Looking up at the wonders of the night sky is an amazing pastime, and whether you use a telescope or binoculars all you really need is the naked eye, but remember to give your eyes at least 20 minutes to adapt to the dark to ensure that you can see Read more…
The spring night sky has well and truly sprung, and although these months are sign of brighter evenings and therefore later bedtimes if you want star gaze, there are still lots of interesting patterns and objects that we can see. So let’s delve in and find them. The spring night Read more…
Goodbye February, the shortest month of the year, and hello March! The desperate chill of winter is starting to lift and at the end of this month we will have the March Equinox. On the 20th March the Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly Read more…
Spring has truly sprung. Welcome to the month of April, and doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun. We can hardly believe that it is April already, and we’ve had so much fun stargazing at the Planetarium so far this year. April is certainly not the cruellest month for us! Read more…
Goodbye January blues, hello February fun! We’re already into the second month of our new year and it’s been absolutely amazing for stargazing already. Before we get in to what you can hope to gaze at this month, I want to point out to you all that this February is 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…
On 15 June 2014 look south about 10.30pm. The sky will be far from dark, but with a little effort you ought to spy the triangle topped by the star Arcturus and with Saturn and Mars at its base. By the time an hour has passed, around 11.30 pm, this Read more…
Looking south from Northern Ireland after sunset in the middle of May and you will see there is a parade of planets dominating the sky. On 15 May 2014 about 10.30pm, sweep westwards from the rising full Moon in the east to pale yellowish Saturn lying in the constellation 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…
If you find yourself in the great outdoors any evening during May and it’s a cloudless night, turning your eyes towards the heavens could be an unusually interesting way for you to spend a few minutes. We’ll start by looking southwards. So once again look about 90 degrees to the Read more…