Among my skills as blog editor, podcast host and Education Officer Extraordinaire here at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, I’m also a fully qualified catastrophizer! That’s right; you give me a senario and I’ll assume the worst possible version of the thing has a very high chance of happening. This came Read more…
We have a number of ‘North Poles’ on Earth. Above shows the sign at the Geographic North Pole. The magnetic North Pole is what your compass points to when you are trying to navigate using it. That is different from the geographical North Pole, which is defined differently. You might Read more…
This week our 5 Facts series continues with our home planet! Read on to learn more about our Earth. Earth is the only planet not named after a God The other planets in our Solar System are named after Roman and Greek Gods, but not our Earth! The word “Earth” Read more…
So as it turns out, we have had a secret, tiny moon lurking around our planet for potentially up to 3 years – and we had no idea! It’s not surprising we missed it – it’s no Europa for sure. It’s so small it is invisible to the naked eye. Read more…
In honour of the UN Climate Summit, we have another article in our series on climate change, Brandolini’s Law: Climate.
Ever been on a walk and noticed rubbish on the side of the road, footpath, on the beach or in a park? Probably. I can’t count the number of times I have. While it might not be the most pleasant thing in the world to pick up other peoples’ rubbish, Read more…
Following from last week’s introduction to our climate change series, this week we have an article explaining how climate change actually works and why it happens. Firstly, we will be drawing on our sister planet Venus as an example. Earth’s Evil Twin Earth and Venus are, on the face of Read more…
Next week, all being well a Falcon 9 rocket will take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida carrying a very special payload: a spacecraft built by a Tel Aviv-based company aiming to be the first privately-funded mission to land on the Moon. The launch follows an announcement, about a year Read more…
21st January 2019, sky-watchers will witness a rare total eclipse of the Moon. This will be the last opportunity to view a total lunar eclipse from the British Isles for three-and-a-half years, until 16 May 2022.
This September is a relatively uneventful month (astronomy-wise). Few visible planets, quiet Sun and overall a very poor month for meteor showers.