1 September 2016 saw the first full meeting of all of the staff of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. We are looking forward to carrying Armagh’s impressive heritage of astronomical research and public education forward into an exciting future together! You can follow AOP’s work through our websites and Read more…
We are delighted to welcome Michael G. Burton as Director of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. Professor Burton is an internationally renowned researcher who specialises in using infrared and millimetre-wave astronomy to study how stars form in the interstellar medium (the tenuous matter between the stars in our galaxy, the Read more…
Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm; it seems that everyone is playing it. If you see someone walking in circles with their head down and looking at their phone, you know they’re on the game…and maybe part of you wants to rush over and see what they’ve found. Read more…
Picking books for children can be difficult, not only are we adults battling with TV, game consoles, tablets and toys, it’s hard to fit the old-fashioned entertainment of a book into a child’s life. There’s no doubt children have a great imagination and at a young age nothing is impossible Read more…
For those of you that are still bearing the psychological scars from Pluto’s demotion from planet to dwarf planet a decade ago, here is news that may add salt to the wounds. Published recently in the Astronomical Journal, Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown claim they have found evidence of a Read more…
When I heard about this book I immediately wanted to read it, being a space enthusiast and very interested in the journey to Mars, I had to know how one man stranded on the Red Planet could try to survive. Mark Watney an astronaut on the Ares 3 mission Read more…
It is widely accepted that our Solar System was created about 4.6 billion years ago based on dating of meteorites. Scientists believe the Solar System formed when a cloud of dust was disrupted by the shockwave from the explosive death of a nearby star initiating its collapse into a stellar Read more…
Recently the idea of people living on Mars has been the talk of the astronomy circle and has captured the minds of many. Once posed with this possibility, the natural inquisitiveness of people kicked in. Is it possible? Why are people doing it? How will they survive? What will they Read more…
If you missed the Lyrids meteor shower in April, starting of May you had another chance to see some shooting stars as the Eta Aquarids meteor shower peaks on the 5th of May into the morning of the 6th. The Eta Aquarids run annually from 19 April until 18 May Read more…
As we head into spring it’s time for dusting off those telescope lenses and brushing up on some constellations. With the warmer weather coming in there’s also hope to see some meteors as April finishes off with the Lyrids meteor shower and a glimpse at the gas giants. Starting of Read more…