• The Proposal
• Introduction
• Ireland's Astronomical Heritage
• Science & Technology
• Technical Specifications
• Meetings & Events
• Photo Gallery
• Contact

Ireland's Astronomical Heritage

M51 as seen today with the Kitt Peak National Observatory, USA.

Drawing by the Third Earl of Rosse of the Whirlpool Galaxy, M51 as he saw it through his Leviathan telescope.

• The Neolithic Observatory at Newgrange was constructed some 5000 years ago
• The monks of Durrow Abbey, County Offaly, are believed to be the only Europeans to have left a written account describing observations of the supernova explosion of 1054, which created the Crab Nebula, so named by the Third Earl of Rosse
• The 72" Leviathan telescope was constructed in Birr, Co. Offaly by the Third Earl of Rosse and completed in 1845. It remained the largest telescope in the world for 50 years
• The first electronic measurement of starlight was made in 1892 by Willian S. Monck in his Earlsfort Terrace Observatory in Dublin
• The Grubb family of Rathmines, Dublin were world leaders in the design and manufacture of telescopes in the late 19th century
• Jocelyn Bell, born in Co. Down, co-discovered the first radio pulsar in 1967
• Ireland joined the European Space Agency in 1972
• Irish astronomors are actively contributing to a wide variety of ground and space based projects

Newgrange Observatory

Crab Nebula sketch by the Third Earl of Rosse

Leviathan Telescope

Jocelyn Bell