Welcome to Astronotes
Hello, IòÀÙm Colin, welcoming you to Astronotes, the PlanetariumòÀÙs official blog. Here you will find the latest news and views from the fascinating worlds of astronomy and space exploration. We hope you will come here to learn what is hot and exciting, profound or even weird from worlds beyond ours . So that's the introduction out of the way, now on with the Universe!
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Our Galaxy Archive
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![Lying more than 4000 light years from our Solar System, the Lagoon Nebula (M8) is a place where new stars are forming. Researchers at the multinational Gemini South telescope are […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/image-of-M8-115x115.jpg "Image of the Month: A psychedelic portrait of the Lagoon Nebula")
Image of the Month: A psychedelic portrait of the Lagoon Nebula
Posted on May 6, 2011 | 1 CommentLying more than 4000 light years from our Solar System, the Lagoon Nebula (M8) is a place where new stars are forming. Researchers at the multinational Gemini South telescope are […] -
![NGC 6302 is a beautiful example of a planetary nebula formed when a bloated red giant star transformed into a tiny white dwarf, belching about half its mass into space […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Image-of-ngc6302-115x115.jpg "NGC 6302: A vast cosmic butterfly")
NGC 6302: A vast cosmic butterfly
Posted on April 15, 2011 | No CommentsNGC 6302 is a beautiful example of a planetary nebula formed when a bloated red giant star transformed into a tiny white dwarf, belching about half its mass into space […] -
![To observers on Earth, the great bull of Taurus has a fiery red eye. This is Aldebaran, an old red giant star which dwarfs our Sun. Let’s have a closer […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Image-of-Orion-and-Taurus-with-Aldebaran-115x115.jpg "Aldebaran: Red Giant at the Eye of the Bull")
Aldebaran: Red Giant at the Eye of the Bull
Posted on March 3, 2011 | 9 CommentsTo observers on Earth, the great bull of Taurus has a fiery red eye. This is Aldebaran, an old red giant star which dwarfs our Sun. Let’s have a closer […] -
![Kepler-11 is an amazing, newly-discovered system of exoplanets. About 2000 light years from Earth, six planets orbit a star like our Sun. Each planet is bigger and more massive than […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Image-of-Kepler-11-115x115.jpg "Kepler-11: a strange and crowded planetary system")
Kepler-11: a strange and crowded planetary system
Posted on February 3, 2011 | No CommentsKepler-11 is an amazing, newly-discovered system of exoplanets. About 2000 light years from Earth, six planets orbit a star like our Sun. Each planet is bigger and more massive than […] -
![The giant star Betelgeuse will soon perish in a titanic explosion. Could this happen in the mythical “doomsday” year of 2012? Could dying Betelgeuse take us with it? òÀÜBeetlejuice! Beetlejuice! […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Image-of-Betelgeuse1-115x115.jpg "Will Betelgeuse bring doom in 2012?")
Will Betelgeuse bring doom in 2012?
Posted on January 27, 2011 | 3 CommentsThe giant star Betelgeuse will soon perish in a titanic explosion. Could this happen in the mythical “doomsday” year of 2012? Could dying Betelgeuse take us with it? òÀÜBeetlejuice! Beetlejuice! […] -
![Don Pollacco, a research astronomer at Queens University Belfast, came to Armagh Planetarium to give a fascinating talk on exoplanets in January 2011. Afterwards Dr Pollaco kindly chatted to me […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/image-of-kepler-10c-115x115.jpg "“An unnatural interest in astronomy”")
“An unnatural interest in astronomy”
Posted on January 21, 2011 | No CommentsDon Pollacco, a research astronomer at Queens University Belfast, came to Armagh Planetarium to give a fascinating talk on exoplanets in January 2011. Afterwards Dr Pollaco kindly chatted to me […] -
![NASAòÀÙs amazing Kepler planet-searching spacecraft has made a significant new discovery. Planet Kepler-10b is an inhospitable world but it is one of the smallest confirmed exoplanets yet found and may […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Image-of-Kepler10b-115x115.jpg "Kepler-10b: world of lava oceans?")
Kepler-10b: world of lava oceans?
Posted on January 11, 2011 | 1 CommentNASAòÀÙs amazing Kepler planet-searching spacecraft has made a significant new discovery. Planet Kepler-10b is an inhospitable world but it is one of the smallest confirmed exoplanets yet found and may […] -
![The smallest stars in the galaxy are the red dwarfs. ˆàRecent research suggests they are more common than previously suspected. Tiny, cool and dim compared to the Sun, they may […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Image-of-Red-Dwarf-companion-115x115.jpg "Red dwarfs: The most important stars in the Universe")
Red dwarfs: The most important stars in the Universe
Posted on December 3, 2010 | 7 CommentsThe smallest stars in the galaxy are the red dwarfs. ˆàRecent research suggests they are more common than previously suspected. Tiny, cool and dim compared to the Sun, they may […] -
![The extra-solar planet HAT-P-1b has baffled astronomers since it was discovered in 2006. The planet is puffed up much larger than theory predicts. HAT-P-1 has a volume nearly twice than […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Image-of-HAT-P-1B-115x115.jpg "Exoplanet HAT-P-1b: weird, warm and fuzzy")
Exoplanet HAT-P-1b: weird, warm and fuzzy
Posted on November 29, 2010 | No CommentsThe extra-solar planet HAT-P-1b has baffled astronomers since it was discovered in 2006. The planet is puffed up much larger than theory predicts. HAT-P-1 has a volume nearly twice than […] -
![Cepheid variables are massive, pulsating stars, valued by astronomers for the precise link between their brightness and steady pulsation. Let’s look at the history of Cepheid variables and how recent […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Image-of-eclipsing-binary-115x115.jpg "Cepheids: Inconstant Stars which break the rules")
Cepheids: Inconstant Stars which break the rules
Posted on November 26, 2010 | 6 CommentsCepheid variables are massive, pulsating stars, valued by astronomers for the precise link between their brightness and steady pulsation. Let’s look at the history of Cepheid variables and how recent […]