This summer experience our world and beyond as you sit back and relax in the Planetarium’s 360-degree dome theatre. With six different shows running Monday-Saturday throughout July and August there is so much to choose from, including a brand new film.
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…
In 2014 Armagh Planetarium’s website (including Astronotes) received well over 1 million page views from all over the world. What were all these people coming to see? Here are the 10 most viewed Astronotes articles of 2014. 1. The Truth About the Black Knight Satellite Mystery 2. 8 Read more…
For my Top 10 Space Themed Christmas Present List this year I wanted to compile a list of unique gifts for children. These are items that Santa would have to plan getting in advance of the big day arriving! So let’s begin our countdown of the top 10 unique space Read more…
“Man must rise above Earth, to the top of the atmosphere and beyond, for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives” Socrates (circa 399BC). Of course the philosopher Socrates would not have been thinking about satellites or spacecraft at this time, but his famous quote Read more…
“Encouraging school children to enter the world of aerospace, engineering and science” This is the motto for the Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge which takes place across the globe. The prize, if you accept the challenge, is an all-expenses paid trip to Paris and Toulouse for the final fly-off against teams from Read more…
The Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure’s “Creativity Month” is an annual celebration which takes place each March. It inspires creative and collaboration amongst many industries from theatre to astronomy! Throughout the month of March there are exciting events and workshops aimed at stimulating new thinking to help artistic people, Read more…
You may have heard of the name Galileo. Perhaps it is through an interest in science or maybe it’s from the Queen song “Bohemian Rhapsody”. But who was the man behind the famous name? What did he do and achieve? Well, as Galileo would be 450 years old in 2014, Read more…
The year 2014 could see the first 3D printer brought into space, the first fare-paying passengers leave Planet Earth on the Virgin Galactic and the first test mission of a new vehicle called Orion that might one day take humans to Mars. Exciting stuff, bring on 2014! But what else Read more…
The “Red Planet”, Mars, has intrigued the imagination for centuries. Even before the first flyby of the planet by Mariner 4 in 1965 many astronomers speculated about life, water and an atmosphere existing on Mars. In 1971 the Soviets landed the first man-made object onto the Martian surface, a probe Read more…
Armagh Planetarium’s Christmas card competition has been going from strength to strength. Now in its third year, we have once again been overwhelmed by the number of entries, the creativeness and talent that has been displayed. Mixing the theme of space and Christmas we have had Santa giving present to Read more…
So, last year I compiled a top 10 list of the best Space/Astronomy gifts which you can view by clicking here. I was so looking forward to receiving my Sheldon bobble head but it looks like those close to me did not take the hint! So this year I have Read more…
If you had asked me in June 2013 how many moons Neptune had, I would have told you the answer was 13. If you asked me in August 2013 how many moons Neptune had, my answer would be 14! 2013 marks the year when a new moon has been found Read more…
If aliens use Twitter would you send them a Tweet? What would you write to beings from another star in just 144 characters? You now have the chance to do just that and send a potential extra-terrestrial civilisation a message using the recently launched Lone Signal Project. Anyone can send Read more…
What does the word “Ring” conjure up in your head? Maybe you think wedding ring, boxing ring, Ring Ring, the ABBA song, or perhaps even battered onion rings…. Mmmm that has got me feeling hungry! For me it has connotations with a planet that is visible in the night sky Read more…
NASA wants to find an asteroid, capture it, bring it towards us and send it into an orbit around our Moon. This isn’t a plot for a new Hollywood Blockbuster starring Bruce Willis, this is an idea that NASA is seeking funding for. It is hoped that this venture will Read more…
Armagh Planetarium hosted an amazing week-long live theatre performance of the Dragons of Azrael in conjunction with the Department of Culture, Arts and leisure’s Creativity Month. Creativity month is an annual event which runs throughout March. Its main aim is to stimulate new thinking and new collaborations to help creative Read more…
Space is something that fascinates many. Every day there are technological advances, new research being carried out and even historical space related anniversaries. Where would we be without those valuable space dedicated blogs and websites? There are so many sources of information readily available at our fingertips these days, and Read more…
Imagine you had a window looking over our world. What pictures would you take and what sights would you see? Thanks to the astronauts onboard the International Space Station we can see the beauty of our Earth from the unique position of space. This is a view the majority of Read more…
On the weekend of the 14and 15 of July 2012 we held a pinhole photography event. This was led by the world renowned pinhole photographer Justin Quinnell. Justin has been teaching and practicing pinhole photography for twenty years and is a published author with his images appearing in feature films, Read more…
Sleigh bells ring are you listening, Have yourself a Merry little Christmas, It’s the most wonderful time of the year….It sounds like it is getting close to Christmas so get your hot mulled wine and some Quality Street choccies at the ready as you sit back and take in our Read more…
I was visiting the Tall Ships event in Dublin recently when I noticed something strange in the light blue daytime sky! Overlooking the River Liffey I could see something that looked like the Moon, but the Sun was still shining, so it couldn’t have been the Moon – or was Read more…
Armagh Planetarium’s great balloon race has ended. The results are in and they have been checked and verified. There were balloon reports on the Cathedral Road, the Battleford Road and a balloon was found on the Pearse Og Football field in Armagh. We even had an email that one was Read more…
Was it a contact from other life forms out there? Was it a satellite or spacecraft? Or was it a computer glitch? The WOW signal still continues to create intrigue to this day. It is coming up to the 35th anniversary of its discovery so I decided to find out Read more…
The Boeing X-37, also called the Orbital Test Vehicle (OTV), is an unmanned American spacecraft. Its first orbital mission was on 22 April 2010 returning back to Earth on 3 December 2010. A second X-37 was launched on 5 March 2011 and has not yet returned to Earth at time Read more…
We are well into the wonders of the spring night sky when May begins and we ‘may’ take advantage of the many clear nights we have been subjected to recently and try our luck at finding some of those more difficult patterns and objects that are hidden away among the Read more…
In the upcoming weeks you will be hearing in the news the words “Dragon Spacecraft”, so Sinead McNicholl has the full story on what exactly this new vehicle is and what it will be used for. The Dragon is a spacecraft developed by a company called the Space Read more…
After last year’s success, BBC2’s Stargazing Live returned to our screens this month for another three nights of astronomy wonders. Holding the reins again were the charismatic Professor Brian Cox and his side-kick comedian Dara O’Briain, who actually happens to be a physicist as well! To coincide with the television Read more…
The aurora is a stunning celestial event associated with Earth’s polar regions. Recently Ireland has been witness to this beautiful phenomenon. If you are standing looking up at the sky in Canada, Alaska or in Norway on a clear dark night you may see a bright reddish or greenish Read more…
Before Yuri Gagarin made the historic first orbit around the Earth in 1961, animals had already visited the unknown. They were used to collect medical data and to test the spacecraft’s durability before sending manned missions. Once the survivability of spaceflight was confirmed, humans then began to travel where previously Read more…
Dwarf planet Haumea is one of the most bizarre small bodies of the outer Solar System. It has an oddly recent surface. Even just who discovered it is controversial. It looks kind of funny too. The 2011 Rugby World Cup is taking place in New Zealand at the moment and Read more…
The European Southern Observatory (ESO) is an intergovernmental research organisation for astronomy which is supported by fifteen countries. Established in 1962 it operates some of the most technologically advanced telescopes in the world. Their mission is to provide state-of-the-art research facilities to astronomers and astrophysicists, allowing them to conduct front-line Read more…
After their successful Invasion at the beginning of the summer, the Emerald Garrison are returning to Armagh Planetarium to end the summer programme on the weekend of the 27th and 28th of August. Dress up in your own Star Wars costumes and have your lightsabers at the ready as we Read more…
Have you ever wondered how to build a solid fuel space rocket? Have you ever wanted to witness a rocket launch? If the answer is yes, then Armagh Planetarium is the place to be on 30 and 31 July 2011 as we blast-off into a fun-filled weekend of rockets. Rocket Read more…
Armagh Planetarium is the place to be this summer with activities and theatre shows which are ‘out of this world’. In the Planetarium’s amazing new Digistar 4 Digital Theatre you can relax and experience Earth and beyond. Each show is a memorable experience and with a brand new line-up there Read more…
It is June 30 1971, and a ground crew in Kazakhstan are waiting to recover three cosmonauts from the Soyuz 11 spacecraft. The trio, the first space station crew, are expected to be unused to terrestrial gravity after their weeks in micro-gravity. The recovery team are expecting to help the Read more…
The first American in space, Alan Shepard, made his historic flight fifty years ago. Part of Project Mercury, the flight of Freedom 7 followed mere weeks after Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering spaceflight. The Space Race was underway! “Why don’t you fix your little problem and light this candle?” NASA astronaut Alan Read more…
Professor Brian Cox has been back on our screens this month in his latest BBC2 series Wonders of the Universe. Over the past few weeks, the Prof has guided us through the Universe as we’ve never seen it before! Our Universe is estimated to be around 13.7 billion years old, Read more…
Cosmic Cuilagh is an exciting weekend of free astronomical events coming in 12-13 March 2011 at Fermanagh’s Marble Arch Caves Geopark. Sinead McNicholl has the details. The Marble Arch Caves Geopark, located in the rugged mountainous uplands and gently rolling lowlands of counties Fermanagh and Cavan, is the place to Read more…
The Zodiacal light is a rarely seen yet intriguing spectacle in a dark sky. Sinead McNicholl reveals the connection between the zodial light and a famous rockstar! Have you ever noticed a whitish glow in the night sky which appears to extend upwards in the shape of a triangle or Read more…
The long dark nights continue through February, but this does give us a chance to see some interesting objects in our night sky. This month features several planets. Sinead McNicholl has the details. The planet Jupiter is still visible and impossible to miss as it is still shining brightly towards Read more…
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…
In this first week of 2011, BBC Two is presenting three nights of extraordinary astronomical events and the team at Armagh Planetarium is joining in the fun with our own exciting contributions. Here is what is in store for the nation’s astronomers. Hosted by Professor Brian Cox (science advisor to Read more…
This year we could have witnessed a Christmas-time shuttle flight as November’s STS-133 mission had been re-scheduled to 17 December, but once again Discovery’s final flight has been postponed, this time to February. Sinead McNicholl has the details. Originally Discovery had been set to launch on 1 November, but this Read more…
While you are opening your presents under the Christmas tree, singing some Christmas carols or sitting down to tuck into your turkey dinner on 25 December, spare a thought for a few people above you! Yes, indeed, there will be people onboard the International Space Station spending their Christmas amongst Read more…