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!
Visit Our Main Website
-
NASA Archive
-
![The Shuttle era is coming to an end this year thirty years after the launch of Columbia. ˆàWhile it can boast many successes and certainly caught the imagination of the […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Image-of-Final-Shuttle-Patch-115x115.jpg "NASA’s Space Shuttle: End of an Era")
NASA’s Space Shuttle: End of an Era
Posted on June 24, 2011 | 1 CommentThe Shuttle era is coming to an end this year thirty years after the launch of Columbia. ˆàWhile it can boast many successes and certainly caught the imagination of the […] -
![NASAòÀÙs Dawn spaceprobe is approaching the asteroid Vesta. At a distance of 483 000 km, the spacecraft has made images rivalling the best Hubble Space Telescope views of this fascinating […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Image-of-dawn-spacecraft-115x115.jpg "Vesta comes into view")
Vesta comes into view
Posted on June 14, 2011 | No CommentsNASAòÀÙs Dawn spaceprobe is approaching the asteroid Vesta. At a distance of 483 000 km, the spacecraft has made images rivalling the best Hubble Space Telescope views of this fascinating […] -
![NASA’s Space Shuttles have become a familar sight in their thirty years of service, but there have been other shuttle designs which never left the ground.Some were ingenious alternative concepts […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Image-of-C-1057-concept-115x115.jpg "10 Space Shuttles which never flew")
10 Space Shuttles which never flew
Posted on May 12, 2011 | 22 CommentsNASA’s Space Shuttles have become a familar sight in their thirty years of service, but there have been other shuttle designs which never left the ground.Some were ingenious alternative concepts […] -
![The first American in space, Alan Shepard, made his historic flight fifty years ago. Part of Project Mercury, the flight of Freedom 7 followed mere weeks after Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Image-of-Freedom-7-launch-115x115.jpg "Alan Shepard: First American in Space")
Alan Shepard: First American in Space
Posted on May 4, 2011 | 5 CommentsThe first American in space, Alan Shepard, made his historic flight fifty years ago. Part of Project Mercury, the flight of Freedom 7 followed mere weeks after Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering […] -
![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 […] -
![This year will see both the end of space flights by NASA’s Shuttle fleet and the thirtieth anniversary of the first orbital mission by this historic spacecraft. Our coverage of […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Image-of-shuttle-from-above-115x115.jpg "Space Shuttle: A thirty year history of tragedy and triumph")
Space Shuttle: A thirty year history of tragedy and triumph
Posted on April 7, 2011 | 11 CommentsThis year will see both the end of space flights by NASA’s Shuttle fleet and the thirtieth anniversary of the first orbital mission by this historic spacecraft. Our coverage of […] -
![One day vast solar sails pushed along by rays of sunlight may carry payloads between the planets. Tracy McConnell explains how this romantic vision is slowly becoming a fact. The […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/image-of-echo-satellite-115x115.jpg "Clipperships of the Cosmos: Solar Sails Move from Theory to Fact")
Clipperships of the Cosmos: Solar Sails Move from Theory to Fact
Posted on March 14, 2011 | 1 CommentOne day vast solar sails pushed along by rays of sunlight may carry payloads between the planets. Tracy McConnell explains how this romantic vision is slowly becoming a fact. The […] -
![Gleaned from NASA and Hubblesite.org, here are some facts you may not know about the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). 1.ˆàˆàˆàˆàˆà The HSTòÀÙs history is longer than you might have […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/image-of-HST-115x115.jpg "Hubble Space Telescope: Ten amazing facts you didn’t know")
Hubble Space Telescope: Ten amazing facts you didn’t know
Posted on March 5, 2011 | 23 CommentsGleaned from NASA and Hubblesite.org, here are some facts you may not know about the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). 1.ˆàˆàˆàˆàˆà The HSTòÀÙs history is longer than you might have […] -
![Apollo 18 is a SF/Horror movie presented as newly-found film footage taken by the fictional crew of a lost 1970s lunar landing mission.ˆà The Apollo 18 film uses real NASA […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/image-of-Gene-Cernan-with-earth-115x115.jpg "Apollo 18: the truth about the lost Moon missions")
Apollo 18: the truth about the lost Moon missions
Posted on February 22, 2011 | 170 CommentsApollo 18 is a SF/Horror movie presented as newly-found film footage taken by the fictional crew of a lost 1970s lunar landing mission.ˆà The Apollo 18 film uses real NASA […] -
![Comet Tempel 1 is by far the most closely studied comet in history. We saw it up close for the first time in July 2005, when NASA’s Deep Impact mission […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Image-of-Tempel1-nucleus-115x115.jpg "Return to Comet Tempel 1")
Return to Comet Tempel 1
Posted on February 19, 2011 | No CommentsComet Tempel 1 is by far the most closely studied comet in history. We saw it up close for the first time in July 2005, when NASA’s Deep Impact mission […]