February 2024 Leading astronomical research centre Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has played a key role in the discovery of a unique signature of the process by which white dwarf stars cannibalise their planetary systems. The research was conducted by an international team of scientists using the European Southern Observatory’s Chile-based Read more…
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…
Astronomy is a science that knows no borders. Everyone around the world can look up to the sky and see the Universe in front of them, providing the glare from city pollution doesn’t spoil the view. In the past scholars from around the world have theorised and pondered about our 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…
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…
The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope brings us new face-on portraits of six spiral galaxies. But what is the science behind these delightful images? Everyone loves stunning pictures of spiral galaxies, I have said this before and will no doubt say it again. The folks at the European Read more…