This MISR nadir-camera image of Ireland was acquired on
May 5, 2000 during Terra orbit 2026. The location of the
town of Armagh in Northern Ireland is marked. Armagh is
the site of the 200-year-old Armagh Observatory. The
observatory's contributions to astronomical research were
recently commemorated by the official naming of two
asteroids, "ArmaghObs" and "Ardmacha". The latter is the
ancient Gaelic name for the town, which was founded in
445 A.D. by St. Patrick.
The asteroids were discovered in July 1987 by planetary
astronomer Eleanor Helin, Principal Investigator of JPL's
Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program. The new
names were published in the January 2001 Minor Planet
Circular of the International Astronomical Union.
The Irish Sea and the Isle of Man are located on the
right-hand side of this image. Southwestern Scotland is
visible in the upper right corner, and portions of
northwestern Wales can be seen in the lower right.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
|
