A super spectacle is happening in the night sky from this evening and won’t be seen again until 2040. The five planets — known as “naked eye planets” because they can be seen without the use of binoculars or telescopes — are Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. They will Read more…
As the long cold nights fade into longer warmer days its always nice to have a look out at the sky to see what you can entertain yourself with, especially as we come into a second year of lockdowns. So take some time to look up, there are some lovely Read more…
Still looking for a New Years resolution or lockdown hobby? Why not get into stargazing in 2021! Take a night off your current Netflix series; wrap up warm; step outside and gaze up at the wonders of the winter night sky. Winter is a great time to observe due to the long Read more…
The late September and early October nights bring with them a few things; crunchy leaves for evening walks, pumpkin spice lattes for the masses and the best time of year to get planet spotting. There are five – yes, five – planets that are observable with relative ease this time Read more…
Happy soon-to-be summer, star gazers! June has a few things going for it; it’s the beginning of summer (officially), we have a lovely new moon, there’s some planet spotting to be done in the early morning; and the combined effects of clear, warm days with lower levels of air pollution Read more…
Kicking off our 5 Facts series we have the littlest member of our planetary family! Mercury is the smallest planet Pluto used to be the smallest planet in our solar system but since it was ‘demoted’ to a dwarf planet, Mercury then won the prize for being the smallest planet Read more…
Over 100 people arrived at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium on Monday 11 November to view the Transit of Mercury through our telescopes, including our world-famous Grubb telescope. With special kit for Solar observing our staff and students enthusiastically greeted the crowds of public visitors and school children in attendance. With Read more…
Satellites, our lives wouldn’t be complete without them. Since the beginning of the Space Race, Satellites have become a major part of how we observe our Solar System and the Universe, and also keep a close eye on our own planet.
This September is a relatively uneventful month (astronomy-wise). Few visible planets, quiet Sun and overall a very poor month for meteor showers.
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.