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M31

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…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 8 yearsMarch 20, 2017 ago
October

The October 2015 Night Sky

Welcome to October! The nights are now longer and the stars come out earlier. Yes it may be getting close to winter, but who doesn’t like autumn? October is full of exciting events, and one event that we are looking forward to here in the Planetarium is World Space Week. Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 10 yearsOctober 5, 2015 ago
Monthly Sky Notes

October Night Wonders

“Double Hubble toil and trouble…”  -While some stargazers will recognise the slight liberty taken with the witches’ famous words  in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, more than a double take of Hubble telescope images should help us decorate our night sky for the month that hosts Hallowe’en.   Perhaps the most interesting direction Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsOctober 4, 2013 ago
Stars

How Far Away is the Farthest Star?

Looking up in to the night sky it’s not difficult to see why the ancient Greeks believed that all the stars in the night sky were fixed on a celestial sphere revolving around the Earth and other planets. From our view on Earth the stars appear to be at a Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsJune 17, 2013 ago
image of M42_14 jan2013
Armagh Planetarium

Telescope nights at Armagh Planetarium

We live in an age when dazzling astronomical imagery is everywhere. We are privileged to have immediate access to close ups of the worlds of the Solar System thanks to interplanetary probes and stunning panoramas of nebula and galaxies thanks to hi-tech observatories. But to experience and to feel completely Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsFebruary 20, 2013 ago
Image of orion and taurus
Monthly Sky Notes

November Night Sky Wonders

Have you ever found yourself staring up into the sky wishing you knew the name of that odd shaped star pattern, or had an endless debate with someone about what exactly that really bright object was; a planet or a star but never went as far to find out?Well that Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsNovember 15, 2012 ago
image of virgo galaxies
Cosmology

Our Place in the Expanding Universe

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is just one of an enormous number of galaxies spread throughout a vast Universe, which is expanding.Everyone knows these facts now, but how do we actually know about our  place in the Universe?   Light travels through space as a wave, and hence light has Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsOctober 20, 2011 ago
Other Galaxies

Image of the Month: Andromeda through different eyes

Our Image of the Month is a radically different view of the great spiral galaxy in Andromeda from the European Space Agency. Tracy McConnell explains how it was made and describes the stellar cataclysms it reveals. The inspiration here came from a new ESA image of M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsJanuary 20, 2011 ago
Armagh Planetarium

Armagh Planetarium Blasts off for a Year of Stargazing

Armagh Planetarium kicked off 2011 in style with some amazing astronomy-based events in association with the  BBC. Sinead McNicholl has a personal report of our part in the exciting Stargazing Live project. BBC Stargazing Live was a three day live astronomy event broadcast on BBC2 and was presented by Professor Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsJanuary 20, 2011 ago
Image of eclipsing binary
Milky Way

Cepheids: Inconstant Stars which break the rules

Cepheid variables are massive, pulsating stars, valued by astronomers for the precise link between their brightness and steady pulsation. Let’s look at the history of Cepheid variables and how recent discoveries about these stars shatter established theories of stellar evolution.   Cepheid variable stars have been known since the 18th Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsNovember 26, 2010 ago
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RSS Intergalactic Craic
  • S3Ep6 - Intergalactic Craic On The Road
    Welcome to a very special edition of Intergalactic Craic where we take it on the road! Join Rok, Zuri, Alice, and Andrew as they venture half way around the world to attend the ACM2023 conference in Flagstaff Arizona!
  • S3Ep5 - Craic with all these moons?
    Heather and her new co-host Dr Rok are back! Taking time out of their busy schedules they have recorded an episode all about the dramatic increase to the number of moons of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn! They also delve into their own busy schedules and explain everything there is to know about AOP's […]
  • S3Ep4 - Wee Bitta Craic: Bout Ye Alice?
    This month is the final 'getting to know you' episode of Intergalactic Craic: Wee Bitta Craic. Ethan and Zuri interview Alice and ask her all about how she came to be doing her PhD at AOP. Find out this and more in this info packed episode!
Welcome to Astronotes

Hello and welcome to Astronotes, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s official blog. Here you will find the latest news and views from all those who work in our organisation, from the fascinating worlds of astronomy and space exploration. We hope you will come here to learn what is hot and exciting, profound or even weird from worlds beyond ours . So that's the introduction out of the way, now on with the Universe!

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