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stellar nursery

Milky Way

Explorers of the Galaxy (Part 1)

We live in a galaxy – a star city with several hundred billion residents. Moreover, we know our Milky Way is a spiral galaxy, with prominent arms of bright young stars that spiral outwards from a central bar that is dominated by old stars. These arms are so prominent as Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 9 yearsMarch 4, 2016 ago
Solar System

The Grand Tack

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…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 10 yearsSeptember 11, 2015 ago
Nebulae

A Spectacular View of the Lagoon Nebula

Peer deep into the constellation Sagittarius and you will find a spectacular young star cluster and its associated stellar nursery. These are M8 and the Lagoon Nebula.   More than 4300 light years (1320 parsecs) from the Solar System, this is an active star-forming region. Billions of years ago our Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 10 yearsJuly 28, 2015 ago
December

Stargazing in December

The December skies mark my favourite time of the year for stargazing. Despite the cold weather, the skies promise the best opportunities to see what lies beyond the Earth’s atmosphere. So pour yourself a hot chocolate, wrap up in warm clothes and head outside to witness the night sky’s wonders. Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 yearsDecember 5, 2014 ago
July

Stargazing in July

Looming large in the after dark southern sky in July is the large and overlapping but often overlooked constellations of Ophiuchus and Serpens. Lacking outstandingly bright stars these “two for one” constellations still contain much of interest.   Ophiuchus is one of the thirteen constellations that cross the ecliptic, making Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 11 yearsJuly 22, 2014 ago
Nebulae

Stellar Nursery NGC 6357: Image of the Month

A new image from the European southern Observatory’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy  (VISTA) telescope reveals the glowing clouds of gas and filaments of dust surrounding hot young stars in the stellar nursery known as NGC 6357. Infrared observations like this can reveal features that cannot be seen Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 12 yearsFebruary 21, 2013 ago
Milky Way

Everything You Need to Know About the Milky Way

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By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsSeptember 14, 2012 ago
Other Galaxies

Image of the Month: The Tarantula Nebula

Our Image of the Month was released to celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and is a striking panoramic look at a stellar nursery which is fizzing and crackling with energy as it pops out thousands of new stars.   The small southern hemisphere constellation Dorado Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsApril 20, 2012 ago
Other Galaxies

Young Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

We are looking far from home in this pretty image of an open cluster of young stars, sparkling like jewels. They and their associated gas cloud are known as NGC 346 and are located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a small galaxy which is more than 210 000 light years Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsMarch 1, 2012 ago
Image of carina nebula
Nebulae

What is a Nebula?

Beautiful colour images of nebulae grace astronomy books and websites and have spread to mainstream culture. They are now familar to the public but what are these gaudy celestial spectacles?   So what is a nebula? Nebula is latin for ‘cloud’ so it is the word astronomers use to call Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsFebruary 24, 2012 ago
Image of crescent moon
February

Wonders of the February Night Sky

If you look towards the west just after sunset this February you will see a very bright star in the darkening sky. Known as the Evening Star, brilliant Venus steals the celestial show. After the Moon, Venus is the next brightest object in the sky. Higher in the heavens and Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsJanuary 30, 2012 ago
Nebulae

The Heart of the Omega Nebula: Image of the Month

A new image of the Omega Nebula reveals amazing detail in a cosmic landscape of gas clouds, dust and newborn stars.  Captured by the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory, this is one of the sharpest views of this stellar birthplace ever taken from Earth’s surface.   Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 13 yearsJanuary 6, 2012 ago
Image of NGC4666 in Xray
Other Galaxies

Secrets of a Starburst Galaxy

Studying galaxies and clusters in many wavelengths of light tells astronomers more than a single image ever could. Imaged with the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, NGC 4666 lies some 80 million light years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. All looks calm and peaceful, Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsNovember 24, 2011 ago
Stars of NGC 3603. This is a “starburst region” : a cosmic factory where stars form frantically from a nebula’s extended clouds of gas and dust. Located 22 000 light-years away from the Sun, this is the closest region of this kind known in our galaxy. (Image credit: ESO)
Stars

What are the stars?

A clear night sky is a thing of beauty and wonder. Thousands of scattered stars twinkle in the darkness. What are the stars? How do they live and die? Could an exploding star cause disaster on Earth? Over the past century or so astronomers have by observation and calculation established Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsOctober 14, 2011 ago
Nebulae

Image of the Month: A psychedelic portrait of the Lagoon Nebula

Lying more than 4000 light years from our Solar System, the Lagoon Nebula (M8) is a place where new stars are forming. Researchers at the multinational Gemini South telescope are uncovering its secrets. This dazzling portrait of a section of the Lagoon Nebula (M8) was captured by astronomers Julia Arias Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 14 yearsMay 6, 2011 ago
Nebulae

Hubble images the spectacular Lagoon Nebula

Gorgeous! Spectacular! Awesome! What else can I say about this stunning Turneresque image of the Lagoon Nebula (M8)? A typical stellar nursery, M8 lies about 4300 light years (1320 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. About a hundred light years (31 parsecs) wide, it is actually several times as Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 15 yearsOctober 4, 2010 ago
Other Galaxies

Why is this nebula so shocking pink?

This fluffy pink blob is the star-forming region LHA-120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud some 170 000 light years from the Sun. N 11 (occasionally called the Bean Nebula) is about 1000 light years across. Take a moment to think just big that is! What is the source of Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 15 yearsOctober 1, 2010 ago
Stars

Hubble shows us a spectacular star cluster

Imagine that once the Sun sets, rather than a dark sky sprinkled with a few thousand dim stars, we had a sky blazing with ten thousand or so stars blazing brighter than Venus. How different would astronomy, mythology, everyday life be? Planets orbiting stars in the NGC 3603 Young Cluster Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 15 years ago
Robot Exploration

Hubble’s view of the Mystic Mountain

That amazing instrument, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), has just celebrated its twentieth anniversary since it was placed in orbit. Since then, (after a rocky start, remember that dodgy mirror?) it has revolutionised not only what we know about cosmology, star formation, exoplanets and so on, but also how we Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 15 yearsSeptember 24, 2010 ago
Other Galaxies

Hubble images orphan star

Astronomers in search of really, really big stars look to the Tarantula Nebula. Also known as 30 Doradus (or even NGC 2070), this is a very active star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (about 170 000 light years from us). Just how big are the stars in the Tarantula? Read more…

By Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, 15 yearsSeptember 22, 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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