Cosmology
The Hubble-Lemaître Law: recognising where credit is due in science
After a special vote in the IAu General Assembly, we interview Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Director. Professor MIchael Burton, on the renaming of the Hubble Law.
Astronomers
Massive stars – what are they?
Article by Jorick Vink , Astronomer at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium When you are fortunate enough to have a clear view of the night sky, and you start wondering about the properties of all these sources of light, you might be amazed to find out all these stars have Read more…
astronomers
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…
Stars
A Brief History of Black Holes
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 long time for the first one to be found. Composed Read more…
The Future
2015’s Space Odysseys
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 us an opportunity to recall other great space dates whose Read more…
Planets
Vulcan: the Solar System’s Ghost Planet
We have been celebrating the first Neptunian year since the discovery of the eighth (and as far as we know last) planet in the Solar System. Neptune’s discovery was a famous triumph of nineteenth century astronomy. Less well-known is the aftermath, when a ninth solar planet was discovered. This planet Read more…
Cosmology
Timespace: The Who, What and When
Time is among the most mysterious of fundamental quantities. Time was originally defined and quantified through astronomy, and today astronomers are used to glibly talking of vast stretches of time. But even after Einstein showed time to be an elastic, changing thing we still have to resolve all its mysteries. Read more…