Astronomy

Armagh is a partner in two telescope projects whose key goal is to detect the optical counterpart of colliding massive dead stars. Albert Einstein predicted that when two massive objects spiral around each other, eventually merging to become one more massive object, gravitational waves would be emitted. Scientists spent a century building detectors to measure the effect of gravitational waves from these mergers sweeping past the Earth. In 2015 the two LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) instruments in the USA were able to detect the signal from two merging blackholes, followed two years later by two merging neutron stars. Because of the way these detectors work, it’s not currently possible to pin-point precisely where in the sky the event took place. If we can pinpoi...

The Black Eye Galaxy (Messier 64) is an impressive looking spiral galaxy. Image: Adam Block. There are so many bright galaxies to choose from in springtime, but one you definitely shouldn’t miss is the marvellous ‘Black Eye Galaxy’, or Messier 64. It’s a real crowd-pleaser lying among the stars of Coma Berenices that can be located in a finderscope or 10 x 50 binoculars.  M64’s very apt nickname is on account of the extraordinary feature of a dark, obscuring band of gas and dust on the north side of its nucleus, a special sight that doesn’t require a huge telescope to see and yields fine images through moderate-aperture telescopes. The Black Eye Galaxy (M64) lies among the stars of Coma Berenices. How to observe Messier 64 (NGC 4826) lies almost right in the middle of Coma Berenices, just...

No matter where we go in the universe, we’re going to need water. Thus far, human missions to Earth orbit and the Moon have taken water with them. But while that works for short missions, it isn’t practical in the long term. Water is heavy, and it would take far too much fuel to bring sufficient water to sustain long-term bases on the Moon or Mars. So we’ll have to use the water we can extract locally. Fortunately, water is a common molecule in the universe. Even the Moon has plenty of water to sustain a Lunar colony. The only real challenge is how to extract it. As a recent study shows, that might be as easy as popping things into a microwave oven. Although water is present in tiny quantities all over the Moon, it is most concentrated in the polar regions. Pockets of ice are concentrate...

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter. To be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”  – John Burroughs, Leaf and Tendril  Image Credit: Wikipedia So, it feels like the year has only just started, but we are well into spring now and the weather is getting warmer every day.  With the change of the clocks, we have longer evenings, which will encourage sitting outside and enjoying the natural world a bit more than we have over the past few months!  We can use the small and simple comfort of the night sky’s presence to guide us through the new month and make sure to take the opportunity to vie...