Armagh Observatory, 15th June 2023: Armagh Observatory reports that May 2023 was much warmer and drier than average, but slightly duller. Taking March, April, and May together the meteorological spring was the wettest at Armagh for 21 years, the warmest for 6 years, and the dullest for 4 years. The Read more…
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…
Lying somewhere between young main-sequence stars and old white dwarfs, hot subdwarfs are blue stars with about half the mass, a tenth the diameter and ten times the brightness of the Sun.
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…
The Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope (DKIST) is under construction on the summit of Haleakalā on Maui, Hawaii. Since DKIST will be observing the Sun’s corona, the sky above the telescope needs to be as free of dust, aerosols and pollutants. The isolated islands of Hawaii provide optimal conditions for clear, “coronal skies”.
Have you ever been worried about the impact of an asteroid wiping out human life? Well, I have some disturbing news for you: there is another possibility involving the explosion of a massive star that gives rise to a gamma-ray burst (called by astronomers simply a GRB), when the star ends its life producing a black hole.
July 4, 2018 saw the 150th birthday of Henrietta Swan Leavitt (1868 – 1921), one of the most important astronomers of the 20th century. Born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, Leavitt graduated from Radfcliffe College, Harvard, in 1892. She then stayed on at the Harvard College Observatory as a volunteer research assistant. Whilst attempting a graduate degree in astronomy and travelling in Europe, she became ill with grave consequences for her hearing. In 1902, then director, Edward Pickering, invited Henrietta to join the permanent staff at Harvard, where she was assigned to study “variable” stars.
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.
Approximately every other star in the Milky Way galaxy is in a ‘binary’ system. These binaries are made up of two stars orbiting around a common centre of gravity. The time taken for the stars in the binary to make one revolution is called the ‘orbital period’. Binaries have a wide range of orbital period. The closest stellar system to the Sun is alpha Centauri which has two stars not unlike our Sun orbiting around one another every 80 years. A third member of the system, Proxima Centauri, which is much smaller red dwarf star, orbits around these two stars once every 10,000 years.
Article written by: Conor Byrne As an astrophysicist with a keen interest in space from a young age, the opportunity to witness a rare astronomical phenomenon is naturally quite high on the ‘bucket list’. So when I was attending a research workshop in the United States in August 2017, just Read more…
Article Written by Gavin Ramsay Comets have been known for millennia with Halley’s Comet famously being shown in the Bayeux Tapestry illustrating events which took place in 1066. They were also thought to foretell catastrophic events. Today we know them as having a small nucleus made up of ice and Read more…
Comets are small icy and rocky objects flying around our Solar System on elliptical orbits, as opposed to near-circular ones the planets are enjoying. They are strange and fantastic enough as it is: bright comets with their tails spanning across the sky have been marvelled at, recorded, and often feared Read more…
The 2018 Robinson Lecture will be given by Professor Louise Harra of University College London. Her topic is about the Solar Orbiter, a new spacecraft to be launched to study the Sun. It will be held in the Archbishop’s Palace in Armagh on Wednesday 22 November, 2017, starting at 7pm. Read more…
The Sun is a constant presence in everyday life from rising in the morning signifying the beginning of the day, to setting at night representing the time to rest. With the human race ever more dependent on technology it is important to monitor solar activity and the potential harm it Read more…
As the summer draws to a close September is a perfect time for stargazing before the cold nights of winter finally creep in. With sunset around 9pm and a forecasted heatwave, fingers crossed for some clear skies with some lovely mild temperatures. A key feature of the summer night sky 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…
The discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 exo-planetary system is a truly remarkable event in science. It is an exemplar of how an armada of telescopes – some located on the ground and some in space, and collectively owned by a league of nations – can work together to chart new frontiers Read more…
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) is a powerful instrument which can be used to observe the Sun at high spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution. ALMA consists of a giant array of 12-m antennas, with baselines up to 16 km, and an additional compact array of 7-m and 12-m antennas. Read more…
As everyone knows on Friday 20 March 2015, a total solar eclipse will occur across the far northern regions of Europe and the Arctic. A partial solar eclipse will be seen over a much wider area of Earth including northern Africa, Europe and northern Asia. Across the island of Ireland Read more…
Already the year 2015 is proving to be a great year for stargazing with planets, comets and meteorites gracing the skies but prepare for March as it brings a ‘micro moon’ and a solar eclipse. The planets are still sticking around for an appearance this month so if you haven’t Read more…
The shortest month of the year holds a lot of promise when it comes to the nights sky and whether you are making plans for Valentine’s Day or still wondering how we have reached February already, it is worth pencilling in a few nights for stargazing this month. Read more…
As the festive period is here once again, a lot of social gatherings and family time are part of the itinerary for most. So this year instead of telling the regular old Christmas cracker jokes why not entertain your friends and family with these pretty amazing space facts instead? There Read more…
The ancient Chinese thought they were stars inside a solar orb. The Aztecs thought their Sun god had pockmarks on his face. A Renaissance astronomer thought they were undiscovered planets. Some believe they are the cause of climate change or the reason for loss of signal or a “static” on Read more…
Now hopefully any January blues are well and truly dispersed by now and you are prepared to take full advantage of the dark February night sky. Although special events may be sparse within the shortest month of the year, maybe we can use February as you would a favourite book Read more…
Comet ISON is here! This new comet was in January 2013 just a dim speck in the constellation Gemini, between the stars Castor and Pollux. Astronomers could not agree if it was going to develop into the greatest astronomical spectacle in a decade or into a dim and disappointing smudge- Read more…
This year has started off with perhaps a little more promise than the last, not only did the world not end but a new Mayan calendar has started, mysterious planet Nibiru did not crash into the Earth and nor did we get wiped out with any comets/ aliens/ or stellar Read more…
It’s the beautiful clear morning of 6 June 2012 here in Armagh and the Sun is rising into a cerulean blue sky.But look closer, and you can see a tiny circular black speck on the face of the Sun.This is a transit of Venus, one of the rarest spectacles in 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…
One day vast solar sails pushed along by rays of sunlight may carry payloads between the planets. Tracy McConnell explains how this romantic vision is slowly becoming a fact. The concept of sailing gracefully through the stars is a provocative one that has been around for longer than you may Read more…
Here’s how rainbows are made. Some 13.7 billion years ago, a mere millionth of a second after the Big Bang, the first hydrogen and helium nuclei condensed out of a hot, dense soup of quarks and gluons. It took another 380 000 years or so for conditions in the ancient Read more…
On 10 March 2010, I gave a talk covering the big picture to the IAA. I dealt with huge expanses of time from the distant past to the far future. One item I skipped over was the first scientifically informed look at the far future of our planet. That was Read more…