Armagh is home to the first public planetarium and observatory on the island of Ireland.
The Armagh Planetarium opened in 1968, with its popular star shows, visitors could view images of stars and planets in the night sky in its specially designed dome. The planetarium has attracted amateur astronomers as well as school tours.
Now the moon and planets can be viewed in real time, thanks to the installation of a new telescope observatory. The telescope it self has a 16 inch Cassegrain reflector.
Noted astronomer Patrick Moore was the planetarium’s first director until 1972. The current director Terence Murtagh explains the facility in Armagh now consists of a planetarium, a hall of astronomy and the new public observartory. All of which offer a terrific amenity for education in astronomy. On clear nights, visitors will be treated to views of the moon in great detail and the planet Jupiter with its cloud belts.
The hall of astronomy has hands-on exhibits such as samples of meteorites. Rock from the Bovedy meteorite which landed near Kilrea, County Derry in 1969 is the remainder of a small part of huge fireball which was seen to cross the sky.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 11 November 1975. The reporter is Rowan Hand.
