Astronomy for all
Friday March 12th 2010

Image of the Week

Tranquility module is hooked up to ISS Tranquility module is hooked »

Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick seen here during the second of their three planned spacewalks planned [...]


Tethys and Saturnian Rings Tethys and Saturnian Rings »

While browsing some images online I came across a site that reworks images from space and produces [...]


Enceladus – Cryovolcanism in Motion Enceladus – »

On Oct. 5, 2008, just after coming within 25 kilometers (15.6 miles) of the surface of Enceladus, [...]


Education

Your guide to finding Mars »

Your guide to finding Mars

January 2010 is a great time of year to find Mars in the night sky. Each evening it rises about 7.30 and it is easily identified with a very red glow in [Read More]


Ireland

Download the Astronomy Sky Guide 2010 for Free! Download the »

Free is good but quality is better....so when something is both free and of high quality [...]


Fireball reported over Ireland – but the video is fake… Fireball reported »

Editor comment: After posting this article, including the video the following comment was [...]


Blackrock Castle Observatory – Enjoy a Cosmic Christmas at the Castle Blackrock Castle »

OK this is pure advertisement for some friends! But since its for the cause of Education [...]


News Item of the Week

Symphony of Science latest release »

Finding new ways to deliver scientific content is tough, but here again John Boswell from Symphony of Science delivers. Recently released, "The Poetry of Reality", is a collection of  thoughts from 12 scientists offering their perspective on science. The collection now [Read More]

More News Item of the Week Headlines

The Universe

Betelgeuse in unprecedented detail

Betelgeuse in unprecedented detail

Betelgeuse is one of my favourite stars. Firstly it is easily identifiable as part of the Orion constellation and secondly did you know that it is actually the destination star for the original Planet of the Apes novel (in French by the way!). But on a more serious note it is a  semiregular variable star located approximately 640 light-years from [...]

Orions Belt in gorgeous detail

Orions Belt in gorgeous detail

Explanation: Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka, are the bright bluish stars from east to west (left to right) along the diagonal in this gorgeous cosmic vista. Otherwise known as the Belt of Orion, these three blue supergiant stars are hotter and much more massive than the Sun. They lie about 1,500 light-years away, born of Orion's well-studied [...]

The Known Universe

The Known Universe

Its crazy just how small a space we actually occupy in the known universe. This video is another attempt to show us just how big the universe is. It uses the usually technique of speed up by orders of magnitude as it moves away from the Earth. Somehow that doesn't quite give me a real sense of scope. It was well made and I liked the bit where it [...]

New Stunning Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image released

New Stunning Hubble Ultra Deep Field Image released

This is yet another astonishing image from Hubble. This is a new version of the Ultra Deep Field, in near-infrared light and taken with the newly installed Wide Field Camera 3. This image is of the same region as the visible Ultra Deep Field in 2004, but at longer wavelengths providing more information about the early Universe's history. We are [...]

What’s your Galactic address?

What’s your Galactic address?

Do you know where you live? Yes you know the country, but do you know where Earth is for example?  I once heard someone give their full address. It was quite funny and rather geeky. It went along the lines of the following.  Paul  Doyle,  Dublin,  Ireland,  Europe, Earth, The Sol System, Local Star System, Orion Spur of the The Milky [...]

13 reasons why Astronomy is so cool

13 reasons why Astronomy is so cool

Why is astronomy so cool? When you look at some of the concepts being wrestled with in cosmology and astronomy it is truly mind boggling. I decided to write this article after watching the video at the end of this article.  I wanted to expand on the video with some additional facts and give pointers to sites that discuss the ideas further for [...]

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Nolan, Kevin  
Mars, A Cosmic Stepping Stone Uncovering Humanity's Cosmic Context