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Tonight, tomorrow best times to see Perseid meteor shower

The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak tonight and tomorrow, making it the best time for stargazers to view the celestial fireworks.

Ireland • 12 Aug

Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will be visible to the naked eye while Neptune and Uranus can be seen through a telescope

Rare 'planet parade' to be visible over Ireland

A rare planetary alignment, which will see six planets line up in a row across the night sky, is due to take place from tonight for the first time since 2018.

Ireland • 21 Jan

'Fluffy' exoplanet WASP-107b shows potential signs of life (Image: Klaas Verpoest/Johan Van Looveren/LUCA School of Arts/KU Leuven)

Astronomers observe 'candyfloss' planet

Astronomers have observed a "fluffy" candyfloss-like planet around 200 light-years from Earth where it rains sand droplets, instead of water vapour.

News Lens • 16 Nov 23

The Moon seen during a partial lunar eclipse from Sydney in May

Stargazers prepare for partial lunar eclipse

Stargazers in Ireland are set to see a partial eclipse of the Moon tomorrow morning, as the Sun rises.

Ireland • 18 Nov 21

Dubliner Emily Cannon, an Astrophysics PhD student at KU Leuven in Belgium, has been investigating the mysterious dimming of the Betelgeuse star.

Irish PhD student helps solve mystery of dimming star

An Irish PhD student has been reflecting on the "incredible" experience of helping to solve the mystery of the dimming Betelgeuse star.

Astronomy • 18 Jun 21

The eclipse as seen in Blanchardstown in west Dublin (Pic: Tony Gannon, Astronomy Ireland)

Skies darkened under partial solar eclipse

A Partial Solar Eclipse, where almost half of the Sun's diameter was covered, was visible for around two-and-a-half hours this morning.

Ireland • 10 Jun 21

Skywatchers enjoy spectacular celestial event in Chile

The only total solar eclipse of 2020 crossed parts of Chile and Argentina on Monday afternoon, December 14, plunging the region into total darkness for a few minutes in the middle of the day.

newslens • 15 Dec 20

Skywatchers enjoy spectacular celestial event in Chile

The only total solar eclipse of 2020 crossed parts of Chile and Argentina on Monday afternoon, December 14, plunging the region into total darkness for a few minutes in the middle of the day.

News Lens • 15 Dec 20

View of the solar eclipse at La Silla Observatory in Chile

South Americans marvel at total solar eclipse

Hundreds of thousands of tourists scattered across the north Chilean desert to experience a total eclipse of the sun viewed from beneath the world's clearest skies.

World • 03 Jul 19

Joining ESO will mean Irish scientists will have access to the European Very Large Telescope

Ireland to join European Southern Observatory in 2018

The government has announced that funding will be provided in the budget for Ireland to join the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in 2018.

Science • 10 Oct 17

Prof Ray will use a range of instruments including those of the European Southern Observatory

Irish astronomer in €2m funding win

An Irish astronomer has won €2 million in funding from the European Research Council to study the birth of stars and planets.

Science • 10 Apr 17

Should Ireland join the European Southern Observatory?

Over the last couple of days on RTÉ News platforms, we’ve been exploring the structure, facilities, work and discoveries of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) – Europe’s foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation.

astronomy • 21 Sep 16

Artists impression of the flare on Mira which is situated 420 light years away (Pic: Katja Lindblom, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Researches observe gigantic flare on nearby star

A team of astronomers, including one from Ireland, have observed what they think is a gigantic flare on the surface of Mira, one of the closest and most famous red giant stars in the sky.

News • 29 May 15

The asteroid orbits the sun every 1.84 years and was discovered 11 years ago

Asteroid to make relatively close pass by Earth

An asteroid measuring about half a kilometre in diameter will make a relatively close, but harmless pass by Earth tonight.

News • 27 Jan 15

Artist's concept depicts Kepler-186f (Pic: NASA Ames/SETI Institute/JPL-Caltech)

First Earth-sized planet found in habitable zone

The hunt for potential life in outer space has taken a step forward as an international team of researchers has confirmed the existence of the first Earth-sized planet within the "habitable" zone of a star.

News • 18 Apr 14

Artist’s impression of a pulsar with a very high magnetic field (Pic: Ralph Eatough/MPIfR)

Irish astronomer involved in black hole discovery

An Irish astronomer is among an international group of researchers who have directly measured the magnetic field surrounding a black hole at the centre of our galaxy for the first time.

News • 15 Aug 13