Monthly Sky Notes
What’s up in the Sky this September
This September is a relatively uneventful month (astronomy-wise). Few visible planets, quiet Sun and overall a very poor month for meteor showers.
Armagh Planetarium
What’s up in the sky this August
It’s the beginning of a new month, filled with new exciting events in the night sky. Here is a brief summary of what to expect in the next few weeks.
Solar System
Dark Moon Rising: the total lunar eclipse of 27 July, 2018
The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium are holding a special event to mark the lunar eclipse, coming at almost the same time as the opposition of Mars. The event has proved so popular that tickets sold out within a couple of hours of being released, so we have written this blog entry to tell you about what will happen if you missed out on obtaining a ticket or are going to try to observe the eclipse from elsewhere.
Solar System
10 things you should never ask an astronomer
This article has been inspired by the many questions we get asked here at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. We love being asked questions but we thought it would be funny to have a look at the questions you really should never ask an Astronomer. We hope this gives you a bit of a laugh!
Stars
A new ultra-compact binary star
Approximately every other star in the Milky Way galaxy is in a ‘binary’ system. These binaries are made up of two stars orbiting around a common centre of gravity. The time taken for the stars in the binary to make one revolution is called the ‘orbital period’. Binaries have a wide range of orbital period. The closest stellar system to the Sun is alpha Centauri which has two stars not unlike our Sun orbiting around one another every 80 years. A third member of the system, Proxima Centauri, which is much smaller red dwarf star, orbits around these two stars once every 10,000 years.
Earth Satellites
As written by the students: Observing Asteroids
The Observatory and Planetarium has welcomed school students to visit for work experience. A previous Astronote described our work with the Faulkes Telescope Project. Below is an account written by three of our work experience students in 2018 March, based on the work done at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium by them and three other students.
Solar System
Chasing the shadow: A 2017 eclipse adventure
Article written by: Conor Byrne As an astrophysicist with a keen interest in space from a young age, the opportunity to witness a rare astronomical phenomenon is naturally quite high on the ‘bucket list’. So when I was attending a research workshop in the United States in August 2017, just Read more…
Solar System
Who discovered? The Space Edition
Article written by: Heather Alexander Have you ever had a fun night out with friends, or a lazy day in with loved ones, or even just strolled down the street, and asked the question “Who discovered…?” I am the type of person who asks this question, frequently. Thanks goodness I Read more…
Earth Satellites
K2 spots a rotating Helium Star
Recent observations of the helium star HD144941 have been obtained from space. Armagh astronomers Professor Simon Jeffery and Dr Gavin Ramsay have discovered that they show a light curve best explained by darker and lighter patches on the star’s surface coming into view as the star rotates with a period Read more…
Earth Satellites
The 2018 Robinson Lecture: Professor Louise Harra tells us about how astronomers research the Sun
The 2018 Robinson Lecture will be given by Professor Louise Harra of University College London. Her topic is about the Solar Orbiter, a new spacecraft to be launched to study the Sun. It will be held in the Archbishop’s Palace in Armagh on Wednesday 22 November, 2017, starting at 7pm. Read more…