Castle completes cosmic transformation

FROM historic castle to cutting-edge observatory — Cork’s landmark Blackrock Castle has undergone a remarkable restoration that is set to popularise astronomy like never before.

Cork City Council and Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) marked the completion over the weekend of the €4 million project which has given the castle a new hi-tech lease of life as an observatory and visitor centre.

Scientists based at Ireland’s first robotic observatory will hunt the universe for new planets, potential planet killing objects, and quasars, the most powerful objects in the cosmos, which are found close to black holes.