Description
Armagh Planetarium is the longest running planetarium in the British Isles. The planetarium was opened in 1968 and celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.
An icon of the space age when inaugurated, the 12m diameter Dome has witnessed the development of planetarium technology over the past half century. Initially equipped with a starball Goto projector, Armagh then pioneered the introduction of the video revolution into planetaria in the 1970’s. Today, Armagh Planetarium is equipped with a state-of-the art digital projector system providing an immersive experience under the full dome.
Exhibition Area
Would you like to touch a real meteorite? Spin the clouds of Neptune? Create your own solar system, or perhaps a black hole? Our recently refreshed exhibition area features all of that and more: the history of astronomy in Armagh, the Solar System, stars, galaxies… Our new Sensory Room provides a fun yet relaxing area for discovering the wonders of space, and the PufferSphere displays invite you to take your own tour of the planets or of the wonders of the Earth.
Meteorites
Within the Exhibition Area can be seen our meteorite collection. These are stony or iron fragments from comets, asteroids or even planets that have survived passage through the atmosphere to reach the Earth’s surface. See the Bovedy meteorite that landed in Northern Ireland in 1969. Learn about Armagh’s role in its recovery. View the Crumlin meteorite that fell in Antrim in 1902. Touch a piece from the Campo del Cielo meteorite that fell in Argentina around 4,000 years ago. See a piece of our Moon that fell on Morocco in 2009.
Astropark
The Astropark is a scale model of the Universe, brought down to Earth in a beautiful natural setting. As you journey through the park you will get to interact with a scale model of the Solar System, the Universe, and more.
AOP Look Around
The ‘AOP Look Around’ augmented reality app will guide you through our Astropark grounds on two different types of outdoor trails. Our younger visitors can go on a journey around our grounds and woodland with the ‘Cosmo, Lost in Space’ trail. You can also purchase the accompanying workbook at the Planetarium reception to help Cosmo journey through space. If you are more interested in the history and heritage of the site, choose our ‘Astropark Journey’ trail and follow the app around the grounds.
Human Orrery
Armagh Observatory’s Human Orrery provides a unique investigation of planetary motion. It is also fun to use with the capacity to present fundamental ideas in astronomy, mathematics and space science to as wide an audience as possible.
Café
Just around the corner from the Planetarium reception we have our café! Pop in for an out of this world coffee and snack.
Weather Station
Our weather station within the grounds of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has been keeping weather records for over 200 years!
Data Visualisation Laboratory
The Data Visualisation Laboratory (DVL) brings the immersive experience of the planetarium dome to the researcher, providing tools for the visualisation of 3-dimensional data sets. Our DVL combines a panoramic display, a large wall-screen and virtual reality (VR) to provide visualisations of multi-dimensional data sets. On occasion public demonstrations are given where you can talk with an astronomer while going on tours of the cosmos using the panoramic display and the Digistar computer we use to generate our planetarium shows.
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