Welcome to Astronotes
Hello, IтАЩm Colin, welcoming you to Astronotes, the PlanetariumтАЩs 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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Universe Archive
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![In, say 1975, there was only one kind of ‘stuff’ in the Universe, matter made of protons and neutrons. By 1985 there was a consensus that this was not enough, […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image-of-gravitational-lens-115x115.jpg "Dark matter and dark energy: the deepest mysteries in astronomy")
Dark matter and dark energy: the deepest mysteries in astronomy
Posted on October 1, 2010 | 2 CommentsIn, say 1975, there was only one kind of ‘stuff’ in the Universe, matter made of protons and neutrons. By 1985 there was a consensus that this was not enough, […] -
![We all love bright and showy spiral galaxies! So much so, that we tend to overlook the elliptical galaxies which make up about 30% of the galaxies out there. Smaller […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image-of-NGC4696-115x115.jpg "Elliptical galaxies: everything you need to know")
Elliptical galaxies: everything you need to know
Posted on October 1, 2010 | No CommentsWe all love bright and showy spiral galaxies! So much so, that we tend to overlook the elliptical galaxies which make up about 30% of the galaxies out there. Smaller […] -
![This fluffy pink blob is the star-forming region LHA-120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud some 170 000 light years from the Sun. N 11 (occasionally called the Bean Nebula) […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image-of-the-bean-nebula1-115x115.jpg "Why is this nebula so shocking pink?")
Why is this nebula so shocking pink?
Posted on October 1, 2010 | 1 CommentThis fluffy pink blob is the star-forming region LHA-120-N 11 in the Large Magellanic Cloud some 170 000 light years from the Sun. N 11 (occasionally called the Bean Nebula) […] -
![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 […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/image-of-a-rainbow-115x115.jpg "Following a rainbow back to the Big Bang")
Following a rainbow back to the Big Bang
Posted on September 27, 2010 | No CommentsHere’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 […] -
![Searching for life elsewhere in the Universe is a fascinating endeavour. It is is not a recent idea either. Astronomers in the 1800s used telescopes to search for signs of […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/arecibo-message-115x115.jpg "What would you say to an alien?")
What would you say to an alien?
Posted on September 27, 2010 | 1 CommentSearching for life elsewhere in the Universe is a fascinating endeavour. It is is not a recent idea either. Astronomers in the 1800s used telescopes to search for signs of […] -
Hubble sees a messy Messier
Posted on September 24, 2010 | No CommentsAbout 100 000 light years across, Messier 66 is the largest galaxy in the "Leo Triplet", three interacting spiral galaxies about 33 million light years from us. This new Hubble Space Telescope image shows that M66 seems to have been through the mangle. Misshapen with an off-centre core, the galaxy is not a neat spiral. It has been tugged by the gravitational pulls of its neighbours', NGC 3628 and M65, and indeed may have suffered a close encounter with NGC 3628 a billion years or so ago which ripped away hundreds of thousands of stars. Located just under the line between Regulus and Denebola, M66 and M65 can be seen with a small telescope or 10x50 binoculars in the spring. Why not go out to see if you can find these distant islands of stars? (What is a Messier object? You can find out in this issue of Astronotes) -
![Dark matter and its part in the evolution of the Universe is revealed by new data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope. This image could be taken for a lurid […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Image-of-galaxies-with-dark-matter-115x115.jpg "Hubble throws light on dark matter")
Hubble throws light on dark matter
Posted on September 24, 2010 | No CommentsDark matter and its part in the evolution of the Universe is revealed by new data collected by the Hubble Space Telescope. This image could be taken for a lurid […] -
![Fifty years of SETI with radio telescopes has so far proved negative. We have found no messages of peace and goodwill, no galactic internet, no extraterrestrial propaganda or advertising. […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/hubble-ultra-deep-field-115x115.jpg "50 Years of SETI: where are the aliens?")
50 Years of SETI: where are the aliens?
Posted on September 24, 2010 | 7 CommentsFifty years of SETI with radio telescopes has so far proved negative. We have found no messages of peace and goodwill, no galactic internet, no extraterrestrial propaganda or advertising. […] -
![Astronomers in search of really, really big stars look to the Tarantula Nebula. Also known as 30 Doradus (or even NGC 2070), this is a very active star-forming region in […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ophan-star-in-30-Doradus-115x115.jpg "Hubble images orphan star")
Hubble images orphan star
Posted on September 22, 2010 | 4 CommentsAstronomers in search of really, really big stars look to the Tarantula Nebula. Also known as 30 Doradus (or even NGC 2070), this is a very active star-forming region in […] -
![‘ Elliptical galaxy ESO 306-17 looks rather pretty in this Hubble Space Telescope image (count how many other galaxies there are in the background!). However beautiful though it may be, […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/heic1004a-resized-115x115.jpg "Cannibal galaxy ESO 306-17 eats its neighbours!")
Cannibal galaxy ESO 306-17 eats its neighbours!
Posted on September 17, 2010 | No Comments‘ Elliptical galaxy ESO 306-17 looks rather pretty in this Hubble Space Telescope image (count how many other galaxies there are in the background!). However beautiful though it may be, […]