This month is an interesting one for those of us who love to stargaze. I know the nights are still cooler, so wrap up and head out to watch the stars. While the sun will gradually set later and later until the summer solstice. We will still have plenty of Read more…
During December we will be able to start stargazing from earlier in the evenings, weather permitting of course. This means that on clear nights we get a view of more stars and objects in the night sky; but it is better to be prepared for the colder weather (and more Read more…
Rev. W.F.A. Ellison Rev. William Frederick Archdall Ellison was the sixth Director of the Armagh Observatory and was appointed to the role on 15 October 1918. He would remain in this position until his death on 31 December 1936. During that time, he made several telescopes and mirrors, both for Read more…
An international collaboration of astronomers led by Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has launched a groundbreaking study into the most massive stars in our local dwarf galaxies, the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds. Led by the organisation’s Professor Jorick Vink, the XShootU consortium collaborated with the Space Telescope Science Institute to Read more…
It’s been just over two months since The James Webb Space Telescope was launched into space. On Christmas Day 2021, Professor Michael Burton watched the launch online, whilst enjoying his Christmas dinner! So, what has happened since launch day and where is the telescope now? We find out more from Read more…
The eROSITA telescope has provided a new, sharp view of hot and energetic processes across the Universe. The eROSITA X-ray telescope has completed its first full sweep of the sky. This new map of the hot, energetic universe contains more than one million objects, roughly doubling the number of known Read more…
Article by Jorick Vink , Astronomer at the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium When you are fortunate enough to have a clear view of the night sky, and you start wondering about the properties of all these sources of light, you might be amazed to find out all these stars have Read more…
In many walks of life a single concerted effort to achieve the impossible will usually encounter opposition on all sides, however it appears that this reality is little diminished when it comes to astronomy. So for the largest space telescope in history to get off the ground and become that Read more…
While HST’s successor is named after the architect of the revolutionary Apollo Moon missions, an obvious tribute to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s second administrator, James E. Webb, the name given is perhaps also symbolic of the aspirations of all those involved in the project, that with the telescope’s Read more…
Although the concept of something being “there” but being hidden from our eyes under the cover of darkness is one that has disturbed usually one or other of us once upon a time, when it comes to space it’s hard to find an idea that thrills scientists and astronomers more. 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…
On Saturday 22 July 2013, I took a look around the summer night sky through the eyepieces of the Planetarium’s 12 inch Dobsonian telescope. It was a beautiful clear evening. What was there to see? Here are some images to give you an idea. Closest and brightest (a little too Read more…
Have you ever wished you could hop into a time machine, zip back billions of years and answer one of the age old questions that have plagued mankind from the first time someone peered up into the night sky? To know what exactly happened in the universe that created the Read more…
We live in an age when dazzling astronomical imagery is everywhere. We are privileged to have immediate access to close ups of the worlds of the Solar System thanks to interplanetary probes and stunning panoramas of nebula and galaxies thanks to hi-tech observatories. But to experience and to feel completely Read more…
Have you ever found yourself staring up into the sky wishing you knew the name of that odd shaped star pattern, or had an endless debate with someone about what exactly that really bright object was; a planet or a star but never went as far to find out?Well that 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 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…
Gleaned from NASA and Hubblesite.org, here are some facts you may not know about the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). 1. The HST’s history is longer than you might have thought, going back to just after World War II. In 1946, the astronomer Lyman Spitzer (1914-97) identified the main advantages Read more…
