Armagh Observatory is a modern astronomical research institute with a rich heritage, based in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are actively studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy, and the Earth's climate. The Observatory is located close to the centre of the city of Armagh, adjacent to the Armagh Planetarium in approximately 14 acres (57,000 m) of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark, and was founded in 1789 by Richard Robinson, Archbishop of Armagh. Ernst Julius Öpik (grandfather of Lembit Öpik MP) was based here for over 30 years and among his many contributions to astrophysics he wrote of the dangers of an asteroid impacting on the Earth. There are scale models of the Solar System and the Universe, two sundials and historic telescopes, as well as telescope domes and other outdoor exhibits. The Human Orrery, launched in 2004, is located close to the main Observatory building. The Observatory's specialist library and archives, and collections of scientific instruments and artefacts associated with the development of modern astronomy, represent one of the leading collections of its kind in the British Isles.
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An international team of planetary scientists led by astronomers at AOP have found an asteroid trailing behind Mars with a composition very similar to the moon's. The asteroid could be an ancient piece of debris, dating back ...
Astronomy
Nov 3, 2020
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The planet Mars shares its orbit with a handful of small asteroids, the so-called Trojans. Now an international team of astronomers using the Very Large Telescope in Chile have found that most of these objects share a common ...
Space Exploration
Apr 3, 2017
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Armagh Observatory reports that the next three weeks, from mid-October to the first week of November, will provide an interesting opportunity to observe a "dance" of the brightest planets Venus, Jupiter and Mars in the morning ...
Space Exploration
Oct 14, 2015
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763
The planet Mars shares its orbit with a handful of small asteroids, the so-called Trojans. Among them, one finds a unique group, all moving in very similar orbits, suggesting that they originated from the same object. But ...
Space Exploration
Oct 18, 2017
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385
This year´s Geminid meteor display, the best of the annual meteor showers, will be visible from approximately the 7th to 17th December, peaking on the evening of the 14th. The meteors, or 'shooting stars', which are best ...
Space Exploration
Nov 24, 2015
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A bright nova has recently been discovered in the constellation of Delphinus (The Dolphin). The discoverer was Koichi Itagaki, in Japan who used an 18 cm reflecting telescope with a CCD camera. The nova was confirmed late ...
Astronomy
Aug 23, 2013
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Armagh Observatory reports that the next two weeks provide a rare opportunity to observe the planets Venus, Mars and Uranus in the western evening sky after sunset, and the bright planet Jupiter rising high in the East about ...
Space Exploration
Feb 19, 2015
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The orbit of the planet Mars is host to the remains of an ancient collision that created many of its Trojan asteroids, a new study has concluded. It paints a new picture of how these objects came to be and may even hold important ...
Space Exploration
Oct 11, 2013
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Armagh Observatory reports that the next two weeks will provide an interesting opportunity to observe the brightest planet, Venus, and the largest planet, Jupiter, as they move towards one another in the evening twilight.
Space Exploration
Jun 15, 2015
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This year’s Perseid meteor shower, already in progress, continues until about August 24th. The peak of activity is expected to occur around midday on August 12th, with a possible all-sky maximum of perhaps 50–100 ...
Space Exploration
Aug 8, 2012
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