether you are making plans for Valentine’s Day or still wondering how we have reached February already, it is worth pencilling Read more
Dyson spheres are an outrageous concept. The idea of looking for alien megastructures in space appeared at the end of the 1950s and was widely discussed in speculations about searching for extraterrestrial civilisations. It also inspired some great science fiction Read more
Although not quite the ’12 days of Christmas’ gift inventory’, the following checklist should give us a quick peak at some significant events connected with space that we can look forward to witnessing from early 2015, as well as giving Read more
NASA’s Dawn Space Craft is already a success story. It was launched on board a Delta II rocket in 2007, has spent 14 months investigating the asteroid Vesta, is using ion propulsion for acceleration and is now en route to Read more
The Universe is shrouded in mystery yet through the Centuries, mankind has slowly unravelled many of its dark secrets. Mark Thompson: Stargazer reveals the hidden nature of the Universe, brought to life with mind-blowing demonstrations. Best known for Read more