armagh observatory

The earliest recorded astronomical observations in Armagh were made by members of the religious colleges in the early middle ages and were later compiled in the Annals of Ulster. Archbishop Richard Robinson, the rich and influential Church of Ireland Primate from 1765 to 1794, decided to include an observatory in the plans for his primatial city.

He employed Francis Johnston, the celebrated architect, to design the building and ordered from London the best equipment available at that time (1790). Eventually, Robinson hoped to incorporate tthe Observatory in a University of Armagh, but this wish was not fulfilled.
During the period following the second world war the Armagh-Dunsink-Harvard Telescope, the first large southern Schmidt telescope, was set up as a collaborative venture by the two governmetns of Ireland and Harvard University.

The Observatory is now a resarch institute funded by the N.I. Department of Education. Most of the research is in the field of active cool stars and the sun. These stars, like the sun, show spots as well as energetic electromagnetic outbusts in their atmospheres. Unravelling the mechanism that produces these so-called flares may eventuallly lead to the dicovery of alternate energy sources for the world's energy needs.

Very bright, hot stars on the brink of instability, where you can learn much about the behavious of matter under extreme conditions, are also studied. The Observatory's historical main builidng is an architectural gem surrounded by beautiful gardnes. There are two sundials and visitors have free access to the dome which houses the main telescope.
Surrounding all this is the AstroPark, which encompasses a scale model solar system, a miniature universe of stars and galaxies, and a stone calendar.