Members of the public were last night given their first glimpse of the Blackrock Castle Observatory when the refurbished 17th century building hosted the launch of Cork Institute of Technology's programme for Science Week.
The castle has been restored by Cork City Council at a cost of €4 million. It will house an observatory as well as an exhibition centre with an interactive facility where people can study a huge range of phenomena from throughout the universe.
Dr Niall Smith, head of research at CIT, said the observatory will feature both a robotic optical telescope and a radio telescope which will allow students to see planets and galaxies as well as stars and near earth objects such as meteors.
"Blackrock isn't a very dark sky site because of the ambient lighting, but we can still see a huge amount from there, while we also will be connected to telescopes in Greece and South Africa which will allow for extra possibilities," he said.
Dr Smith said the cosmos at the castle project will also operate a public outreach programme whereby students from schools will be able to come in and learn about the universe and hopefully develop an interest in science.
"Anyone coming in will be able to explore all the major phenomena in the night sky. Hopefully it will prove an exciting way for not just kids but for adults too to learn about science," said Dr Smith who specialises in astrophysics.
Among the major attractions at the landmark neo-Gothic castle is the interactive exhibition centre where students can get the chance to see a wide range of space related activities and participate in simulated situations.
"Children will get the chance to see how it feels to fly a spaceship or what it's like to float in space by stepping into a special capsule. We'll even have a space buggy which can be operated by remote control from a classroom situation," he said.
"People can learn about science in lots of ways and astrophysics as a medium can be very exciting."