Leading astronomical research and education centre, Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, has announced that two of its Visiting Astronomers, Aswin Sekhar and Galin Borisov, have had asteroids named after them by the International Astronomical Union on June 21st. The honours were bestowed during the Asteroids, Comets, Meteors Conference 2023, which was Read more…
The first asteroids discovered in the early 1800’s were named after Roman and Greek mythological figures like Ceres, Pallas, and Vesta. Today, most asteroids are named after people, both real and fictional, places, animals, plants, and other natural phenomena. The discoverers of asteroids are responsible for proposing the name however Read more…
Article written by: Ciara, from Ciara’s Journey Blog It’s an umbrella term for Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Meteors, Meteorites and Bolides. It’s anything that is in our Solar System and that isn’t a planet or a satellite! In this blog post I have explored what each of these things are – Read more…
We were delighted to welcome Prof. Monica Grady to Armagh Observatory and Planetarium as part of the Robinson Lecture on Wednesday 27 November 2019. Monica, a Professor of Planetary and Space Sciences at the Open University, is best known for her work on meteorites and with the ESA Rosetta spacecraft Read more…
Article by Armagh Astronomer Tolis Christou Imagine being outdoors on a sunny day, following the Sun as it rises from the east, heading towards the south and then on towards the west where it sets. Now think back: when did you feel the hottest: when the Sun was highest in Read more…
Some seven months ago, a NASA spacecraft called InSight was launched atop an Atlas 5 rocket and headed to Mars (Figure 1). If all goes well, the spacecraft will land on the Martian surface at around 8pm UK time this Monday 26th November and begin its science investigation. InSight is a fixed lander (see Figure 2 below), a much simpler affair than the Curiosity rover that arrived in 2012 and continues its trek across the floor of Gale crater to this day. Mobility, is however, not required for the specific aim of the mission.
An interview with resident PhD Student Rok Nezic about his recent adventure to the European Planetary Science Congress 2018, held in Berlin, Germany.
Space is always changing. New things are discovered frequently, and the latest discovery was made inside our own solar system. Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system, now has a staggering 79 moons in its orbit. Compare this to Earth’s lonely, singular moon and this shows you just how monstrous the gas giant planet is in size.
Where do meteorites come from? This question has been occupying the scientific community ever since it was realised that these “rocks from the sky” are, in fact, pieces of other worlds arriving on our planet from deep space. New research done by scientists at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in Read more…
Since the beginning of the space age, humanity has been sending robotic emissaries to all corners of the solar system. These represent some of the most complex technological undertakings ever conceived. Travelling for years and even decades to their destinations, they have helped form a modern picture of the solar Read more…
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 me on our journey through the October night sky. 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 a break from human pillaging? This is an idea from 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 had access to such telescopic sites and networks. However one 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 15-28 September 2015. The scary predictions say that the asteroid 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, there is also a fantastic piece of space science involved Read more…
The December skies mark my favourite time of the year for stargazing. Despite the cold weather, the skies promise the best opportunities to see what lies beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. So pour yourself a hot chocolate, wrap up in warm clothes and head outside to witness the night sky’s wonders. Read more…
Looking south from Northern Ireland after sunset in the middle of May and you will see there is a parade of planets dominating the sky. On 15 May 2014 about 10.30pm, sweep westwards from the rising full Moon in the east to pale yellowish Saturn lying in the constellation Read more…
One of the latest members of the Solar System to be discovered, 2012 VP113 is a tiny isolated world in the outer Solar System. It’s attracting attention as it could one day help lead astronomers to discover a whole new planet. Flying outward from the Sun, away from the Read more…
Asteroids, chunks of rock and metal orbiting the Sun, were once considered “vermin of the skies” by astronomers. This disparaging term originated when a long-exposure image of a deep sky object on a glass plate was ruined by the trail of a distant asteroid moving across the sky. Yet today Read more…
Ukrainian astronomers have discovered a 410 m (1350 ft) wide asteroid passing through the constellation of Camelopardalis (the Giraffe). This chunk of rock and metal could be back in Earth’s neighbourhood in 2032. Even though there are well over 10000 other known near-Earth objects, predictably parts of the internet and Read more…
NASA wants to find an asteroid, capture it, bring it towards us and send it into an orbit around our Moon. This isn’t a plot for a new Hollywood Blockbuster starring Bruce Willis, this is an idea that NASA is seeking funding for. It is hoped that this venture will Read more…
Ever since the first asteroid was discovered in 1801, astronomers have looked to find other similar objects in our Solar System. Many of these minor planets can be found in a belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, often many asteroids are lone wanderers, roaming beyond the limits of the Asteroid Read more…
In February 2013, the asteroid 2012 DA14 flew past the Earth closer than many of the Earth’s geo-stationary satellites. Although not visible to the naked eye many telescopes were fixed towards the skies in a hope of catching a glimpse of this celestial fly-by. Many other people watched live webcasts 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; perhaps we do have more than one moon! If 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 light?From collated reports this sight is thought to have been 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 ago. Designated Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), this milestone test (to 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 about his personal life and the lurid circumstances of his Read more…
202 million km (1.35 AU or 125 million miles) from Earth an explorer from Earth is investigating the giant asteroid Vesta. This intrepid pioneer is the Dawn space probe. Orbiting about 2700 km (1700 miles) above Vesta, Dawn slowly rotates around the world beneath it. Every 69 hours, the Read more…
NASA’s Dawn spaceprobe is approaching the asteroid Vesta. At a distance of 483 000 km, the spacecraft has made images rivalling the best Hubble Space Telescope views of this fascinating little world. Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt. Relics of the Solar Nebula which birthed the planets, these Read more…
There are cosmic threats to life on Earth.Hiding in the depths of space are things lethal beyond imagining.One day the End will be nigh for real.A forthcoming conference, part of the Edinburgh Science Festival, will discuss how the Universe could kill us all. Hosted in Edinburgh, Science Festival 2011 runs Read more…
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…
Between Mars and Jupiter lies the Asteroid Belt, a swarm of millions of shards of rock, metal and ice. Somewhere out here, between 5-10 February 2009, a small asteroid, perhaps 5m across, violently slammed into another, larger (120 m), asteroid at a closing speed of about 18 000 km/h. As much Read more…
The team at the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency deserve congratulations for the amazing (and hopefully record-breaking) Hayabusa mission to asteroid 25143 Itokawa. Launched in 2003 (the spacecraft was called MUSES-C at launch, but was renamed in flight), this mission has battled against an extraordinary run of bad luck and technical Read more…