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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
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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
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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 officially opened on 1 May 1968, although it had been open to the public for some months before that. Since
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projectors to provide the show’s special effects, eliminating entirely the need for dozens of slide projectors. Video tape recorders were very new and rare at this time and this research was very ambitious with many technical hurdles standing in the way. Off-the-shelf video projectors had to be
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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
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optically and electronically modified to present natural-looking images of celestial bodies on the dome. The system he introduced remained in place until computer controlled
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81:. The Armagh Astropark, which opened in 1994, is a scale model of the solar system and the Universe contained in the grounds of the Armagh Observatory, with scale-sized
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Roman IIb (1977–1994), which is still in use in its current home at South Downs
Planetarium in England. The first digital projector installed in Armagh was an
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On 7 December 2006, the Armagh
Planetarium building was dedicated to the memory of Eric Lindsay in a ceremony led by Archbishop
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then it has undergone many alterations: the main building was extended in 1974 to incorporate the
Lindsay Hall of
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In 1968, the Planetarium was founded, and it celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018.
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Armagh Planetarium was established by the seventh director of Armagh Observatory, Dr.
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in approximately fourteen acres of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark.
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Armagh Planetarium pioneered the introduction of an electronic
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for public use, currently the largest public telescope in
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Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library & Archive
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Official site of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium
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313:"Armagh Planetarium marks 50th anniversary"
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376:"Armagh Planetarium Welcomes New Director"
333:. Oxford University Press. December 2001.
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548:Archbishop's Palace (Church of Ireland)
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331:"Obituaries: Thomas Rackham 1919–2001"
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841:Science museums in Northern Ireland
445:Places of Interest in County Armagh
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382:from the original on 28 June 2019
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181:Rolls-Royce rocket engine exhibit
851:Planetaria in the United Kingdom
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340:10.1046/j.1468-4004.2001.42635.x
319:from the original on 3 May 2018.
105:Directors of Armagh Planetarium
293:List of science centers#Europe
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410:Biography of Dr. Eric Lindsay
378:. Astronotes. 1 August 2016.
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501:Churches and religious sites
651:Slieve Gullion Passage Tomb
519:Church of Ireland Cathedral
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746:The Manor House, Loughgall
635:Slieve Gullion Forest Park
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661:Ballymacdermot Court Tomb
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846:Museums in County Armagh
771:MacNeill's Egyptian Arch
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283:across the entire dome.
565:Armagh Robinson Library
764:Transport and industry
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200:audience participation
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644:Prehistoric landmarks
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215:The Planetarium today
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831:Astronomy in Ireland
620:Maghery Country Park
594:Royal School, Armagh
532:Seagoe Parish Church
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227:system, an advanced
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615:Gosford Forest Park
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58:Eric Mervyn Lindsay
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608:and outdoor spaces
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315:. 3 May 2018.
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384:. Retrieved
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777:Newry Canal
755:Tynan Abbey
701:Abbey House
574:Planetarium
569:Observatory
561:Armagh Gaol
247:Robin Eames
209:Ian Ridpath
137:Ian Griffin
34:planetarium
825:Categories
795:54°21′07″N
731:Eden House
707:The Argory
686:Navan Fort
386:27 January
299:References
233:Digistar 3
149:1996–2015
146:Tom Mason
141:1990–1995
131:1971–1989
123:1968–1971
115:1965–1968
798:6°38′56″W
192:laserdisc
71:telescope
67:Astronomy
380:Archived
317:Archived
287:See also
272:Minolta
268:planets
166:2016 –
91:planets
75:Ireland
52:History
666:Dorsey
587:(Part)
220:a new
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187:video
32:is a
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362:help
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
