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
Latest Headlines
-
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 […] -
Have you seen the Zodiacal Light?
Posted on February 18, 2011 | 2 CommentsThe Zodiacal light is a rarely seen yet intriguing spectacle in a dark sky. Sinead McNicholl reveals the connection between the zodial light and a famous rockstar! Have you ever […] -
Image of the Month: Baby stars of NGC 2841
Posted on February 18, 2011 | 1 CommentNGC 2841 is a rather beautiful flocculent spiral galaxy. The Hubble Space Telescope recently imaged NGC 2841 as part of an investigation into how new stars are created. How do […] -
Pluto and Eris: when is a planet not a planet?
Posted on February 15, 2011 | 12 CommentsIn 2003 astronomers discovered Eris, an object seemingly bigger than Pluto, in the frigid Trans-Neptunian wastes of the Solar System. Rather than becoming the Tenth Planet, Eris led directly to […] -
Wonders of the February Night Sky
Posted on February 14, 2011 | 2 CommentsThe long dark nights continue through February, but this does give us a chance to see some interesting objects in our night sky. This month features several planets. Sinead McNicholl […] -
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 […] -
Apollo 14: Alan Shepard’s fight for the Moon
Posted on January 31, 2011 | 4 CommentsForty years ago, NASAòÀÙs Apollo 14 mission landed the fifth and sixth men on the Moon. Apollo 14 was a triumph for one man in particular. Alan Shepard fought debilitating […] -
Remembering Challenger: the end of innocence
Posted on January 28, 2011 | 4 CommentsAn older generation will never forget where they were when they heard the news of President KennedyòÀÙs murder Alas, I have three such memories. The 2001 terror attacks in the […] -
Challenger remembered: An irony of history
Posted on January 28, 2011 | No CommentsToday is the anniversary of the deaths of the crew of the shuttle Challenger in 1986. The tragedy was of course recognised world-wide and letters of sympathy flooded in to […] -
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! […]