ARMAGH
PLANETARIUM AND ULSTER MUSEUM CELEBRATE THE HST
On 24th April
over one thousand eager members of the public
descended upon the Ulster Museum in Belfast
to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the Hubble
Space Telescope. As you will see from the
photographs, the lecture hall was crowded
to capacity for the presentations given by
Robert Hill and the unveiling of the two new
Hubble heritage images. We have been informed
by the museum staff that this is the first
time in the history of the museum that they
have ever filled the lecture hall four times,
back to back!
(RIGHT)
MEMBERS
OR THE IRISH ASTRONOMICAL ASSOCIATION ANSWER
QUESTIONS AT THEIR STAND.
Visitors witnessed live
observing sessions from the incredible two
metre Faulkes Telescope in Hawaii, with children
as young as seven years old getting the opportunity
to control the huge telescope and locate celestial
objects of their choosing. This was actually
slightly nerve-wrecking as the telescope was
not focusing properly the day before the event.
Our thanks to the Faulkes team in Cardiff
and Hawaii for putting in a tremendous effort
to ensure good quality viewing.
(LEFT)
STUDENTS FROM THE ROYAL BELFAST ACADEMICAL
INSTITUTION DISPLAY THEIR ASTRONOMY PROJECT
AND SCALE MODEL OF HUBBLE.
Click
on image for a larger view.
Also participating in the event
were members from the Irish Astronomical Association
and students and teachers from Methodist College
and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution,
the latter showing off their own scale model
of the Hubble Telescope. Their participation
was greatly appreciated by Museum and Planetarium
staff and really helped to make the day such
a fabulous success.
(LEFT)
ALL AGES ENJOYING THE WONDERS OF HUBBLE.
Click
on image for a larger view.
Special thanks to Dr Geraldine MacCartney
and her team from the Ulster
Museum for making the event run so smoothly
and Lars Lindberg Christensen of the Hubble
European Space Agency Information Centre
for his assistance throughout this unique
project.
