Armagh Planetarium

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Coordinates: 54°21′07″N 6°38′56″W / 54.352°N 6.649°W / 54.352; -6.649
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Armagh Planetarium

Armagh Planetarium is a planetarium in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is located close to the city centre and neighbouring Armagh Observatory in approximately fourteen acres of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark.

History

Armagh Planetarium was established by the seventh director of Armagh Observatory, Dr.

planets
.

In 1968, the Planetarium was founded, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.[1]

List of directors

Directors of Armagh Planetarium
Patrick Moore 1965–1968
Thomas Rackham[2] 1968–1971
Terence Murtagh 1971–1989
Ian Griffin 1990–1995
Tom Mason 1996–2015
Directors of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
Michael G. Burton[3] 2016 –

Technical innovation

Rolls-Royce rocket engine exhibit

Under the directorship of Terence Murtagh in the 1970s, Armagh Planetarium introduced many new technologies. Murtagh recognised the possibility of exploiting the new technology of

laserdisc
players replaced the videotape players in the 1980s. This development was a great success and Armagh Planetarium was the first planetarium in the world to project video on its dome. Other planetaria around the world followed this lead.

Armagh Planetarium pioneered the introduction of an electronic

audience participation system. This allowed the audience to control the show themselves. Each seat was fitted with a small keypad, using this device the audience could use their buttons to respond to multiple-choice quizzes in the show, be polled on their preferences and even steer the direction of the show by selecting the topics. Space Odyssey, created in Armagh in the 1980s and scripted by Ian Ridpath
, was the world’s first ever completely interactive planetarium show. This innovation has spread to planetaria worldwide.

The Planetarium today

Before reopening on 31 July 2006, Armagh Planetarium underwent a major refurbishment. The building was totally refurbished to make it more comfortable and environmentally friendly. These improvements saw the complete rebuilding of the Digital Theatre to accommodate 93 visitors and the installation of a new

Digistar 3 fulldome video
projection system.

Armagh Planetarium maintains an outreach programme. Planetarium staff travel to venues such as schools and science festivals to deliver presentations on astronomy and other sciences. A thirty-seat inflatable planetarium is used for most of these visits.

On 7 December 2006, the Armagh Planetarium building was dedicated to the memory of Eric Lindsay in a ceremony led by Archbishop Robin Eames.

The projectors

Armagh Planetarium has used a series of projectors of increasing sophistication and capability. The first projector was the Goto Mars (1968–1977), an example of advanced 1960s technology. It included individual lamps to project images of the

Evans and Sutherland Digistar 1 (1994–1995). Armagh was the first planetarium in the UK to use this new technology but it was soon replaced by the even more advanced Digistar 2 (1995–2006). The latest Digistar 7 is a new state-of-the-art computer system projecting full-colour fulldome video
across the entire dome.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Armagh Planetarium marks 50th anniversary". Archived from the original on 3 May 2018.
  2. doi:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2001.42635.x. Retrieved 27 January 2021. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help
    )
  3. ^ "Armagh Planetarium Welcomes New Director". Astronotes. 1 August 2016. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Armagh Planetarium.

54°21′07″N 6°38′56″W / 54.352°N 6.649°W / 54.352; -6.649

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