Posted by on Aug 7, 2014 in Main, News |

Armagh Planetarium was established by the seventh director of Armagh Observatory, Dr. Eric Lindsay, who, after twenty five years of effort, secured funding from local councils and the Ministry of Commerce of Northern Ireland in 1965.

In 1965 Sir Patrick Moore was appointed as Director of the Planetarium to oversee its construction. The planetarium cost £120,000 to build (included in this was £12,000 for the planetarium’s first projector) and was opened to the public on 1 May, 1968.

Since then it has undergone many alterations: the main building was extended in 1974 to incorporate the Lindsay Hall of Astronomy, and a dome was created to house a 16″ (400 mm) reflecting telescope for public use.

The Observatory is located close to the centre of the city of Armagh, adjacent to the Planetarium, in approximately 14 acres of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark, The Observatory was founded in 1789 by Richard Robinson who was Archbishop of Armagh.