Mild, dry September and sunnier than average. Armagh Observatory reports that September 2020 was warmer and drier than average and with slightly more than average sunshine. This was the sunniest September at Armagh for five years. The mean temperature was nearly 13.7 degrees Celsius (56.6 Fahrenheit), which is approximately 1.2 Read more…
DULLEST JUNE AT ARMAGH FOR EIGHT YEARS, WARMER AND SLIGHTLY WETTER THAN AVERAGE Armagh Observatory reports that June 2020 was much duller than average, the dullest June for eight years and the sixth-dullest June on record at Armagh. It was also slightly wetter and warmer than average. Total precipitation was Read more…
Astronomers using European Southern Observatory (ESO) telescopes have discovered giant spots on the surface of extremely hot stars hidden in stellar clusters. Not only are these stars plagued by magnetic spots, some also experience superflare events, explosions of energy several million times more energetic than similar eruptions on the Sun. Read more…
Armagh Observatory reports that April 2020 was much sunnier than average at Armagh, much warmer and much drier. This was the sunniest April at Armagh for 118 years, the second-sunniest April at Armagh since sunshine records began in 1880, and the equal fourth-warmest on record. Total precipitation was 16.6 mm Read more…
Just released are first images and videos from the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) – revealing unprecedented detail of the Sun’s surface, with experts saying it will enable a new era of solar science and a leap forward in understanding the Sun and its impacts Read more…
AOP researchers have used data from a NASA space mission to shed light on one of the most violent phenomena in our solar system – magnetic explosions on the surface of the Sun. Abhishek Srivastava, formerly a research associate at AOP and now a solar scientist at the Indian Institute Read more…
Article by: Gavin Ramsay Unlike our Sun, around half of all stars have another stellar companion. The closest stars to the Sun are two bright southern stars, alpha Centauri A and B, which orbit each other every 80 years and Proxima Centauri which orbits A and B every few tens Read more…
Our view of the cosmos is biased by the vista that is apparent to our eyes. This is what the view in what we call the optically visible portion of the spectrum. To the unaided eye it is a view of a universe full of stars, together with five planets, one Moon and of course the Sun. When augmented with a telescope, our eyes can then see a universe full of galaxies – giant cities of stars.
Article written by: Helen McLoughlin, Education Officer Let’s face it, New Year’s Resolutions like ‘I’m going to the gym three times a week’ or ‘I’m going on a diet’ are all well and good but fizzle out after a week or two. Why not take up stargazing once a month Read more…
