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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HST Archive
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![Gorgeous! Spectacular! Awesome! What else can I say about this stunning Turneresque image of the Lagoon Nebula (M8)? A typical stellar nursery, M8 lies about 4300 light years (1320 parsecs) […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image-of-Lagoon-nebula-115x115.jpg "Hubble images the spectacular Lagoon Nebula")
Hubble images the spectacular Lagoon Nebula
Posted on October 4, 2010 | 1 CommentGorgeous! Spectacular! Awesome! What else can I say about this stunning Turneresque image of the Lagoon Nebula (M8)? A typical stellar nursery, M8 lies about 4300 light years (1320 parsecs) […] -
![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 […] -
![It is difficult to look at this Hubble Space Telescope image of the nebula NGC 2467 without thinking about what it would be like to fly through it. It is […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/image-of-nebula-NGC-2467-115x115.jpg "What would you see flying through a nebula?")
What would you see flying through a nebula?
Posted on October 1, 2010 | 2 CommentsIt is difficult to look at this Hubble Space Telescope image of the nebula NGC 2467 without thinking about what it would be like to fly through it. It is […] -
![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) […] -
![Imagine that once the Sun sets, rather than a dark sky sprinkled with a few thousand dim stars, we had a sky blazing with ten thousand or so stars blazing […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Image-of-the-NGC-3603-Young-Cluster-115x115.jpg "Hubble shows us a spectacular star cluster")
Hubble shows us a spectacular star cluster
Posted on October 1, 2010 | No CommentsImagine that once the Sun sets, rather than a dark sky sprinkled with a few thousand dim stars, we had a sky blazing with ten thousand or so stars blazing […] -
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) -
![That amazing instrument, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), has just celebrated its twentieth anniversary since it was placed in orbit. Since then, (after a rocky start, remember that dodgy mirror?) […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Image-of-the-mystic-mountain-115x115.jpg "Hubble’s view of the Mystic Mountain")
Hubble’s view of the Mystic Mountain
Posted on September 24, 2010 | 1 CommentThat amazing instrument, the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), has just celebrated its twentieth anniversary since it was placed in orbit. Since then, (after a rocky start, remember that dodgy mirror?) […] -
![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 […] -
![‘ 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, […]