Welcome to Astronotes
Hello, I’m Colin, welcoming you to Astronotes, the Planetarium’s 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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Planets Archive
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8 Facts You Need to Know About the 2012 Transit of Venus
Posted on May 1, 2012 | No CommentsIt’s the beautiful clear morning of 6 June 2012 here in Armagh and the Sun is rising into a cerulean blue sky.But look closer, and you can see a tiny... -
Astronomer, Musician, Hero…Deserter?
Posted on February 24, 2012 | 1 CommentSir Frederick William Herschel is one of the most well-known and highly regarded historical astronomers but many may not know or realise there was more to his genius than his... -
To the Edge of Space
Posted on February 2, 2012 | 2 CommentsWhere does space begin? Let’s look up into our planet’s atmosphere, that shell of nitrogen (about 78%), oxygen (about 20%), various other gases (2%) that makes life on Earth possible,... -
Venus: Earth’s Sister Planet
Posted on January 17, 2012 | No CommentsVenus has always been regarded as Earth’s Sister Planet. After all, it can be the closest planet to us and it is nearly the same size as Earth. But how... -
Haumea: Rugby Ball Planet
Posted on September 30, 2011 | No CommentsDwarf planet Haumea is one of the most bizarre small bodies of the outer Solar System. It has an oddly recent surface. Even just who discovered it is controversial. It... -
Postcards from Mars
Posted on September 9, 2011 | No CommentsNASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has returned thousands of fascinating images of our neighbouring world, here is a selection some of the most striking and thought-provoking (false colour) images. Part of... -
Image of the Month: You are here!
Posted on August 31, 2011 | No CommentsThis portrait of the Earth and Moon together in space was taken on 26 August by NASA’s Juno spacecraft which is currently en route for Jupiter. The image was made... -
The Truth about Life on Mars (Part 3)
Posted on August 11, 2011 | No Comments“Is there life on Mars?” More than fifty years into the Space Age and there still is no definitive answer. Completing our series of posts on this mystery, we look... -
Mars: Summer’s Salty Tears?
Posted on August 5, 2011 | No CommentsCould water be streaming down Martian mountainsides? This startling vision may be a reality according to recent results from NASA’s MRO spacecraft. Here is the latest on the waters of... -
Vulcan: the Solar System’s Ghost Planet
Posted on July 19, 2011 | No CommentsWe have been celebrating the first Neptunian year since the discovery of the eighth (and as far as we know last) planet in the Solar System. Neptune’s discovery was a...