From early civilizations until today man has sought to explore and discover what is beyond our world. From the ancient discovery of the wandering stars to the thousands of potential new planets found this decade, mankind has sought to make Read more
Now hopefully any January blues are well and truly dispersed by now and you are prepared to take full advantage of the dark February night sky. Although special events may be sparse within the shortest month of the year, maybe Read more
The idea that the Apollo missions to the Moon were a hoax can be found in books, DVD documentaries and many websites. These claim that sending crews to the Moon was impossible so NASA faked the missions on Earth. Some Read more
On the weekend of the 14and 15 of July 2012 we held a pinhole photography event. This was led by the world renowned pinhole photographer Justin Quinnell. Justin has been teaching and practicing pinhole photography for twenty years and is Read more
1 February 2013 will be the tenth anniversary of the loss of the Space Shuttle Columbia and its crew. After a routine science mission the orbiter was making a daytime re-entry over the southern US when it catastrophically broke up. Read more
In June 1882, at 30 years of age, John Dreyer was appointed Director of Armagh Observatory following the death of Thomas Romney Robinson, who had held the post for a lengthy 59 years. He was the first non-Irishman and non-cleric Read more
Percival Lowell was born into a wealthy Boston family on 13 March 1855. ‘No man is an island’ so like all of us he was a product of his times and class and also like many he rebelled against family Read more
After an amazingly brief 17 months of designing and testing, the ‘Moon buggy’, the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), or Lunar Rover was used from 1971-1972 as a key component of missions 15-17 of the Apollo Program. Created primarily to extend Read more
Comet ISON is here! This new comet was in January 2013 just a dim speck in the constellation Gemini, between the stars Castor and Pollux. Astronomers could not agree if it was going to develop into the greatest astronomical spectacle Read more
January sees the beginning of a New Year with everyone’s New Year’s resolutions to be healthier, to be happier and many people deciding to take up or return to a fun hobby from the past! With that I guarantee many Read more
This year has started off with perhaps a little more promise than the last, not only did the world not end but a new Mayan calendar has started, mysterious planet Nibiru did not crash into the Earth and nor did Read more
This year we at Armagh Planetarium held our Christmas Card competition for the second year running and were overwhelmed with the number of outstanding designs mixing the themes of Christmas with space and astronomy. In total we had 1450 Read more
Music can be a great way to relax and unwind. Many people play an instrument, are part of a band or enjoying listening to their favourite song on the radio or TV. The iPod generation have music available to them Read more
The world-wide community of stargazers has been saddened by the passing of one of its great characters. Patrick Moore was a hugely popular figure whose many books, television appearances and talks inspired generations of young people into pursuing astronomy as Read more
Back in December 1972, astronauts Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmidt spent 75 hours on the Moon before joining their comrade Ron Evans in lunar orbit for the return to Earth. This was the Apollo 17 mission and was the last Read more
The ‘Lifestyles of the rich and the famous’ are usually splashed across the fronts of magazines and tabloids and it’s pretty common today know more than necessary about many people in the public eye. However, back in the 16th century Read more
Imagine you’re one of the crew on the first mission to Mars. Stepping on the Red Planet for the first time is the adventure of a life time and you’re raring to go. But there’s a problem, the journey lasts Read more
Have you ever found yourself staring up into the sky wishing you knew the name of that odd shaped star pattern, or had an endless debate with someone about what exactly that really bright object was; a planet or a Read more
Audiences flocked to see James Cameron’s epic movie Avatar, the story of a disabled human who gets a chance to live a new life as a 3m tall blue-skinned humanoid alien from a world called Pandora. In the movie Pandora Read more
Sleigh bells ring are you listening, Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, It’s the most wonderful time of the year….It sounds like it is getting close to Christmas so get your hot mulled wine and some Quality Street choccies at Read more
Since before the dawn of history we have admired our planet’s amazing moon and enjoyed its beautiful light.Since the 1600s we have known that some of the other planets of the Solar System have multiple moons.This started some astronomers thinking; Read more
Autumn is well and truly settled in and we are in the ‘Hallowed’ month of October so many exciting things grace our sky!This month we can try and see what spooky sightings usually turn out to be, as well as Read more
Comet ISON is coming!This newly-discovered comet may by November 2013 be an unforgettable spectacle, dominating the night sky.The comet may be even brighter than the fondly-remembered Hale-Bopp of 1997! C/2012 S1 (ISON) was announced on 24 September 2012.It was Read more
An intruder from beyond Earth’s atmosphere can be seen in this image of the 21 September fireball taken by amateur astronomer Colin Campbell from his garden in Lisburn. Here is how Colin describes how he captured this remarkable image: Read more
Something dramatic happened in our skies on Friday evening.I missed seeing it myself so I’m quite green with envy of the reports from eye witnesses of spectacular fireballs racing through the night. So what were these bright balls of Read more
Ever had a frustrating morning and wished you could ‘Hulk-out’ or that some superhuman abilities were within your grasp even for the briefest of moments?With the psyche of superheroes very much to the fore in contemporary culture, it is perhaps Read more
Humans have been looking up to the night sky wondering and discovering what lies beyond for thousands of years.We have detected super massive black holes, discovered distant galaxies and located extra-solar planets outside of our Solar System.Despite this we have Read more
Spacecraft with a lenticular design (that is, shaped like a biconvex lens) were actively studied by NASA and US industry in the late 1950s and early ‘60s. A craft of such a shape would experience lower heating on re-entry than Read more
I was visiting the Tall Ships event in Dublin recently when I noticed something strange in the light blue daytime sky! Overlooking the River Liffey I could see something that looked like the Moon, but the Sun was still shining, Read more
So summer is officially over so goodbye to the long bright evenings and short warm nights and hello to autumn with its optimal night sky viewing with the longer nights.Everything is just right.It is the Goldilocks of the stargazing seasons; Read more
Radio astronomy is the study of the radio frequencies emitted from stars, galaxies and other celestial objects. Radio waves are produced naturally from lightning and astronomical objects, or are produced by man-made communication techniques and broadcasting technology.Many radio telescopes are Read more
Neil Armstrong was born in 1930 in Ohio and died in 2012 in Ohio. Between those two dates he became immortal on the Moon. Think about it, as long as there are human beings his name will be remembered. One Read more
Once, about four billion years ago, an asteroid about a kilometre and a half across fell on our Moon. The huge chunk of rock and iron smashed into our satellite’s central highlands on the nearside, its fall unwitnessed by the Read more
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is vaster than we puny humans can imagine.A huge (100 000 light years across) spiral of stars and nebulae embedded in the tenuous interstellar medium , the Milky Way is a about a thousand light Read more
I’m sure you’ve heard the one:what do you get if you cross a sheep and a spacecraft?Or what about:what do you get if you cross a plane and a spaceship?Well to see if you come up with the same answers Read more
The hunt for planets located outside of our own Solar System is not a new concept.Since 1995 scientists and astronomers have been aware of these distant worlds orbiting their host stars.The first exoplanet discovered was 51 Pegasi located in the Read more
Armagh Planetarium’s great balloon race has ended. The results are in and they have been checked and verified. There were balloon reports on the Cathedral Road, the Battleford Road and a balloon was found on the Pearse Og Football field Read more
The summer months have been particularly uneventful, or more so the events have been hard to spot in the bright summer nights but the month of August has some amazing celestial treats in store for both the weathered and the Read more
NASA’s Curiosity rover’s safe arrival in Gale Crater,Mars,thanks to some innovative technology, is still being applauded throughout the world.It is easy to forget that the one-tonne robot is not the first Mars rover.The most incredible new-era technology had already been Read more
NASA Mars Exploration Program Team are now achieving such a level of accuracy in landing craft on the Martian surface that the targeted landing area for Curiosity was like an arrow hitting the bull’s-eye from hundreds of kilometres away. Proportionally Read more
I had my doubts, but NASA didn’t let us down when the Agency’s Curiosity rover was successfully landed in Gale Crater, Mars at 5.14 UTC on 6 August 2012. The first images are unimpressive (but are of course Read more
On 6 August, while many of us are enjoying the Olympics, staff at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory will be nervously watching their monitors, waiting for a message from Mars.If all goes well, their Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will scream through Read more
Unidentified Flying Objects seem to be here to stay. Once, I wrote a piece Revealed: 5 secret solutions to the UFO mystery which I hoped would be my last word on mysterious lights in the sky but the interest continues. Read more
Space enthusiasts world-wide have been shocked and saddened by the death of NASA astronaut Sally Ride after a prolonged struggle with cancer.Dr Ride, a physicist, was recruited by NASA in 1978 in its Astronaut Group 8 (the first such group Read more
With the summer well underway we can really delve into some of the summertime treats the night sky has to offer us.Although the duration of darkness in the summer nights is relatively short compared to the rest of the year Read more
Perhaps you haven’t noticed but new Astronotes posts have been a little short on the ground of late.I’d love to be able to say that this was because I was offworld on the International Space Station, but sadly the real Read more
Mankind is responsible for numerous achievements in technology, arts and science.However, how much can this attributed solely to the human mind or is there another reason man has achieved such incredible feats throughout history.To look at ancient structures built thousands Read more
Was it a contact from other life forms out there? Was it a satellite or spacecraft? Or was it a computer glitch? The WOW signal still continues to create intrigue to this day. It is coming up to the 35th Read more
The month of June is an extremely exciting month for the astronomical world with many wonders to feast our telescopic eyes upon. The beautiful June night sky has some early summer treats accompanied by the warmer nights, maybe not Bahamas’ Read more
This image of the reflection nebula Messier 78 (NGC 2068) includes the soft glow of submillimetre-wavelength (infra red) radiation from clouds of interstellar dust grains running through the nebula.Dense clouds of gas and dust like this are the birthplaces of Read more
The Boeing X-37, also called the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is an unmanned American spacecraft. Its first orbital mission was on 22 April 2010 returning back to Earth on 3 December 2010. A second X-37 was launched on 5 March Read more
A globular cluster is made of hundreds of thousands or even millions of stars packed together in a pretty compact ball. The stars in globular clusters are old and there’s never any sign of new stars forming in them. Older Read more
We are well into the wonders of the spring night sky when May begins and we ‘may’ take advantage of the many clear nights we have been subjected to recently and try our luck at finding some of those more Read more
It’s the beautiful clear morning of 6 June 2012 here in Armagh and the Sun is rising into a cerulean blue sky.But look closer, and you can see a tiny circular black speck on the face of the Sun.This is Read more
Today Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky is an unmistakable blue-white in colour although it does twinkle a lot and can appear to change colour. However no one would think of describing it as red.It is thus a Read more
Our Image of the Month was released to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and is a striking panoramic look at a stellar nursery which is fizzing and crackling with energy as it pops out thousands Read more
It’s the end of the world as we know it….or maybe not. Predictions of the end of the world have often been made throughout history. However, few have captured the attention of so many such as the 2012 end of Read more
In the upcoming weeks you will be hearing in the news the words “Dragon Spacecraft”, so Sinead McNicholl has the full story on what exactly this new vehicle is and what it will be used for. The Dragon Read more
Three years later after the first men walked on the Moon, the Apollo 16 mission, launched 16 April 1972 , landed men on the moon successfully for the fifth time and as the second such ‘J’-Mission to have been executed, Read more
The month of April is fantastic month for stargazing and for astronomy in general with numerous dates to mark in your calendar. From Earth Day celebrated on 22 April, in aid of creating awareness of Earth’s environment and encourage conservation Read more
In December 2014, a Delta IV Heavy rocket will thunder skywards from Florida, launching NASA’s first Orion spacecraft to an altitude that has not been achieved by a human spacecraft flight since the last Apollo lunar landing mission forty years Read more
![Star types from left to right: a red dwarf, our Sun, a blue dwarf, and R136a1 (hypergiant). Where star sizes are measured by radius, from centre to surface, and where 1 solar radius is equal to that of our Sun (km) - R136a1’s radius is 35.4 times greater than the Sun [approximately 24.8 million km]. Credit: Author: ESO/M. Kornmesser](https://armaghplanet.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/image-of-star-types.jpg)
How big is the largest known star? Compared to planets, stars will always be the overall group winners in terms of superior size. When you look at the night sky on a clear night and away from city lights, you Read more
Discover Science and Engineering is calling for all national primary schools to register for the Discover Primary Science and Maths, Award Of Science & Maths Excellences. The Discover Primary Science and Maths programme recognises the achievements of primary school Read more
Once upon a time rockets were exciting symbols of a glorious and exciting future when everyone would get their chance to have a holiday on the Moon. Well the future is now and the lunar resorts are still not here. Read more
At the beginning of March look west just after sunset to see three of the ‘wandering stars’. Mercury will be close to the horizon, with Venus and Jupiter shining brightly above it. Mercury will quickly set below the horizon and Read more
We are looking far from home in this pretty image of an open cluster of young stars, sparkling like jewels. They and their associated gas cloud are known as NGC 346 and are located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a Read more
Beautiful colour images of nebulae grace astronomy books and websites and have spread to mainstream culture. They are now familar to the public but what are these gaudy celestial spectacles? So what is a nebula? Nebula is latin for Read more
Sir Frederick William Herschel is one of the most well-known and highly regarded historical astronomers but many may not know or realise there was more to his genius than his passion for astronomy. So it seems a closer look is Read more
NASA has photographed an alien building on the surface of the Moon! Hearing news like this certainly makes one sit up and pay attention, but is it is correct? I heard about this from the Following the Nerd blog which Read more
On 20 February 1962, John Glenn (1921-2016) became the fifth human to enter space. For his spaceflight Glenn, a US Marine Corps aviator was strapped into a tiny Mercury capsule (named Friendship 7) just as Alan Shepard and “Gus” Grissom, Read more
Once, in complete silence, a large boulder rolled down a slope on the central peak of the Moon’s Schiller crater. This rock is about 9m (30ft) across, meaning that it would fit neatly inside Armagh Planetarium’s 11 m wide Digital Read more
According to legend, centuries ago a Chinese official named Wan Hu attempted to visit the Moon. His spacecraft was a large wicker chair to which were fastened 47 large rockets (bamboo tubes packed with gunpowder). His underlings rushed forward to Read more
Where does space begin? Let’s look up into our planet’s atmosphere, that shell of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 20%), various other gases (2%) that makes life on Earth possible, to find out. The atmosphere gets thinner as you go Read more
If you look towards the west just after sunset this February you will see a very bright star in the darkening sky. Known as the Evening Star, brilliant Venus steals the celestial show. After the Moon, Venus is the next Read more
The Universe is 13.75 billion years old.It is easy to say, but what does that mean in Earthly terms?Let’s squeeze the whole history of the Universe into a year! Just to clear, we’re putting things into perspective by compressing Read more
After last year’s success, BBC2’s Stargazing Live returned to our screens this month for another three nights of astronomy wonders. Holding the reins again were the charismatic Professor Brian Cox and his side-kick comedian Dara O’Briain, who actually happens to Read more
Fewer than 600 people have ever seen our world from space and only a couple of dozen have travelled far enough away to seen the Earth as a planet against the infinity of space. All have found viewing their homeworld Read more
Venus has always been regarded as Earth’s Sister Planet. After all, it can be the closest planet to us and it is nearly the same size as Earth. But how similar is it really to Earth? Astronomers get asked 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 Read more
It’s BBC Stargazing Live month, so even more of us will be looking skyward this January. What is there to see in the heavens these winter evenings? We are treated to several naked eye planets are this month. These “wandering Read more
A new image of the Omega Nebula reveals amazing detail in a cosmic landscape of gas clouds, dust and newborn stars. Captured by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory, this is one of the sharpest views Read more
What exciting space events has 2012 in store for us? What important space anniversaries are coming up this year? Welcome to our annual guide to what the Universe has waiting ahead! This year marks twenty years since the first Read more
James Moriarty (?-1891) was one of the greatest of the many astronomer-mathematicians who flourished in the nineteenth century, however among the general public his scientific accomplishments are forgotten. Mention his name and most people will think of the dark rumours Read more
Which is the brightest star in the sky (apart from the Sun)? Many non-astronomers believe that the Pole star (Polaris) is the brightest star but there are at least forty brighter stars. The correct answer is Sirius, a wonder of Read more
Space will never be conquered! Sad, but true. Let me explain how I’ve reached this conclusion. Planet Earth is big! The furthest you can travel from home across the Earth’s surface is about 20 000 km (any further and Read more
St Patrick’s Academy in Dungannon is hosting a fantastic public event for stargazers this Saturday evening. This local school has its own observatory and astronomy club for the students but this event on 3 December is for anyone interested Read more
A few years ago there was a vogue among historians to write about ‘counterfactuals’.A counterfactual examines the importance of an event for subsequent history by asking what if that event had taken a radically different course.What if the Nazis had Read more
Studying galaxies and clusters in many wavelengths of light tells astronomers more than a single image ever could. Imaged with the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, NGC 4666 lies some 80 million light years from Read more
Helene is a tiny moon of Saturn that shares an orbit with the much larger moon Dione. Helene reposes at a gravitationally stable position called a Lagrange point. Helene orbits Saturn ahead of Dione, and viewed from above the centres Read more
The Leonids are one of the many annual meteor showers. The name comes from how they appear to emerge from the constellation Leo- the term for their apparent point of origin is the Radiant .The Leonids tend to be brighter Read more
Here is possibly the only joke in all of astronomy. Two spiral galaxies walk into a pub. The first one goes up to the bar and asks for two drinks, one for him and one for his friend. The barman Read more
What was the Star of Bethlehem? Recorded only in the Gospel of Matthew, this mysterious celestial object is said to have heralded the Nativity. For millennia stargazers have wondered what it may have been. Now when Jesus was Read more
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is just one of an enormous number of galaxies spread throughout a vast Universe, which is expanding.Everyone knows these facts now, but how do we actually know about our place in the Universe? Light Read more
A clear night sky is a thing of beauty and wonder. Thousands of scattered stars twinkle in the darkness. What are the stars? How do they live and die? Could an exploding star cause disaster on Earth? Over the past Read more
Before Yuri Gagarin made the historic first orbit around the Earth in 1961, animals had already visited the unknown. They were used to collect medical data and to test the spacecraft’s durability before sending manned missions. Once the survivability of Read more
A long, long time ago when the first stars and galaxies were forming, the Universe was filled with electrically neutral hydrogen. This thin soup of gas absorbed ultraviolet light and all of space would have seemed filled with softly glowing Read more
October marks the peak of Autumn, leaves are falling from the trees, the evenings are darkening and Halloween and Christmas are just around the corner. With dusk falling earlier in the evening, this gives ample opportunity for stargazing without having Read more
The debris from a vast cosmic explosion, the Crab Nebula in Taurus is a well-known spectacle. But what is it and how was it formed? On 4 July 1054 AD Yang Wei-T’e (?-?), astronomer to the Chinese emperor, carefully Read more
Back in December 2009, with great fanfare, space tourism company Virgin Galactic unveiled the vehicles their fare-paying passengers will ride in as they ascend into space. Built by the Spaceship Company (a coventure of Virgin and that supremely adventurous aircraft Read more