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 its name after the Roman god of war, Mars. Not 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 a brilliant past time and is a wonderful activity that 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 with the coming of September comes longer nights, which is 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 things in the night sky to observe. We start 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 solve their dilemma and seemed to just cause more confusion. Read more…
January is the marmite of every year, individuals either love it or hate it as it brings the beginning of a New Year and new opportunities yet marks the end of the festive Christmas season and a previous year filled with memories. Whilst most people make New Year’s resolutions to Read more…
Despite November marking when it really becomes colder and everyone has to adopt of the coat once again, it is a great month for stargazing and especially for those wanting to witness some meteors. Observing meteors can be a time-consuming event, and often it can be unpredictable. The weather, Read more…
In August the Summer Triangle continues to dominate the seasonal sky. This classic asterism is defined by three bright stars of the constellations Cygnus, Aquila and Lyra, these are the distant but dazzling Deneb (Alpha Cygni), Altair (Alpha Aquila) and Vega (Alpha Lyrae). Running through the Triangle is the pale Read more…
Since March means “Mars’ month” in Latin, we should find it a minor coincidence that Earth’s red terrestrial neighbour plays a more major role in the sky over the next few weeks. With continued astronomical twilight, an exploration of the centre ground astrology and astronomy share, and great opportunities to Read more…
While the winter sky may be the ‘Aladdin’s cave’ for skywatchers, and we may already have plundered deeply one of its greatest celestial treasures, the constellation of Orion, we forge ahead undeterred as February reveals yet another vault of celestial wonders awaiting exploration… No northern stargazer would wish to run Read more…