Experts from the Dunsink Observatory explain how they conduct scientific research about the night sky.
Dunsink Observatory located in Castleknock, west Dublin, has been in existence since 1785 as an observatory and astronomical research centre for Trinity College Dublin.
Professor Brück Astronomer and Director of Dunsink Observatory explains that one of the main instruments used for scientific research here is the South Refractor. It has a twelve inch lens which collects 2500 times as much light as the human eye and therefore brings the object nearer, enabling astronomers to
See faint objects that you couldn't see with the naked eye.
The other telescope has a fifteen inch lens and was designed for use with photography. One factor that astronomers must take into consideration is the precise position of instruments. This is no simple matter, says Chief Assistant Mr Butler, because the stars are,
Moving across the sky the whole time.
'The Microphone : Diamonds in the Sky' was broadcast on Radio Éireann on 10 May 1949. The reporter is PP Maguire.
