The Observatory is located close to the centre of the city of Armagh, adjacent to the Armagh Planetarium in approximately of landscaped grounds known as the Armagh Astropark. It was founded in 1789 by The Most Rev. and Rt Hon. The 1st Baron Rokeby, Church of IrelandLord Primate of All Ireland and Lord Archbishop of Armagh. In 1795 through 1797 Solar observations were made at Armagh, including measurements of sunspots. Ernst Julius Öpik was based here for over 30 years and among his many contributions to astrophysics he wrote of the dangers of an asteroid impacting on the Earth. One of the observatory's directors, Thomas Robinson invented the cup anemometer. In 1949, a plan was put forth to establish an Armagh Planetarium. Eventually, in 1968 the Planetarium was founded, under its first Director, Patrick Moore. It celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2018. In 2018, the observatory was given an award by Centennial Weather Station Award from the World Meteorological Organisation for 224 years of unbroken weather recordings. The records go back to 1794 and are also made available on the internet in the early 21st century. In modern times the Observatory along with the nearby Planetarium and 14-acre Astropark are noted tourist attraction and education centre. The gardens, historical telescopes, and various astronomically related devices such as sundials are among some of the exhibits for visitors.
Facilities
There are scale models of the Solar System and the Universe, two sundials and historic telescopes, as well as telescope domes and other outdoor exhibits. The Human Orrery, launched in 2004, is located close to the main Observatory building. The Observatory's specialist library and archives, and collections of scientific instruments and artefacts associated with the development of modern astronomy, represent one of the leading collections of its kind in the British Isles.
Instruments
A Troughton refracting telescope of 2.5 inch aperture was installed in a dome in 1795. The telescope was manufactured by J & E Troughton of London, and is noted for its late 18th centurybrass metal work. This is also called the Troughton Equatorial Telescope, for having an equatorial mounting. The observatory had an Earnshaw Regulator. A Earnshaw regulator is a type of clock invented in 1791, that was valued for its accuracy. In the early 1800s it was reported to have a mural circle instrument. Another instrument at the observatory is a sunshine recorder. In the 1830s the observatory bought a 15-inch reflecting telescope from Grubb. The telescope used a metal mirror mounted on an equatorial mount with clockwork-drive. In 1885, a ten-inch aperture objective lens telescope was installed, also Grubb telescope. This was installed in the Robinson dome. The observatory also has some meridian marks in the area, which look like stone arches that were used to mark the location of the meridian for astronomical instruments. There is also another that is an iron obelisk. The first meridian mark was built in 1793, and is in Tullyard, and it was used with the transit instrument. In 2005, two wide-angle cameras for a meteor detection systems were installed.
Research
The records of temperature take at Armagh Observatory between 1844 and 2004 were analyzed in 2006 research paper.
