Make sure you tune in…
You may not have known, but Birr in County Offaly has a big role to play in astronomy.
Back in the 1840’s, the Third Earl of Rosse designed and built the largest telescope in the world. It remained the biggest for 70 years, and through it’s use, the Earl discovered the spiral nature of some of the galaxies.
But if you wanted to witness this phenomenon, you had to go to Birr to look through the telescope (called the Leviathan), and people did from across Europe and beyond.
Now, a new I-LOFAR telescope which has been built on the grounds of Birr castle near the site of the Leviathan telescope.
13 Billion Light Years from Birr is the story of how one of the world’s most advanced telescopes will arrive in Ireland, it shows how this next-generation radio technology will be able to research the origin of the first galaxies, black holes and gas clouds seen at the birth of our universe when the first stars formed – an era beyond the reach of even the biggest optical telescopes.
It also opens up the possibility that if there is anybody out there, the first messages may be picked up on an antenna in County Offaly.
The one hour documentary is made by Midas Productions, and funded by RTÉ and the BAI through the Sound and Vision scheme.
13 Billion Light Years from Birr will air on Thursday, November 19 at 10.15pm on RTE1. It’s certainly worth tuning into to see how a relatively small town in Offaly has become a big player on the world stage of astronomy.
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