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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Latest Headlines
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![In the early 1960s, the sky had no limits for NASA . Planners for the agency foresaw an ever-expanding future of exploration through the Solar System. Some amazing missions were […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Image-of-shuttle-and-manned-booster-115x115.jpg "Mars by ’85? NASA’s alternative history")
Mars by ’85? NASA’s alternative history
Posted on September 27, 2010 | 11 CommentsIn the early 1960s, the sky had no limits for NASA . Planners for the agency foresaw an ever-expanding future of exploration through the Solar System. Some amazing missions were […] -
![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 […] -
![“Rods from God” is the nick-name given to a hypothetical orbital weapon for bombarding targets on the Earth from space. Just how feasible is this concept? There are undeniable […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/image-of-MIRVtest-115x115.jpg "Rods from god: a terrifying space weapon?")
Rods from god: a terrifying space weapon?
Posted on September 27, 2010 | 69 Comments“Rods from God” is the nick-name given to a hypothetical orbital weapon for bombarding targets on the Earth from space. Just how feasible is this concept? There are undeniable […] -
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?) […] -
![The late ’50s and ’60s were a different time from the anxious era that is today. Nuclear power and space travel were both cool and wonderful new technologies. The […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Image-of-Moon-from-ISS-115x115.jpg "The amazing Aldebaran spacecraft")
The amazing Aldebaran spacecraft
Posted on September 24, 2010 | 3 CommentsThe late ’50s and ’60s were a different time from the anxious era that is today. Nuclear power and space travel were both cool and wonderful new technologies. The […] -
![On 10 March 2010, I gave a talk covering the big picture to the IAA. I dealt with huge expanses of time from the distant past to the far future. […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/image-of-M57-from-HST-115x115.jpg "The end of the world")
The end of the world
Posted on September 24, 2010 | 1 CommentOn 10 March 2010, I gave a talk covering the big picture to the IAA. I dealt with huge expanses of time from the distant past to the far future. […] -
![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 […] -
![In March 2010 that superb but underappreciated probe Mars Express made a series of very close passes by the Martian moon Phobos. On one occasion it came as close […]](http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Image-of-Phobos-from-Mars-Express-115x115.jpg "Phobos: ESA’s daring encounters")
Phobos: ESA’s daring encounters
Posted on September 24, 2010 | No CommentsIn March 2010 that superb but underappreciated probe Mars Express made a series of very close passes by the Martian moon Phobos. On one occasion it came as close […]