All the stars a stage…
A planetarium is a theatre where visitors can enjoy entertaining and educational shows about the wonders of the Universe. The audience sits back in comfortable seats to watch as stars, planets and spacecraft are shown in full-colour on the surface of the planetarium’s dome as narration, sound effects and music take the audience on a journey through space.
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The first planetaria
The modern planetarium was invented in Germany in the 1920s. Traditionally the planetarium projector used powerful lights shining through hundreds of tiny holes to project the images of stars on the dome. Usually the projector was a large dumbbell-shaped machine sitting in the centre of the dome.
Armagh Planetarium’s first projector: GOTO Mars from Japan around 1970 (Credit: Pat Corvan)
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Planetaria spread around the world
Planetaria became popular worldwide after the Second World War. Since then audiences have been fascinated by spectacular star shows. As technology has become more sophisticated, the audience’s experience has become ever more thrilling and realistic. Ours was the first planetarium in Ireland, and is by now the longest-serving planetarium in the British Isles!
Armagh Planetarium’s classic Viewlex-Minolta dumbbell projector (1970s)
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Building Armagh Planetarium
Armagh Planetarium is the brainchild of Dr Eric Lindsay, Director of Armagh Observatory. He first proposed the idea in 1943 and worked towards its realisation for over two decades. The Planetarium was built in the late 1960s and opened on 1st May 1968. The building was designed by the Lurgan-born architect G. Phillip Bell, and the Planetarium’s first Director was Sir Patrick Moore, who travelled to Japan to procure its first projector system.
The public imagination was gripped by the final stages of the Space Race – the race to the Moon – which likely helped the immediate popularity of the new place for space in Northern Ireland.
Armagh Planetarium in 1968
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Innovations in the Planetarium
Through our long history, Armagh Planetarium has led a number of innovation in the planetarium industry. Of particular note is the introduction of video into the dome shows, pioneered by Director Terence Murtagh.
Our historic first video projection system mounted under the Viewlex-Minolta dumbbell projector in 1978
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Evolution of the Exhibitions
The original Armagh Planetarium building only had a small amount of exhibition space in the ground-floor entrance hall. Soon, however, a need for more space to showcase the latest advances in astronomy and space travel became clear. The first expansion was the Lindsay Hall of Astronomy, opened in 1974. We have been expanding and improving our exhibitions ever since, and hosted some fascinating objects over the years.
Main exhibition hall of Armagh Planetarium in 2021
