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2024-03-31-accounts

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Annual Report and Accounts For the year ended 31 March 2024

Laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly under clause 8 of The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, as amended by Schedule 1, clause 6 of the Audit and Accountability (Northern Ireland) Order 2003, by the Department for Communities

on

18 November 2024

© Armagh Observatory and Planetarium copyright 2024. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. To view this licence visit: - - www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open government licence/version/3/.

Any enquiries regarding this publication should be sent to info@armagh.ac.uk or telephone 028 3752 3689.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Annual Report and Accounts For the year ended 31 March 2024

Pages
The Trustees’ Annual Report 1 – 25
Remuneration and Staff Report 26 – 29
Statement of the Responsibilities of the Governors and Accounting Officer 30
Governance Statement 31 – 40
Publications 41 – 45
Presentations 46 – 51
Education and Outreach 52 – 54
The Certificate and Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to The
Northern Ireland Assembly 55 – 58
Statement of Financial Activities 59
Balance Sheet 60
Cash Flow Statement 61
Notes to the Financial Statements 62 – 74

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The Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2024

The Board of Governors and Management Committee, who are the Trustees for Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) have pleasure in presenting the annual report and financial statements for this charity for the year ended 31 March 2024. These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts, with the guidance issued by the Department of Finance on the form and contents of the Annual Reports and Accounts of Executive Non-Departmental Public Bodies, The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The Remuneration and Staff report is prepared in accordance with the direction set out in The Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) 2023-24.

The sponsor Department for Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is the Department for Communities (DfC) (the Department).

Background to Charitable Status

Historically the Armagh Observatory and the Armagh Planetarium were treated as being distinct institutions; being two component divisions of a single statutory corporation and arms-length body (ALB), ‘The Governors of The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’ as described in The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 .

The principal function of the Armagh Observatory, founded in 1789 as part of Archbishop Richard Robinson’s vision to see the creation of a university in the City of Armagh, is to undertake original research of a world-class academic standard that broadens and expands our understanding of astronomy and related sciences.

The Armagh Planetarium was founded by Dr Eric Mervyn Lindsay, the seventh director of the Armagh Observatory, and was officially opened on 1 May 1968. The Planetarium’s primary activity is to disseminate scientific and technical knowledge of a wide range of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) subjects, and to promote public understanding of astronomy and science through its programme of educational services for schools and the wider public.

From 1 April 2016 the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland registered The Governors of The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, (changed to The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in 2023) as a charity under reference number NIC 103948 .

Objectives and Activities

The organisation’s statutory functions are set out at Article 4 of The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (the Order). The Order requires that ‘ the Governors shall, for the purpose of developing and improving the knowledge, appreciation and practice of astronomy and related sciences, maintain and manage the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium and may take such other action as the Governors may think proper for the purpose of acquiring or disseminating knowledge relating to astronomy and related sciences’.

In accordance with Paragraph 8(1) of Schedule 1 of the Order, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (AOP) Board of Governors has delegated the primary responsibility for the governance and management of AOP to a Management Committee with the statutory purpose of ‘developing and improving the knowledge, appreciation and practice of astronomy and related sciences’.

The AOP Management Committee has corporate responsibility for ensuring that AOP fulfils the aims and objectives set by the Department for Communities (our sponsor Department) and approved by the Minister and for promoting the efficient, economic and effective use of resources.

As the primary responsibility for the governance and management of AOP has been delegated to a Management Committee, the Governors considered the role of Charity Trustees would more appropriately align with their remit too. The Board of Governors agreed in principle to this. The Charity Commission of Northern Ireland recommended that the Members of the Management Committee be appointed as Trustees for the Charity alongside the Members of the Board of Governors. Accordingly, both the Members of the Board of Governors and the Members of the Management Committee are Charity Trustees.

Armagh Observatory is the oldest scientific institution in Northern Ireland, and the longest continuously operating astronomical research institute in the UK and Ireland. Armagh Planetarium is also the oldest operating planetarium in the UK and Ireland.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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Our Mission:

“Our mission is the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the cosmos, and the sharing of that knowledge in order to inspire future generations and enrich the intellectual, economic, social and cultural life of all.”

Our Vision:

“Our vision is to be recognised as an international centre of scientific excellence for the pursuit of astronomy and the public understanding of science, for our capacity for innovation and our extraordinary heritage, a place our community can be proud of.”

The organisation operates on the international stage and is underpinned by core funding from the Department and the receipt of external grants from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), and other grantawarding bodies.

A Strategic Plan for 2021-26 was launched in September 2021 and this is now being implemented. The strategy is built around four strategic themes – Enduring Relevance, National and International Standing, Offering More and Pursuing our Priorities.

As at 31 March 2024, there were 29.8 full time equivalent permanent employees which comprised approximately one-third Research, one-third Education and one-third Corporate. Additionally, there were 3.6 full time equivalent temporary employees, some of whom were engaged on short term temporary projects. AOP also employs a number of casual staff on an ad hoc basis to meet operational needs. In addition, there is an Emeritus Director, an Emeritus Research Astronomer and 8 external research associates and academic visitors who are unpaid.

Public Benefits

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have regard to the guidance on Public Benefit produced by the Charities Commission of Northern Ireland under Section 4 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (the public benefit requirement statutory guidance) and that this has informed the activities of the organisation in the year to 31 March 2024. This is demonstrated in the following summary of Principal Activities which provides detail on how the organisation has delivered against its objectives and the public benefit which has flowed from this.

Principal Activities

Introduction to AOP Research and its International Standing

AOP is one of the oldest scientific research institutes in the UK and Ireland with a long-established reputation of research excellence. It is also one of very few astronomical institutions in the world to have a modern planetarium through which its research can be effectively communicated and where a research-informed outreach and public engagement activity can be sustained.

AOP is strategically engaged in front-line research in several key areas of astrophysics. These range from the study of our Sun and the Solar System to that of distant galaxies, in keeping with the long and varied history of scientific achievements of the Armagh Observatory and with the desire to be perceived by the public as leaders in of all strands of astronomical research that are communicated through the Planetarium.

Typically, around a third of AOP research is funded by the award of project-specific external grants mainly from the STFC, together with several ad hoc grants. These grants support projects led by individual research astronomers with the provision of PhD scholarships, post-doctoral research assistant salaries, computing equipment and observation/conference travel funding. Early in 2024, AOP researchers secured one new STFC grant providing funding for one Post-Doctoral Research Assistant (PDRA) plus salary staff contribution and estate costs until March 2027. AOP researchers also secured Leverhulme Trust funding to support an additional PDRA who will be dedicated to solar-system studies based on the use of immersive technologies and AOP’s data visualisation laboratory.

AOP research requires the use of state-of-the-art observing and computing facilities internationally in order to obtain new astronomical data and allow their analysis. STFC and UK government support provides access to world-class international facilities, and AOP research staff regularly win telescope time on some of the best and most soughtafter telescopes in the world such as the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) or the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

In addition, through the AOP’s membership of the UK SALT Consortium, its research staff have access to the 11metre diameter Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). Similarly, AOP is also a founder member of the international Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) project; a member of the UK consortia involved

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in building the detectors for Inouye Solar Telescope (IST); LOFAR (Low Frequency Array) radio telescope project and a consortium member of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) gamma-ray observatory and the BlackGem project which conducts optical surveys from Chile. Finally, AOP is in a leadership position for nearly a quarter of all the observing time dedicated to Large Programs run by the 15-meter diameter James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) in Hawaii which detects sub-mm radio waves.

These facilities can be extremely expensive to run (e.g., the running cost of one observing night at VLT is about £40,000 and a mid-size observing program with HST would be ten times more) so that through the award of their use, the international astronomical community essentially entrusts astronomers at Armagh to make effective use of the data. On average AOP researchers secure telescope time corresponding to a value of more than £300,000 per year, and the value of the telescope time obtained at facilities to which AOP has unique access far outweighs the costs of such arrangements.

AOP research staff also play a full role in the international astronomical community. For instance, they serve on committees of bodies such as the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) - with three commission vice-presidents and two former presidents, ESO time allocation panels, assess grant and research proposals on behalf of external funding agencies, review scientific papers and edit international academic journals, and act as external PhD examiners in the UK and beyond. AOP researchers also sit on scientific advisory panels or lead specific projects with future ground-based observing facilities (Vera Rubin Observatory, ELT-METIS, VLT-BlueMUSE), space satellites and missions (European Space Agency’s future Plato and Comet Interceptor missions) and large-scale surveys (MOONs).

The international reputation of AOP research staff is also testified by their ability to attract their international peers to Armagh either on research visits or organising international conferences and workshops at the Planetarium. This year was rather exceptional as regards the latter, as AOP welcomed over 120 delegates during three back-to-back research conferences in September 2023, which were delivered thanks to the concerted efforts of AOP staff and students and to funding from both the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Council and the RAS.

Finally, AOP research staff are involved in the training of PhD students who also play a key part in AOP outreach and public engagement activity. AOP students are usually registered at Queen University Belfast (QUB), through an advantageous student fee arrangement that over time has allowed AOP to attract students from all over the world and achieve a vibrant diversity in our cohort that in turn prepares our students to be STEM champions, promoting equal opportunities in physics when they help at the Planetarium. This year AOP underwent a quinquennial review of the memorandum of agreement with QUB for the supervision of PhD students. This had a positive outcome, commending the AOP PhD program, the quality of our underlying research and the unique research environment, with a recommendation to setup an AOP/QUB studentship to further joint research opportunities.

Research Highlights

To provide a practical understanding of how the work of AOP research contributes to the region’s international reputation and understanding of the cosmos, the following provides some highlights of the research undertaken at AOP in the financial year. This draws from international collaborations and the award of observing time on highly competitive facilities, as well as direct support from the Department allowing AOP to participate in several key international projects (such as SALT, GOTO, IST, I-LOFAR, Comet Interceptor, CTA and BlackGem). Full bibliographic references can be found in the publication list appended to this report.

Stellar and Galaxy Evolution

Introduction

When we look up on a dark night, we may think that stars are immutable and isolated. Yet, although stars can live for as long as the age of the Universe, they can also undergo dramatic changes in matter of seconds. They are also not isolated from other stars. Some are found in pairs or tight groups and more generally stars are related to each other through the very way in which they form and evolve. Stars are born from giant clouds of gas and return matter to those clouds, seeding the birth of new stars as they fade away or sometimes explode in dramatic events. Furthermore, stars produce the heavy elements necessary for the formation of rocky planets and of life as we know it.

In turn, the formation history of stars relates to the formation and evolution of the galaxies that contain them. Some galaxies no longer appear to form stars, unlike the case of the Milky Way. This may depend on whether fresh gas is available around them, on whether they have collided with other galaxies in the past or possibly also on whether their central supermassive black hole suddenly becomes active and pours out tremendous amounts of energy capable of clearing its host galaxy of any star-forming gas material. Finally, galaxies are carried by the general expansion of the Universe and the evolution of the dominant, yet unknown dark-matter material in which they themselves are embedded. Understanding the formation and evolutions of stars and galaxies therefore ultimately means understanding our origin in relation to the very fabric of the Universe.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

Recent results

AOP stellar studies range from the most massive and brightest young stars to the faintest and ageing stars or stellar remnants such as white dwarfs and black holes.

The research in the group of Professor Jorick Vink is both theoretical and observational and is supported by STFC grants run in collaboration with Keele and York Universities. The theoretical work focuses on understanding of the formation of the heaviest stars and stellar black holes in the Universe. These stars are up to 10 million times brighter than the Sun. Key science questions involve the production of pair instability supernovae, where the entire star is disrupted, and one such event enriching galaxies with more heavy elements than all the lower mass stars combined. Recent studies lead by Vink’s students and post-doctoral research assistants uncovered that the most massive stars undergo strong wind mass loss (e.g. Sabhahit et al. 2023; Higgins et al. 2023 ). On the observational side, Vink is leading an ESO-VLT Large Programme called X-Shooting ULLYSES (XShootU; Vink et al. 2023 ) with a team of ~100 massive stars experts from around the globe trying to understand the stellar and mass-loss properties of massive star in pristine low-metallicity environments of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. These environments provide a key stepping stone to understand the very first stars in the distant Universe, which were likely very massive. Based on observations with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) of the discovery of huge amounts of Nitrogen in the distant Universe, Vink suggested that very massive stars (VMS) are the key sources (Vink 2023). Together with Gautham Sabhahit, Vink developed a new mass-loss framework for how the most massive stars evolve until they collapse into a black hole (Vink and Sabhahit 2023) In collaboration with Drs Aline Vidotto and Luca Fossati, the proceedings of IAU Symposium 370 with the Topic: “Winds from Stars and Exo-planets” were published (Vidotto, Fossati and Vink 2023).

The vast majority of stars will end their life as a “white dwarf”, a very compact object with a mass comparable to that of the Sun but a size similar to that of the Earth. Stefano Bagnulo, working with AOP Visitor John Landstreet, led an international team of scientists in discovering a unique signature of the process by which white dwarf stars cannibalise their planetary systems. The research was conducted using the ESO’s Chile-based VLT and outlines how a scar has been found imprinted on the surface of a magnetic white dwarf called WD0816-310. This object is an Earth-sized remnant of a star in the neighbourhood of our Solar System. The scar is a visible by-product of the process by which white dwarfs ingest the surrounding planets and asteroids that they are born with them. The scar is composed of a concentration of metals that originate from a planetary fragment as large as, or possibly larger than, the asteroid Vesta, which is about 500 kilometres across. The observations also provide clues as to how the star got its metal scar. The strength of the metal detection in the star changes as the star rotates, suggesting that the metals are concentrated on a specific area on the star’s surface. The team found that these changes were synchronised with fluctuations of the white dwarf’s magnetic field and discovered that the metal scar is located at one of the star’s magnetic poles. This shows that the metals were funnelled onto the star by its magnetic field, so creating the scar. This research was the subject of an ESO press release (https://www.eso.org/public/news/eso2403/) that has attracted media attention at international level. Bagnulo has capitalised on the impact of his research by the organisation of a 4-week workshop in Garching (Germany) on stellar magnetic fields at the Munich Institute for Astro and Particle Physics (MIAPP) in October 2023 (https://www.munich-iapp.de/magnetic-fields).

Stars may pass through a number of stages after leaving the long-lived hydrogen-burning phase and becoming white dwarfs. Many become red giants, and a few become hot subdwarfs. Professor Simon Jeffery and his team study the latter, including stars that are in transition from one to another. By studying their distribution in the Galaxy, the team has shown that the extreme helium stars must come from both old and recent star formation ( Philip Monai et al. 2023 ). Some hot subdwarfs evolving to become white dwarfs show large-amplitude pulsations, but their precise histories remain obscure ( Zhang et al. 2023 ) . Other hot subdwarfs have surface which are excessively rich in unusual elements such as lead. The team is working to discover whether this excess is of nuclear origin or due to the formation of thin clouds in their atmospheres ( Scott et al. 2024, in press ) .

Linking to external galaxies, Marc Sarzi’s main research focus remained the impact of galactic environment of galaxy evolution, particularly in dense cluster such as the Fornax cluster. For this he is pursuing follow up studies stemming from his past Fornax3D survey and relating to the evolution of cold-gas reservoirs around galaxies in Fornax while connecting this information to their star-formation formation history. The work led by his PDRA ( Loni et al. 2023 ) exemplifies this approach, as it showed how the particular morphology of the peculiar galaxy NGC1436 is the result of a recent stripping of its outer gas reservoirs as this galaxy flew by the centre of the Fornax cluster, a process that also triggered a tremendous amount of star formation in the inner part of this galaxy. This is causing NGC1436 to gradually transform from a spiral to a lenticular galaxy, through an environmental process that may indeed contribute to explain the prominent lack of spiral galaxies in cluster environments. Future work combining Fornax3D MUSE data with S-PLUS imagining data ( Smith Castelli et al. 2024, in press ) will lead to even better reconstructions for the star-formation history of Fornax galaxies. The formation history of galaxies in dense environment is also dominated by direct interactions between galaxies. The impact of such encounters can be particularly well traced when focussing on the most fragile structures in galaxies, such as stellar disks. This was done by Sarzi’s PhD student Pablo Galan de Anta through two sophisticated computer simulation studies ( Galan de Anta et al. 2023 a,b )

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A landmark survey of the molecular gas distribution in along the plane of Galaxy has been published by AOP. The programme was conceived by the Director in 2009 with the first observations taken in 2011 (following a nearcatastrophic fire that engulfed, but fortunately didn’t destroy, the telescope). Observations were completed in 2018 and the data then reduced leading to its publication in August 2023 (led by recently graduated Armagh PhD student Kerem Osman Çubuk) with the data being made publicly available through a data repository; see https://mopracosurvey.wordpress.com. The survey used the Mopra radio telescope in Australia and measured the millimetre-wavelength line emission from 4 isotopic variants of the CO molecule in its fundamental J=1–0 transition, achieving a spectral and spatial resolution of 0.1 km/s and 0.6 arcmin respectively, and covering 215 square degrees of the sky. The survey charts the distribution of the emission from the carbon monoxide molecule (the second most abundant molecule in space) across the southern Galactic plane. It covers approximately one-third of the great circle drawn around the celestial sphere that passes along the plane of the Milky Way.

This work is also close to the research of AOP’s Öpik fellow, Dr David Eden who, by using the data from multiple JCMT Large Programs, is investigating the causes of star formation in the Milky Way. These Large Programs investigate multiple stages of the star-formation process from the formation of new molecular clouds (the sites of star formation; Rani, Moore, Eden et al., 2023 ) to the role dense-gas (the gas most closely aligned to star formation) takes in the earliest stages of star formation ( Xu, Wang, Liu, Eden et al., 2024 ). Rani et al. (2023) identified a number of molecular clouds in the Galactic Plane, finding that the conditions for star formation are fairly uniform across the Inner Galaxy, regardless of whether they are located in or out of spiral arms. Xu et al. (2023) investigated the lack of dense gas outside of the Galactic Plane and found that the scarcity of it favours turbulence as the driving force behind star formation across the Universe, as opposed to supernovae.

The role of SALT

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is the largest telescope in the Southern Hemisphere, providing unparalleled access to the skies for its shareholders, of whom AOP through its membership of the UK SALT Consortium is one. Participation in this major international facility brings visibility throughout the worldwide research community and allows AOP and just a few other UK universities to engage in collaborations with other SALT international partners. In turn, through such partnerships, AOP receives a return in terms of telescope time allocation that is equivalent to roughly 10 times its contribution. In 2023, a long-standing program led by Professor Simon Jeffery at AOP was awarded 130 hours and obtained over 290 unique astronomical observations, targeting some of the most exotic stars in the Universe. Indeed, 123 observations were made during one week in May alone. These contribute to a growing series of discovery papers and to the training of postgraduate research students at AOP. Participation in SALT also allows AOP to explore opportunities through the SALT Collateral Benefits Programme to develop links between local schools in Northern Ireland and in South Africa. AOP carries out the administration function for the UK SALT Consortium, which includes four other academic partners – Keele University, Open University, University of Central Lancashire and University of Southampton.

The 10-metre diameter Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), in the semi-desert region of the Karoo, South Africa.

Using SALT, Simon Jeffery leads a survey of chemically peculiar subdwarf stars in the southern sky. These are stars that are in the final stages of their lives but their histories from birth to the present are very diverse. By exploring the abundances of key elements such as hydrogen, helium, carbon, oxygen, and iron, and of exotic elements such as lead and zirconium, these histories and internal physics can be explored. These AOP-led SALT observations have already led to a first data-release and are now building towards a second data-release, including classifications, coarse analyses and kinematics for over 600 hydrogen-deficient hot subdwarfs. A treasure trove of data for exotic

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stars is yielding exciting new discoveries. EC 19529-4430 is the most carbon-poor and metal-poor extreme helium star discovered to date ( Jeffery et al. 2024 ); although it must have formed recently from the merging of two white dwarf stars, the original binary star system probably formed some 11 billion years ago. Meanwhile, the hot subdwarf Ton S 415 was discovered to be a double star system containing a white dwarf and a hot subdwarf spinning around each other every 84 minutes, separated by only 5 times the radius of the subdwarf ( Snowdon et al. 2023 ). Jorick Vink and a team of international astronomers are using SALT to study the long-term polarised light from the most famous Luminous Blue Variable Eta Carina, which is quite possibly the most massive star in the Milky Way.

Transient and Periodic Variable Stars

Introduction

Apart from the bright planets and the occasional comet, the night sky might appear to be unchanging, with stars appearing to be the same brightness and place as they always are. However, astronomers from the ancient world detected new stars, “novae” or “supernovae”, which suddenly appeared in the night sky and then gradually faded from view over weeks or months. We now know that many of these “transient” events occur when one star circling a companion star unloads enough matter through the process of “accretion” to its companion to make it explode. Supernovae have now been used to show the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate. Other “variable stars” were first detected in the early 17th century when a star now called “Mira” was observed to change in its brightness on a timescale of nearly a year. We now know that Mira is a star several hundred times as large as the Sun, and contracts and expands in size over time. In fact, practically all stars are variable at some level. However, in many cases it is only recently that astronomers have been able to detect this variability.

By studying the brightness of stars in detail we can test physical models which set out to explain their observed behaviour. However, the diversity of variable stars requires different observing strategies. Explosive events can be extremely rare and short-lived, so that in order just to catch their initial rise to outburst it is necessary to observe the entire sky every night. On the other hand, targeted monitoring lasting many months is necessary to unravel the tiny vibrations of Sun-like stars. Professors’ Simon Jeffery and Gavin Ramsay have been using data from the Kepler and TESS satellites to better understand both the interior of stars and the accretion process. Further, Armagh astronomers have access to the GOTO, BlackGem and other telescopes which are used for many research areas including transients and variable stars.

Recent results

In the study of periodic phenomena, long continuous monitoring with extremely high accuracy has proved necessary to discover the signals due to exoplanets, star spots and gentle vibrations present in or around many stars. For these, space craft are essential to overcome poor weather and day light, with Kepler/K2 (NASA 2000-2018), TESS (NASA 2018-ongoing) and Plato (ESA, from 2026) being pivotal missions. Using TESS data, Ramsay was a co-author of a study ( Hawthorn et al. 2024 ) using TESS data which reported the discovery of 85 candidate exo-planets which have orbital periods (the planets year) longer than 20 days, with a number having periods longer than 100 days. Even today, planets with longer periods are difficult to detect. Ramsay was also a co-author of two studies ( Moulton et al. 2023, Smith et al. 2023 ), which used data obtained from the New Generation Transient Survey (NGTS located in Chile) to study the rotation period and disc structures of very young stars in the Orion nebula.

GOTO and Transients and Variable stars

AOP became a founding partner of the international project the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) through a successful bid for funds from the Northern Ireland Executive in January 2015. Its prime goal is to detect the optical counterpart of gravitational wave events such as the neutron star binary merger GW170817. The prototype GOTO node of telescopes was built in 2017 on the summit of the island of La Palma in the Canaries. Early in 2020 GOTO was awarded £3.2m by STFC to allow a second node to be built on La Palma and two nodes in Australia which were installed in April 2023. GOTO now images the whole observable sky every few nights and is ready and waiting for new gravitational wave events made by Ligo and Virgo. The current Ligo observing run started in May 2023 and is expected to continue until the Spring of 2025. GOTO was awarded £1.1M by STFC in March 2024 to cover the costs of operations and support over the next three years.

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The two sites of the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) at La Palma, the Canaries and Siding Spring Observatory, Australia.

As GOTO images the sky every night, many new transients and variable stars are discovered. It is now one of the most productive surveys for discovering supernovae in the world. In the current reporting period, GOTO and BlackGem (which targets nearby galaxies) reported more than two hundred new supernovae discoveries. In August 2023 and February 2024, GOTO had dedicated time on the Isaac Newton Telescope in La Palma to take spectra of newly discovered events by GOTO. For one event, the team obtained a spectrum just an hour or so after discovery and only six hours after the stellar explosion took place. Very early observations are key to revealing the nature of these events. GOTO has also been very productive in identifying the optical counterpart of Gamma-ray bursts which are caused by distant neutron stars or black holes events. As data continues to be obtained over the next few years, we expect many new galactic compact binaries to be discovered – these are expected to be the verification sources for LISA, the space based gravitational wave observatory, due to be launched in the mid-2030s.

Solar and Stellar Flares

Introduction

Aurora, or Northern Lights in the northern hemisphere, were seen over much of the UK and Ireland in the first few months of 2024. The link between aurora and flares from the Sun date back to Richard Carrington who observed a white light flare on the Sun from England in 1859, which was followed by aurora only 18 hours later that were recorded in Armagh. We now know that flares are caused by regions of strong magnetic activity on the Sun whose intensity varies over the course of the ~11 year Solar Cycle . Although one of the wonders of the natural world, these auroral storms can also cause disruption to human activity: in 1989 the electricity grid in Canada was disrupted by a flare causing widespread blackouts. More recently, in February 2022, a solar storm caused forty newly launched Starlink satellites to prematurely enter the Earth’s atmosphere costing up to $20m. The first flares from stars other than the Sun were seen from low-mass dwarf stars nearly a century ago. With space missions such as Kepler and TESS which can study many stars continuously for many days or months, we can now study flares from many types of stars which can be used to help us determine how often the Sun can release intense flares.

Solar Physics

Solar Physics at AOP is led by Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow Gerry Doyle, whose student Nived Vilangot Nhalil obtained his PhD in Solar Physics in 2023 and now works at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, India. Doyle’s research uses data obtained from ground-based telescopes and satellites. One of these telescopes is the LOFAR array which observes the sky at low frequency radio waves. AOP joined I-LOFAR, the Irish consortium which now includes nine partners, in 2016 through capital funding from the NI Executive. The Irish station at Birr Castle links up with stations in ten European countries and strengthens Irish North-South collaboration and the more recent formal links made between AOP, Dunsink Observatory and Birr. It’s a prime example of `big-data’ science with all stations in Europe being recently upgraded to LOFAR 2.0 which allows faster data transfer and more rapid data reduction.

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In collaboration with colleagues in Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS), Gavin Ramsay and Gerry Doyle supervise Jeremy Rigney (Lindsay PhD Scholar) who used data from I-LOFAR to study the intense solar storm of 10 May 2022. These data allowed them to investigate a moving source of low frequency radio emission as a Coronal Mass Ejection and associated Extreme Ultra-Violet wavefront, which was channelled along a region of lower density in the solar corona. Observations like these give insight to the physics processes in the Sun which can cause space weather which can be detected on Earth. Rigney, Ramsay and Doyle are also using the full LOFAR array to search for flares in other stars using simultaneous optical data from the TESS satellite.

Observations of an intense Solar radio flare on 10 May 2022 using I-LOFAR in Birr, Ireland. The top panel shows how the radio spectrum changed over the course of time, with the lower panels showing in grey, ultra-violet images made using the Solar Dynamic Observatory. The blue region shows radio emission obtained from the Nancay telescope in France, while the solid curved line shows the position of the shock front obtained from the I-LOFAR data ( Rigney et al. 2024 ).

Stellar Activity

Gavin Ramsay and Gerry Doyle continue to study flares from low-mass stars and Solar type stars. Stars with a wide range of masses and age can produce flares whose energy can be millions of times greater than events from the Sun. Over the last few years, Ramsay and Doyle found a population of very rapidly rotating low mass stars which appear to be flare inactive. Since we expect rapidly rotating stars to be very active this was a great surprise. We have obtained spectroscopic observations of rapidly rotating stars and stars which are rotating much slower. These include data using the SAAO 1.9m telescope in South Africa and the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canaries (GTC) which are being used to search for evidence of stellar activity using different spectral features. Ramsay and Doyle also obtained high speed observations of a low mass star using HiPERCAM on the GTC to search for short duration low amplitude flares from one of these rapidly rotating apparently inactive stars and are using TESS data to search for evidence of activity cycles in low mass stars.

Solar System Studies

Introduction

Our Solar System is an extraordinary natural laboratory to study the formation and evolution of planetary systems around the Sun and other stars. Our work here feeds into fundamental questions about how the Solar System and the Earth formed and the development of life in the Universe. Our study of comets, asteroids and planets impacts on models of solar system formation, the ever-present hazard to civilization if asteroids or comets hit our planet and

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on the origin of water and organic compounds necessary for life to exist. The space industry benefits from improved detailed knowledge and understanding of the near-Earth and interplanetary environment.

Recent results

Apostolos Christou reports that significant progress has been made in the ongoing collaboration with Professor Stanley Dermott (University of Florida at Gainsville, FL, USA) and Dr Dan Li (NSF NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA) to understand the origin and early evolution of our solar system. During this reporting period, Christou applied for and secured a £135k grant from the Leverhulme Trust to help develop advanced statistical methods designed to sift through the huge volume of data from the latest sky surveys to help identify the original planetesimal building blocks from which the rocky planets, including the Earth, came to be. The project focus is the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, the broken-up fragments of leftover planetesimals. A continuous flow of asteroid data from ground-based telescopes and space missions will soon be complemented by the most comprehensive survey of the sky to-date by the Vera Rubin telescope currently under construction at the Atacama Desert in Chile. Existing analytical tools are not suited for the very high volume and complexity expected in the Rubin data. The grant will allow to advance the state-of-the-art in asteroid data analysis tools by hiring a professional data scientist and by borrowing methods and techniques from the emerging new field of Artificial Neural Networks, the ultimate aim being to reconstruct the original form and number of asteroids present in the primordial solar system.

The Rubin telescope, seen here under the glittering light of the Milky Way at the Atacama Desert in Chile. The facility is expected to begin commissioning operations in 2025.

Another international collaboration, this time with Dr Auriane Egal (Paris Observatory, France; U. Western Ontario, Canada) and with Nick Georgakarakos (New York U., United Arab Emirates) succeeded in advancing our understanding of how the streams of material left behind by comets can interact with planetary bodies and measurably affect their environment. Observations in the Earth’s atmosphere and in near-Earth space show that the Earth is subject to a continuous flow of particles or meteoroids raining down from space, the debris from comets and asteroids that cross our planet’s path around the Sun. Since the time of Ernst Öpik, Armagh has been a leading centre of research to understand the Earth’s meteoroid environment and in extending that understanding to other planetary bodies. Past work by Christou and by former Armagh astronomer Dr David Asher, had identified a meteor stream that appears both at the Earth and at the planet Mercury, helping to maintain a tenuous atmosphere around the planet made up of calcium atoms ejected from the surface. The new research that appeared in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in January 2024 ( Christou, Egal and Georgakarakos, 2024 ) shows that some denser parts of the stream (“clumps”) rich in large, fireball-producing meteoroids identified in the Earth observations also reach Mercury at certain times in the past and in the future. Significantly, the next encounter between the clump and Mercury will occur as the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo (BC) probe and its suite of instruments will be entering orbit around the planet. The fortuitous timing of the encounter presents a rare opportunity to document the effect of the clump in the Hermean environment during BC’s short tenure at the solar system’s innermost planet.

Stefano Bagnulo and his PhD student Zuri Gray secured telescope time at the ESO VLT to study the consequences of the impact of Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a planetary defence mission to test a method of deflecting an asteroid on course to hit Earth. DART arrived at near-Earth asteroid Didymos on 26 September 2022. The spacecraft crashed into the asteroid’s small moon Dimorphos, testing whether the kinetic impactor technique works. Because of the impact, dust clouds were ejected from Dimorphos, which was studied by Bagnulo and Gray from ground-based telescopes using polarimetric techniques ( Bagnulo, Gray and Granvik 2023 ). Their work formulated two distinct scenarios for the formation of the dust on the surface of the impacted asteroid and has attracted international interest including through an official ESO press release.

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Finally, AOP work on our Solar system links also to extra-solar planetary systems and in particular to ESA’s Plato mission, which is due to be launched towards the end of 2026, has a prime goal of identifying Earth sized planets around Solar type stars in its habitable zone. Gavin Ramsay is one of two ESA Plato Community Scientists and member of the ESA Plato Science Working Team. At the start of the mission, Plato will point at region in the southern hemisphere covering 2,250 square degrees for at least two years.

The COMET INTERCEPTOR Space Mission

Artist impression of COMET INTERCEPTOR Space Mission

ESA recently approved a space mission to encounter a comet coming from the edge of our Solar System; the launch is expected in 2028. A novel idea sets this mission apart. So far, spacecraft have approached comets that are already well known and have gone around the Sun already several times. Therefore, it is very likely that the comet material has been “processed” by solar radiation and the space environment, and it is no longer in pristine condition. By contrast, here we are interested in comets on their first trip around the Sun, made of unprocessed material preserved in the cold outer parts of the solar system. To achieve the goal of visiting such a new comet, the spacecraft will be launched before the comet is found and will wait in deep space for instructions. Once a suitable target comet is found, instructions will be sent from the ground to guide the spacecraft to the comet (hence the name Comet Interceptor ). Studying the material brought for the first time to the heat and light of the Sun will give us the opportunity to look at the solar system as it was when it formed. AOP is contributing to the development of the instrument that will send to Earth comet images (including polarimetric images) obtained with a fish-eye lens. Stefano Bagnulo is an expert in polarimetric observations and is one of the co-Investigators of the project, and his PhD student Zuri Gray is also involved in the mission team. Most recently, Bagnulo has officially become a Co-Investigator of the EnVisS instrument on-board Comet Interceptor, and member of the Comet Interceptor “Near Environment” working group. He has participated to the second CI Working Group meeting at the European Space Research and Technology Centre in March 2023.

Researcher Development Concordat

In February 2023 AOP became a signatory of the Concordat to Support the Career Development of Researchers, which is an aspirational Concordat that aims at increasing the appeal and sustainability of researcher careers in the UK. The Researcher Development Concordat focuses primarily on the rights and responsibilities of researchers who are employed solely or largely to conduct research (e.g. PDRAs and Research Fellows) and is often part of the eligibility criteria for securing research grants. The Concordat has three defining principles covering Environment and Culture (for a supportive and inclusive research culture), Employment (to ensure that researchers are recruited, employed and managed under conditions that recognise and value their contributions), and Professional and Career Development . The Concordat outlines key responsibilities for institutions in each of these areas and expect them to publish an action plan and to report progress in annual reports to their governing bodies.

Considering AOP’s strong governance structure, in terms both of its comprehensive set of policies as well as its appraisal, recruitment and induction procedures – all of which reflect the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) ethical and equal-opportunities principles. The following actions have been identified:

On Environment and Culture

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

On Employment

On Professional and Career Development

Research Integrity Concordat

The UK Committee on Research Integrity (UKCORI) was established in 2022, following the signing of the Concordat to Support Research Integrity, in order provide a national framework for good research conduct and its governance. The signatories of the Concordat include UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and Department for the Economy for NI (DfE NI). UKCORI wish to raise awareness at Board level of the principles and importance of Research Integrity. Research integrity is also referenced in the Concordat for Researcher Development. AOP participated in a workshop held in the Ulster Museum that was organised by UKCORI this year designed to raise awareness of the importance of research integrity in Northern Ireland.

Research has integrity when it is carried out in a way that is trustworthy, ethical and responsible.

Research integrity is, therefore, about doing research that not only leads to findings and outcomes that people can trust, and have confidence in, but is carried out in an ethical manner with care and respect for those involved in the process.

When research is carried out with a high degree of integrity, other researchers, those who wish to apply the research, and members of the public have confidence in the findings. While the nature of our understanding of the conclusions drawn from research may change in time, if the research was conducted with high integrity people will still feel able to trust the findings and outcomes as they were understood at the time.

Education and Community Outreach

Planetarium

AOP is a special place that brings together fundamental research and public curiosity about the nature of the cosmos, all within a heritage environment that is rich in scientific history. Four pillars underlie and support the public programme of AOP - education, inspiration, entertainment and outreach. The Planetarium was established in 1968 and is world-renowned as an innovative centre of excellence in promoting the public understanding of science.

At the Planetarium, the primary activity is the education and the dissemination of scientific and astronomical knowledge. The Planetarium also promotes an understanding of astronomy and science to a large audience base of all ages, from nursery to seniors via a school’s educational programme and science offering to the wider public through both onsite and outreach means.

In 2022/23 financial year we achieved a record breaking 72,000 visitors to AOP and it was encouraging to maintain this benchmark in 2023/24 having 71,905 visitors through our doors. This year we did not have a stand-out exhibition during the summer, but instead, we held themed weeks which maintained our visitor numbers at that high level. Our

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stargazing evening and music shows have also been popular with sell-out events. All credit to our education team for delivering and maintaining a high level of customer service and educational learning for our visitors this year.

One of the largest visitor increases came towards the end of this year in the form of our off-site or outreach visitors. Thanks to funding from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the UK Space Agency we had the opportunity to develop a dedicated outreach programme delivered by Dr Rok Nežič. The funding has allowed us to reach many rural schools that typically cannot engage with us in Armagh due to distance. The programme is fully funded for schools.

The education team also facilitated two Stranmillis College placement students this year, which supports the teaching college and also benefits us as we get students coming with different ideas and angles to help in our education programme. While our school pupil numbers held strong it must be noted that we had many cancellations due to both teachers strikes and Translink transport strikes during this year which did affect our school visitors.

A focus for 2024/25 will be our afternoon visits which we want to grow with afterschool and community groups. This year we made steps towards this goal of increasing afternoon visits through an IAU funded programme where we set up an after-school STEM club. A youth forum of children with additional needs was developed to advise us on programme changes required to make the centre more assessable, thanks to funding from the Association of Science and Discovery Centres (ASDC). The team delivered a pre-school club called “Little Astronomers” which was a monthly sold-out event. We participated in global events such as One Hundred Hours of Astronomy where we held afternoon solar viewing sessions. This has shown us the potential and possibilities we have for increasing that afternoon slot for many groups and families.

Accessibility is always a focus for us at AOP on how we can be as inclusive as possible to ensure that every person gets to experience the stars making us a “space for all”. We hold monthly dome shows in British Sign Language (BSL) and Irish Sign Language (ISL). Our screening is of our popular dome show “CapCom Go” and this year we also extended the dome show interpretation to a children’s tour of the planets called “Perfect Little Planet”. This will be of benefit to schools and to the public as well. We also provided a BSL and ISL interpretation of our live Christmas experience “Mission Santa” and our dome show this year “The Alien who Stole Christmas” was interpreted into BSL and ISL. We added Makaton signing to our “Astronaut George” dome show which is due to be launched in May 2024.

Monthly relaxed dome show sessions are now standard in our programme as well as relaxed event sessions for workshops. We have also renewed our JAM (Just A Minute) Card registration with all front-line staff JAM Card trained and our staff received Level one Makaton training. Our sensory bag provision which was worked on by the Bold Futures forum and made possible through an ASDC Bold Futures fund have been really well received and used by many schools and families.

To enhance the outdoor grounds, we installed and launched a new kids Eco trail with a workbook, sculptures, clues and an augmented reality (AR) app around the grounds. There is also an adult app focusing on a tour of the grounds and Observatory. A lot of work across the organisation went into this new experience over the last year and these outdoor trails have already increased dwell time and been popular with visitors and locals, especially during the sunny days.

This year we held four scientific conferences at the Planetarium during September 2023. This month is the only time when demand on our Copernicus Hall is at a low level which allowed us the opportunity to hold back-to-back meetings. The conferences held were the British Association of Planetaria (BAP) annual conference, 31 August to 2 September, 5th International Workshop on AM CVn Binaries (AMCVn5), 5 to 8 September, 11th International Conference on Hot Subdwarf Stars and Related Objects (sdOB11), 11 to 15 September and, 42nd European Symposium on Occultation Projects (ESOP42), 16 to 17 September.

Successful funding opportunities this year include:

Other events to note this year were:

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History and Heritage

History and Heritage Policy

AOP boasts a collection of over thirty-three thousand historic documents, rare and antiquarian books, scientific instruments and photographs. This collection is unique on the Island of Ireland and one of the best-preserved observatory collections in the United Kingdom. The heritage policies implemented ensure that the collection is cared for in accordance with best practice and has allowed ongoing historical research. AOP is now represented on the Board of Directors of the Northern Ireland Museums Council by the Museum Collections Officer who began their three-year term in September 2023.

During 2023-24 the Observatory has continued to be open to the public for the ‘Legendary Telescope Tour’ package, which has been well received. In 2023 the King George III collection was put on display for the first time in its entirety for the Armagh Georgian Festival in November. The eMuseum has 9,003 objects available for public viewing on the armagh.space website. The Planetarium display cases have hosted one loaned in exhibition ‘The life of William John Roberts’, and three additional exhibitions based on the AOP Historical Collection, ‘Technology Past and Present’, ‘The Planetarium’ and ‘Navigation’. One temporary exhibition off-site was hosted in Dublin at the Bank of Ireland building and Dunsink Observatory for the Robinson Lecture and launch of the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland network. AOP accepted one donation in 2023-24, which was a functional late Victorian ‘Magic Lantern’ projector system from the Ulster Aviation Society.

In accordance with AOP’s policy of making our collection available for the public and researchers to use we have continued to facilitate public information requests. The 2023-24 financial year brought twenty requests facilitated by the Museum Collections Officer. AOP hosted the British Association of Planetaria Annual Conference in September 2023 and a Study Visit by the Scientific Instrument Society in March 2024. Both events were showcases of the outstanding Historical Collection and provided opportunities for sessions delivered by the staff of AOP.

2023-24 saw the second year of the National Lottery Heritage Fund project. This project, ‘Wisdom Begins with Wonder’ is funded to run from May 2022 and it has now been extended to run until August 2024 and has seen the successful implementation of a volunteer program. Since launching, the volunteer program has facilitated over eight hundred hours of voluntary work in AOP, with more volunteers awaiting projects. The project has also funded the position of Museum Collections Officer from June 2022 - August 2024, on a part time basis. At present the five active volunteers are working on varied projects including academic research, archival work, and preventative conservation. In total volunteers have accessioned 1,809 new objects to the AOP Historical Collection in 2023-24.

AOP has also continued to publish historical research, and staff have been involved in a project to publish a book with the International Planetarium Society and have published three papers. The team also provided access to the operated collection of historic scientific instruments. Over the winter observation period, five successful observation sessions were held with the Grubb 10-Inch telescope, and two students were trained in its use. The Grubb 15 Inch and Troughton Equatorial have also undergone successful preventative conservation, and the Earnshaw Number 2 regulator has been returned to operational condition.

Library and Archives

AOP’s suite of technical equipment is complemented by one of the finest astronomical study libraries on the Island of Ireland. The library provides an essential reference resource for AOP research, and especially for its student and young researcher cohort. It contains approximately 3,400 textbooks, monographs, special reports, and conference proceedings covering nearly all disciplines in astronomy. Some 17,000 volumes from nearly two hundred scientific

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journal titles include nearly complete runs of all the major astronomy journals, as well as journals of significant historical interest.

During 2023-24 the collection has been supplemented by forty-eight new books on topics relevant to AOP research. Work continues binding the backlog of unbound journals, including all held copies of the Scientific Instrument Society Bulletin. A scoping audit of the remaining backlog has been conducted to inform future funding requirements. 51 loans have been processed and returned, and 60 volumes are currently on loan to the staff and students. To encourage greater engagement with the loans process, every researcher and student has been provided with a physical copy of the Loans Form QR code.

Whilst still under enormous pressure for space, the AOP library is now an attractive space and a more effective research tool, with potential for further development and revenue generation, and increasingly demonstrating its potential for historical discovery as well as astronomical research. It has been used weekly for the Student Discussion, and the Research Seminar. It has been used monthly by the Armagh and District History group for their meetings and will be opened to the public for the first time in April 2024.

Meteorological Record

As part of AOP’s primary research role, staff and students take daily readings of a wide range of meteorological parameters at Armagh and maintain the Observatory’s unique 229-year meteorological record and databank. This is believed to be the longest daily climate series in the UK and Ireland from a single site (though the log book for the period June 1825 to December 1832 appears to have been lost), as well as being one of the longest in the world. The climate station has been continuously maintained since July 1795 with readings currently taken every day at 09:00 (GMT). The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has recognised Armagh with Centennial Station status for its longevity and importance in contributing to the climate record.

The automated weather station (AWS) was installed by the Met Office in 2019, sampling the weather every minute. This now provides the primary source of weather data in the Met Office records (e.g., temperature, pressure, rain fall, windspeed) since it is automatically uploaded to the Met Office. The instruments are inside a second Stevenson Screen within an expanded meteorological enclosure to ensure that the AWS enclosure is identical to those used by the Met Office in their UK-wide network. In October 2023 a grass minimum thermometer was added to the AWS to complement the similar sensor in the manual station. Manual collection still continues and provides the only source for some of the data collected (e.g. sunshine) at Armagh.

Calibration of these data has enabled researchers and government agencies to use the Armagh series for reports and research into global warming. The data contributes to the UK Meteorological Office’s main climate database and are released to the general public on a monthly basis through press releases and on our climate website (https://weather.armagh.space) whilst also contributing to the UK Meteorological Office’s main climate database.

Climate change is a subject of strategic importance for Northern Ireland in this era of climate variability. Armagh’s unique climate record provides an exceptionally long historical baseline, enabling better informed judgements to be made as to how Northern Ireland’s climate has responded and is responding to climate change world-wide. AOP has a movable exhibition on the climate change in the Copernicus Hall, centred around an interactive Puffersphere presentation, together with supporting exhibits around the room which expand on local impacts.

We developed a series of python scripts to store, analyse and provide access to the weather data base via the weather webpage listed above. This includes both the manual data as well as the automated weather station data. This takes the monthly observers log, provides a means of entering the information via an online log, and in addition automatically downloads the data received from the automated station, to ingest these data sets into a new database. Analysis scripts then allow this database to be interrogated, e.g. to find climate extrema over any date range of interest. This includes enquiring about weather on any single day (as might be used in a visitor display in the Planetarium), as well as examining the data set over any period of interest and searching for climate records (extrema) over a period of interest. The automated weather station data is now also available to inspect online, in addition to the manual data. Plotting tools allow the user to see the weather over any time period, as well as to find when extrema in the various measured parameters occurred.

The two new PhD students (Kyriakos Trakakis and Arjun Chawla) were trained in 2023 on weather observations, and then accredited as Level 1 Met Observers by the Director. This forms part of their PhD training in the techniques of scientific data measurement and analysis.

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Armagh’s version of the famous climate stripes that were used at COP26 in Glasgow to graphically demonstrate global warming has been extended to include new data. The colour of the stripes reflects the difference between the mean temperature that year compared to the long-term average. They are a superb example of science communication, for it is not necessary to understand the detail of how it made, the warming trend in the current millennium is clear. AOP’s climate stripes extend back to 1844 when Armagh started measuring maximum and minimum temperatures.

Until 2023 for the month of September the hottest day in Armagh since 1838 (when daily temperature max readings began) had stood at 27.6°C, as measured on 1 September 1906. The 10th ranked hottest September day had been 24.9°C, as measured on 4 September 1898. However, the sequence of 5 successive days from 4th to 8th of September 2023 now feature in the top ten of all September highs for Armagh, with the new hottest September temperature being 28.5°C, as measured on 8 September 2023.

In October 2023, the record for rainfall in a single month in Armagh was broken since measurements began in 1838. A total of 195.4mm of rain was recorded in our manual weather station, breaking the previous record month, which was October 1870, when 193.8mm of rain fell.

Support

AOP is committed to ensuring fit for purpose governance and support services to support the delivery of organisational objectives.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

The comprehensive research computer facilities are used primarily for numerical analysis, computer modelling and data reduction. Update and renewal of computers and peripherals is mainly provided through a planned capital development plan funded by DfC and occasionally by external research grants. Research staff require access to high-end Apple Mac and Linux workstations. In addition to this, Corporate and Education is serviced within a Microsoft environment.

An ICT Strategy was approved in October 2022. Continuous focus and short, medium and long-term activities are considered by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) each quarter.

AOP continues to modernise and improve its centralised ICT hub. All devices are now managed using Intune and are secured using multi-factor authentication and device registration. Auto patching of all Linux, Windows and Mac devices has reduced our exposure to cyber-attack. The focus now moves to software run on the devices as the next level of risk develops.

The biggest risk to AOP still remains user error through clicking on malicious links in emails. AOP mitigates this through regular reinforcement of messaging and a focus on continuing to educate users in best practice and system etiquette.

Finance

AOP has a well-established finance function. Financial policies and procedures are continually being enhanced to ensure that AOP meets the governance standards required. This includes the application of public sector procurement controls, meeting prompt payment targets and providing regular and ad hoc financial information within AOP and to DfC.

AOP continues to experience significant cost pressures within a core budget that has remained relatively static for 7 years. In 2023-24 it was able to mitigate some of the cost of the 2023 public sector pay award through an additional resource allocation and income from admissions and trading sales which exceeded expectations.

Human Resources

A Human Resources Strategy 2022-26 has been developed and approved and is supported by an annual Human Resources Action Plan. The 2023-24 plan has been implemented to include:

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available budget; preparing a case for award of a special bonus scheme; preparing for engagement events and supporting the health and wellbeing of PhD students;

Diversity and Inclusion

AOP has an obligation under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act to ensure that equality of opportunity and good relations are central to policy making, policy implementation and review as well as service delivery. AOP monitors the composition of its workforce in terms of community background and sex and uses an equal opportunities monitoring form questionnaire. AOP submits an annual Fair Employment Monitoring return to the Equality Commission detailing staff composition and that of job applicants to AOP posts.

In the AOP Strategic Plan 2021-26 we state that having Fair and Equitable Employment Policies and Procedures is one of our key elements in delivering high standards. AOP has a number of policies in place including an Equal Opportunities Policy.

AOP retained the Bronze Diversity Mark Accreditation in July 2023. The three Equality, Diversity and Inclusion targets set for the next year are:

AOP retained Juno Practitioner status in August 2023. This is an award scheme that recognises and rewards university physics departments, schools of physics, and related institutes and organisations that can demonstrate they have taken action to address gender equality at all levels and to foster a more inclusive working environment. An application to become a Juno Champion in April 2023 was unsuccessful. A new Juno award is currently being developed and once launched AOP will assess its suitability against that scheme.

Governance

Governance and accountability continue to be strengthened and improved and risks reduced as demonstrated by external and internal audit reviews. Actions arising from effectiveness reviews undertaken by both ARAC and the Management Committee have also resulted in enhanced arrangements.

One outstanding Internal Audit recommendation, relating to Record Management, is currently being progressed. A Retention and Disposal schedule is actively under consideration by the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI). The organisation has moved towards paperless record management systems which will be easier to manage and control in accordance with the approved Retention and Disposal Policy.

Future Redevelopment Project

AOP manages an extensive property estate which includes nine separate buildings, including the Grade A listed Observatory and a circa 20-acre historic estate. There are also several leases associated with land and property.

During the year AOP submitted a draft Outline Business Case (OBC) for redevelopment to the Department and has provided responses to queries raised in respect of same. The OBC is still under consideration with active engagement on final amendments ongoing. AOP views this project as imperative to future proof its role into the next generation. The case for change is predicated by an estate that is outdated and misaligned to expectations of modern-day visitors and future opportunities. On 29 March 2024 AOP was awarded circa £1.3m grant towards the development phase of the project, representing 25% of the funding required to bring the plans to RIBA stage 3. Another funding application to PeacePlus is still under consideration and a bid to DfC for capital match funding for this phase is also being considered.

NetZero

AOP’s international research standing, and unique record of uninterrupted meteorological observations has allowed it to effectively communicate on the issue of climate change (CC) to the general public, thanks also to the design and installation of a temporary CC exhibition in the Planetarium and of a CC Puffersphere display given AOP’s own commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030.

Moving in this direction, in the last financial year Department for the Economy (DfE) capital funding was obtained to change the external lighting on AOP grounds to more efficient LED lights and following the standards of the International Dark Sky Association. In fact, one of AOP’s key objectives is to achieve Urban Night Sky Place (UNSP)

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accreditation through the International Dark-Sky Association and with it serve as beacon for promoting and informing local councils in Northern Ireland on how to reduce their own light pollution and corresponding energy waste.

Along the same line, two new green energy power generation stations based on wind and solar power, the Windtree and the Smartflower (see figure below), have been installed on AOP’s grounds using previously allocated DfE funding. While this installation will not generate sufficient power to cover all the needs of the Planetarium, it will serve to illustrate the role that renewable energy technologies can play in harnessing energy from wind and the Sun, also adding to AOP’s education offering.

AOP’s Smartflower and Windtree, the only ones of their kind in Britain and Ireland

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Achievements and Performance

The targets set for AOP in the 2023-24 Business Plan are shown in the following table. Actual performance achieved is shown along with the corresponding achievement in the previous financial year, where applicable.

Targets were achieved or exceeded in many areas; however, three targets were not met. Whilst the total visitors target was exceeded the target in respect of school visitors was not achieved due to a number of school cancellations as a result of education and bus strikes and also snow. Failure to meet the remaining two targets is beyond AOP’s control in that they are reliant upon external factors.

KPI Description Target As at 31
March 2024		 As at 31
March 2023
(where
applicable)		 Comments
1 Attract 67,000 visitors (to
include 55,000 public
visitors and 12,000 school
visitors)		 67,000 Public
60,097		 62,793 Total 71,905 visitors
There were a number of school
cancellations due to teacher and
bus strikes and also snow.
School
11,808		 9,381
2 Achieve 150 number bed
nights from a collaboration
with local accommodation
providers		 150 158 182
3 Achieve bronze level
certification to be a
Makaton friendly business		 New KPI Award changed by Makaton
Society and there have been
delays in getting the new award
live.
KPI unachievable and beyond
AOP’s control.
4 Achieve £568,000 income
from admissions and sales		 £568,000 £592,494 £570,851
5 Achieve an 80%
satisfaction rating of 4 or
above out of 5		 80%+
evaluation
ratings ≥
4		 90.83% 88.67%
6 Provide in-reach or
outreach visits to at least 10
special schools(25%)		 10 23 New KPI
7 Deliver 4 dedicated
educational days: 2 for
GCSE and 2 for Junior
Cycle		 4 2 New KPI
2
8 Deliver 4 events focused on
the work of astronomers
and PhD students		 4 22 7
9 Deliver 2 events on Climate
Change and AOP green
agenda		 2 2 New KPI
10 Deliver one event to raise
awareness of the Armagh-
Birr-Dunsinkpartnership		 1 1 1
11 Achieve recognition as an
Urban Dark SkyPlace		 Unachievable The capital project encountered
difficulties atprocurement stage.
12 Publish 50 articles in
referenced scientific
journals		 50 63 85
13 Scientific Outreach: 12 35 39

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12 scientific talks at
international conferences
12public talks byscientists		 12 40 43
14 Admit 2 new PhD students
in October 2023		 2 2 3
15 Attract 8 external bookings
for events or seminars		 8 10 14
16 Facilitate 6 onsite scientific
visits		 6 28 26
17 Delivery of 3 astronomy
conferences hosted by
AOP		 3 3 New KPI
18 Develop one non-
astronomy partnership in
the use of DVL facilities		 1 1 1
19 Develop one new
Puffersphere application
around AOP research		 1 1 2
20 Submit one major funding
application in pursuance of
AOP future development		 1 2 0
21 Achieve £323,000 funding
from scientific sources to
support AOP research		 £323,000 £380,732 £359,339
Progress Key: Complete, Not Achieved

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Financial Review

Operating Results

In the financial year to 31 March 2024, the value of charity funds increased by £2,111m, summarised below.

Total incoming resources
Total outgoing resources
Net expenditure
Gains on the revaluation of fixed assets
Actuarial gains on defined benefit pension scheme
Net movement in funds for the year
Movement in Unusable Funds
Capital financing
Capital grants received
Government grant fund
Revaluation reserve
Pension reserve
Movement in Usable Funds
Restricted
Unrestricted		 2024
2023
£
£
3,354,210
3,730,874
(3,978,546)
(4,285,869)
(624,336)
(554,995)
500,740
255,242
(121,000)
2,411,000
(244,596)
2,111,247
435,000
549,000
(826,567)
(858,746)
271,372
1,904
(158,000)
2,035,000
(100,091)
(26,080)
133,690
410,169
(244,596)
2,111,247

The total income for the year was £3.354m, a decrease of £0.377m from 2022-23, mainly due to a decrease in DfC resource and capital grant income of £0.269m, and the end of the Tourism NI supported capital project, offset by an increase in operating income of £0.036m.

Expenditure was £3.979m, a decrease of £0.307m from the previous year. Staff costs continue to be the largest component of operational expenditure, comprising 63% of all direct costs.

Unrestricted operating costs are funded primarily by DfC grant-in-aid. The balance of such unrestricted operating costs is funded by contributions from external grants, operating income, trading activities and miscellaneous income. We continue to seek other funding streams to maintain this important source of funds. In 2023-24 the Department provided 71% of the total income through recurrent and capital grant allocations (2022-23: 71%).

Net Assets

Net assets at 31 March 2024 were £12.476m (31 March 2023: £12.720m).

Reserves

The AOP reserves policy is included in note 1 of the accounts. Total accumulated funds are as follows:

Funds at 31 March
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Revaluation Reserve
Pension Reserve
Total Charity Funds		 2024
2023
£
£
47,937
148,028
4,752,692
5,010,569
7,675,246
7,403,874
-
158,000
12,475,875
12,720,471

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Going Concern

The Trustees are satisfied that the organisation is a going concern on the basis that it has a reasonable expectation that it will continue in operation for the foreseeable future. The financial statements are therefore prepared on a going concern basis.

Pension Reserve

AOP is a member of Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC) which manages Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Northern Ireland, which in turn provides a defined benefits pension to employees. At 31 March 2024 the surplus was calculated by independent actuaries at £1,175,000 (2023: surplus £158,000). The assets, defined benefit obligation and current service cost shown in note 19 to the accounts have been calculated based on the data and results of the 2022 triennial actuarial valuation. AOP has applied the principles of IFRIC14 in relation to pension surplus restriction. IFRIC14 requires allowances to be made for a minimum funding requirement, which limits the amount of economic benefit available to the excess of the value of prospective current service costs above the funding requirement.

Key Risks and Uncertainties

At year end, the key risks were identified as:

As part of the Risk Management Strategy, management regularly review the inherent level of risk for each of the above and how the risk is currently managed. An Action Plan is documented to reduce the level of risk, mindful of the risk appetite of the organisation. This Risk Register is reviewed on a quarterly basis by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and approved by the Management Committee. Many of the above risks derive from the uncertainty around funding. Until AOP has both a budget appropriate to its needs and long-term security of funding, this situation is likely to continue. In managing these funding risks, the organisation has developed and maintained close communication links with the Department and submitted in-year monitoring bids for additional funding while carefully monitoring spend and budgets. For many of the above risks all reasonable steps within AOP’s control are being taken to manage the risk.

The above risks also take account of recommendations from internal and external audit exercises and reports. Significant progress has been made in addressing the weaknesses identified in previous years and considerable effort has been put into the management of these risks going forward.

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Plans for Future Periods

In 2021, AOP published a Strategy for 2021-26 with the four key themes of Enduring Relevance, National and International Standing, Offering More and Pursuing our Priorities.

Leading on from this AOP has prepared a Business Plan for 2024-25 for consideration by the Department. The business plan has been developed in the context of an unclear and uncertain financial environment, however AOP remains focused and optimistic towards continued achievements within its key priority areas.

AOP, in conjunction with the Dublin Institute of Advanced Studies, Dunsink Observatory, and the Birr Science and Heritage Foundation, have embarked on a formal strategic process to develop an inter-institutional partnership for mutual benefit, the “Astronomical Observatories of Ireland”. This takes place in acknowledgement of the potential for strengthening the partner institutions’ collaborative working capacity and for our wider national and international impact. This also includes taking into account emerging opportunities for strengthening the long-standing NorthSouth connections between Armagh, Dunsink and Birr in a way which maintains the integrity of each partner’s core mission, and also promotes the intrinsic value of scientific knowledge and heritage represented by the body of work carried out over the three sites since their establishment and ongoing collaborative activities. This will continue to be a key area of work in 2024-25 and will include an application to be included in the Republic of Ireland Tentative List for UNESCO World Heritage Status as a transnational bid with the UK.

Following on from the submission of an Outline Business Case for future development AOP will continue to work with partners and stakeholders to identify funding opportunities and other resources to move the project forward to the next phase of planning.

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Structure, Governance and Management

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is a single statutory corporation and arms-length body (ALB). ‘The Governors of The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’ are as described in The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 .

This 1995 Order superseded the original 1791 Act of the Irish Parliament entitled ‘ An Act for Settling and Preserving a Public Observatory and Museum in the City of Armagh For Ever’ , and an Amendment of 1938 (‘The University and Collegiate and Scientific Institutions Act [Northern Ireland], 1938’).

AOP is a registered charity under the title “The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium”.

Board of Governors

AOP is governed by a Board of Governors. Membership of the Board of Governors consists of:

The Order places a statutory duty on “the Governors of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium” to maintain and manage AOP with the purpose of “developing and improving the knowledge, appreciation and practice of astronomy and related sciences.”

The Board of Governors (the Board) has retained a role to ensure that the culture and character, history and patrimony embodied in AOP are protected and preserved and that the institution is managed in line with the statutory purpose outlined in the Order. This role will normally be fulfilled through an Annual Review meeting (visitation) where the Board will receive assurance as to the management and performance of AOP from the Management Committee.

Management Committee of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

The Board has delegated primary responsibility for the governance and management of AOP to a Management Committee. The Management Committee has corporate responsibility for ensuring that AOP fulfils the aims and objectives set by the Department and approved by the Minister and for promoting the efficient, economic and effective use of resources. The Management Committee provides leadership, challenge, oversight, support and encouragement to the Director and staff.

The Management Committee comprises:

The following committees are established as sub-committees of the Management Committee.

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC)

The ARAC is a sub-committee of the Management Committee established in accordance with DAO (DFP) 06/13 - Corporate governance in central government departments: Code of Good Practice NI 2013, and in line with the HM Treasury Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Handbook (DoF 03/18) to advise the Board of Governors, the Management Committee and the Director of AOP as Accounting Officer and to support them in their responsibilities

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for issues of organisational risks, internal control, governance and their associated assurances and in reviewing the reliability and integrity of these assurances.

Staffing Policy and Remuneration Committee

The Staffing Policy and Remuneration Committee is a sub-committee of the Management Committee and provides advice and recommendations to the Management Committee on employment issues.

Research and Education Advisory Committee

The Research and Education Advisory Committee is a sub-committee of the Management Committee and advises it on research and education issues.

Redevelopment Committee

The Redevelopment Committee is a sub-committee of the Management Committee and was established to develop an Outline Business Case for redevelopment proposals.

Further details on the membership of these Committees are set out in the Governance Statement on pages 31 to 40.

Reference and Administrative Details

Name of the Charity

The charity is registered and operates under the title of The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.

Charity number

Registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland 103948.

Principal Office

College Hill, Armagh, BT61 9DG

Trustees

Archbishop J McDowell, (Board Chair) The Very Revd S Forster The Venerable E Cairns The Venerable Dr P Thompson Revd Canon W M Adair BEM Revd Canon W J A Dawson (to 31 December 2023) Revd Canon M Hagan MBE Revd Canon D Hilliard Revd Canon B Paine Revd Canon R J N Porteus Mr G Cox Professor A Fitzsimmons Mr R Wilson Archbishop E Martin Mr J Briggs (Management Committee Chair) Professor L Harra (to 30 April 2024) Mr S Brown (to 30 April 2024) Mr P McGurgan (to 30 April 2023) Professor M Mathioudakis Professor C Jackman Professor M Darnley Mr P Kennedy Dr K Lemon Mr E Rooney Ms S Leslie

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Director and Accounting Officer

Professor Michael Burton

Auditors

Northern Ireland Audit Office, 106 University Street, BELFAST, BT7 1EU

Internal Auditors

Cavanagh Kelly, 36-38 Northland Row, Dungannon, BT71 6AP

Bankers

Danske Bank, Donegal Square West, Belfast, BT1 6JS

Register of Interests

A Register of Interests is maintained for Board and Committee Members and Senior Management and is available for inspection at the Principal Address. Declared Interests by Board and Committee Members and the Director are available on the AOP website – www.armagh.space.

Related party transactions are shown in note 23 of the accounts.

Gifts

AOP adheres to the limits and rules laid out in its Partnership Agreement approved by the Department and the guidance in Managing Public Money Northern Ireland (MPMNI). There were no gifts made or accepted during the 2023-24 financial year that exceeded these limits.

Personal Data Related Incidents

AOP has considered the requirement to report personal data related incidents. It is content that there were no such incidents in the year ended 31 March 2024.

Disclosure of Audit Information

So far as the Accounting Officer is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which AOP’s auditors are unaware. The Accounting Officer has taken all necessary steps to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that AOP’s auditors are aware of that information.

Events after the end of the reporting period

There have been no events since the end of the financial year requiring disclosure.

Mr John Briggs Trustee Date: 21 October 2024

Professor Michael Burton Director / Accounting Officer Date: 21 October 2024

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Remuneration and Staff Report

The remuneration and staff report sets out AOP’s remuneration policy for Board members and senior managers, reports on how that policy has been implemented and sets out the amounts awarded to the Director. In addition, the report provides details on remuneration and staff that users see as key to accountability.

Remuneration Policy

The pay remit for the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), including senior civil servants (SCS), is normally approved by the Minister of Finance. Following the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland’s 27 April 2023 Written Ministerial Statement (WMS) on the budget, the NI public sector pay policy guidance was published on 31 May 2023 in FD (DoF) 05/23. This was subsequently updated on 12 March 2024 in FD (DoF) 04/24 to reflect the return of Executive Ministers and revised departmental budgets.

Annual NICS pay awards are made in the context of the wider public sector pay policy. The pay award for NICS nonindustrial staff, including SCS, for 2023/24 has been finalised and was paid in June 2024.

AOP staff remuneration is aligned with NICS pay scales. The Accounting Officer is authorised by DfC to approve its pay remit and business case, notifying same to DfC, prior to implementation of the pay award. Staff received he pay award, including backpay, in June 2024.

Trustees

Trustees do not receive any remuneration. They receive travel and subsistence allowances at rates and on conditions determined by AOP, subject to Departmental approval. No Trustee receives pension benefits or makes pension contributions in their capacity as a Board member. Management Committee members who were not trustees during the financial year received travel and subsistence expenses of £2,287 (2023: £1,766).

Service Contracts

The Director of AOP, Professor Michael G. Burton, is the person in a senior position having authority and responsibility for directing and controlling the activities of the organisation. The service contract of the Director commenced on 1 August 2016.

Current terms and conditions for staff are those set out in various policies and individual employment contracts. Senior staff are permanent employees of AOP. The notice period for senior staff is three months. Termination payments are in accordance with contractual terms and those of the principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (NI).

Director’s Remuneration (including Salary and Pension Entitlements) (Audited Information)

The following tables provide details of the remuneration and pension entitlements of the Director of the organisation.

Single Total Figure of Remuneration of Director Figure of Remuneration of Director Figure of Remuneration of Director Figure of Remuneration of Director
Salary (£’000) Pension Benefits
(£’000)*		 Total (£’000) Percentage
Change
Official 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23 2023-24 2022-23
M.G. Burton 85-90 80-85 35 14 120-125 95-100 (9.7%)

*The value of pension benefits accrued during the year is calculated as (the real increase in pension multiplied by 20) plus (the real increase in any lump sum) less (the contributions made by the individual). The real increases exclude increases due to inflation and any increase or decrease due to a transfer of pension rights.

‘Salary’ includes gross salary (on an accruals basis) to the extent that it is subject to UK taxation. There was no overtime, benefit-in-kind, bonus or other allowances. The salary of the Director shown above is based on the Northern Ireland Senior Civil Service Grade 5 pay scale.

Compensation on early retirement or for loss of office

No payment for compensation on early retirement or for loss of office has been made (2022-23: £nil).

AOP Fair Pay Disclosures (Audited Information)

AOP is required to disclose the relationship between the remuneration of the Director and the lower quartile, median and upper quartile remuneration of the organisation’s workforce. The banded remuneration of the Director in the financial year 2023-24 was £85,000 - £90,000 (2022-23: £80,000 - £85,000). The relationship between the mid-point of this band and the remuneration of AOP’s workforce is disclosed below.

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2023-24 25th percentile Median 75th percentile
Total remuneration £21,053 £27,913 £33,780
Pay ratio 4.2:1 3.1:1 2.6:1
2022-23 25th percentile Median 75th percentile
Total remuneration £18,783 £29,731 £37,373
Pay ratio 4.4:1 2.8:1 2.2:1

Total remuneration includes salary, overtime and performance-related bonuses. It does not include severance payments, employer pension contributions and the cash equivalent transfer value of pensions. Remuneration ranged from £14,189 to £87,500. The 25[th] percentile remuneration increased following a 12% increase in the NICS AA pay scale. Because overall employment numbers are low, small changes in the staffing structure can appear disproportionate.

The percentage changes in respect of AOP are shown in the following table. It should be noted that the calculation for the Director is based on the mid-point of the band within which their remuneration fell in each year.

Percentage change for: 2023-24 v 2022-23 2022-23 v 2021-22
Average employee salary and allowances 8.6% 2.4%
Director’s salary and allowances 6.1% -5.7%
Average employee performance pay and bonuses -7.2% 14.9%

No performance pay or bonus was payable to the Director in these years.

Pension Entitlements (Audited Information)

Official Accrued
pension at
pension
age as at
31/03/24		 Real
increase in
pension at
pension
age		 Accrued
Lump
Sum at
31/03/24		 Real
Increase
in Lump
Sum		 CETV at
31/03/24		 CETV at
31/03/23		 Real
Increase
in CETV
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
M.G. Burton 14 2 - - 247 194 33

The figures enclosed are based on last year’s guidance from the Department of Finance on the pension information that should be disclosed in accounts for 2022/23 i.e. these figures exclude the McCloud Remedy from the calculations for any eligible members. The real increase in CETVs is based on the factors in force at 31 March 2024. Due to changes to the non-club transfer factors, provided by the Government Actuary’s Department during the year the CETV calculations for the 2022/23 year have been re-run and provided as the starting input CETV value for the start of the 2023/24 year. When calculating the real increase in CETV and the pension benefits accrued during the year 2023-24 for the single total figure of remuneration, NILGOSC takes account of inflation. The CPI increase for September 2023 was 6.7%. The in-service revaluation rate for the Career Average Revalued Earnings Scheme was also 6.7%.

Pension Scheme

Pension benefits are provided through the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee Pension Scheme (NILGOSC). For members, 1/49[th ] of pensionable pay will be added to their pension account each year and retirement pension is based on career average earnings. Details can be obtained at http://www.nilgosc.org.uk.

Active members of the pension scheme will receive an Annual Benefit Statement. The accrued pension quoted is the pension the member is entitled to receive when they reach their scheme pension age, or immediately on ceasing to be an active member of the scheme if they are at or over pension age.

Employee contribution rates for all members for the period covering 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 are as follows:

Pensionable Pay Contribution Rate
£0 to £16,900 5.5%
£16,901 to £26,000 5.8%
£26,001 to £43,400 6.5%
£43,401 to £52,800 6.8%
£52,801 to £104,700 8.5%
More than £104,700 10.5%

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Employer contribution rates are determined by the Scheme’s actuary every three years. Following the results of the 2022 actuarial valuation, the Committee agreed with its actuary the employer contributions of 19% for the following three years, effective from 1 April 2023. The next valuation is due as at 31 March 2025.

Cash Equivalent Transfer Values

A Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) is the actuarially assessed capitalised value of the pension scheme benefits accrued by a member at a particular point in time. The benefits valued are the member’s accrued benefits and any contingent spouse’s pension payable from the scheme. A CETV is a payment made by a pension scheme or arrangement to secure pension benefits in another pension scheme or arrangement when the member leaves a scheme and chooses to transfer the benefits accrued in their former scheme. The pension figures shown relate to the benefits that the individual has accrued as a consequence of their total membership of the pension scheme, not just their service in a senior capacity to which disclosure applies. The CETV figures include the value of any pension benefit in another scheme or arrangement which the individual has transferred to the NICS pension arrangements. They also include any additional pension benefit accrued to the member as a result of their purchasing additional years of pension service in the scheme at their own cost. CETVs are calculated in accordance with The Occupational Pension Schemes (Transfer Values) (Amendment) Regulations 2015 and do not take account of any actual or potential benefits resulting from Lifetime Allowance Tax which may be due when pension benefits are taken.

Real increase in CETV

This reflects the increase in CETV effectively funded by the employer. It does not include the increase in accrued pension due to inflation, contributions paid by the employee (including the value of any benefits transferred from another pension scheme or arrangement) and uses common market valuation factors for the start and end of the period. However, the real increase calculation uses common actuarial factors at the start and end of the period so that it disregards the effect of any changes in factors and focuses only on the increase that is funded by the employer.

Total Permanently Employed Staff Costs (Audited Information)

otal Permanently Employed Staff Costs (Audited Information)
Permanent
staff Others1 2023-24 2022-23
£ £ £ £
Wages and salaries 1,305,600 141,083 1,446,683 1,341,618
Social security costs 137,506 13,316 150,822 142,108
Employer’s pension contributions 233,129 26,111 259,240 250,805
Defined benefitpension additional service cost 51,000 - 51,000 327,000
1,727,235 180,510 1,907,745 2,061,531

1 “Others” includes £13,501 for agency staff

Average staff numbers (Audited Information)

Permanent 2023-24 2022-23
staff Others2 Total Total
Number Number
Average staff numbers 28.5 6.7 35.2 35.3

2 “Others” includes 4.1 fixed term, 2.3 casuals and 0.3 agency staff

Staff Composition – permanent employees (full time equivalent)

Staff Composition –permanent employees(full time equivalent)
Male Female
Directors/senior managers 2.6 2.0
Other employees 10.7 13.2

Staff Turnover

Staff Turnover
2023-24 2022-23
Leavers as apercentage of average staff inpost 1.5% 3.1%

Sickness Absence (Audited Information)

Staff sickness for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 totalled 94 days (2023: 126 days) which equates to an average per FTE of 1.24% (2023: 1.66%).

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Expenditure on External Consultancy (Audited Information)

Expenditure on external consultancy during the year was £nil (2022-23: £nil).

Off-payroll Engagements (Audited Information)

There were no “off-payroll” engagements in place as at 31 March 2024, nor were any arrangements entered into between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024.

Exit Packages (Audited Information)

Exit package cost band No of
compulsory
redundancies		 No of other
departures
agreed		 Total no. of exit
packages by
cost band		 Total no. of exit
packages by
cost band
2023-24 2023-24 2023-24 2022-23
Total no. of exitpackages - - - -
Total resource cost Nil Nil Nil Nil

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Statement of the Responsibilities of the Governors and Accounting Officer

In accordance with The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, The Governors shall prepare and submit to the Department a statement of accounts in respect of each financial year, and that statement shall be in such form and contain such information as the Department may direct and shall give a true and fair view of the state of the Governors' affairs at the end of the financial year and of the income and expenditure of the Governors in the financial year.

In preparing the accounts, the Accounting Officer is required to comply with the requirements of the Government Financial Reporting Manual and in particular to:

The Department for Communities has appointed Professor M.G. Burton as Accounting Officer of AOP. The responsibilities of an Accounting Officer, including responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the public finances for which the Accounting Officer is answerable, for keeping proper records and for safeguarding AOP’s assets, are set out in Managing Public Money Northern Ireland.

Statement of Disclosure of Information to the Auditors

As the Accounting Officer, I have taken all the steps that I ought to have taken to make myself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s auditors are aware of that information. So far as I am aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware.

Signed:

Professor Michael Burton Accounting Officer for Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Date: 21 October 2024

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Governance Statement

AOP is a Non-Departmental Public Body established under The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

1. Compliance with Corporate Governance Code

In 2013 the Department of Finance and Personnel published Corporate Governance in Central Government Departments: Code of Good Practice NI. The Code draws on best practice in the public, private and charity sectors by: reinforcing the importance of corporate governance as a pre-requisite to achieving good financial management; reflecting changes in governance best practice, including increased emphasis on good leadership; and promoting better governance arrangements within departmental families.

The Code is written for departments, concentrating throughout on key principles which will have wider application for other parts of the public sector. Such bodies (including arms-length bodies (ALBs)) are encouraged to consider and adopt the practices set out in the Code wherever it is relevant and practical and suits their business needs.

AOP in so far as they are relevant for an arms-length body, complies with the principles of good practice in the Corporate Governance Code.

2. Governance Framework

Accounting Officer

Name In post
Professor Michael Burton–Director and Chief Executive From 1 September 2016 onwards

Board of Governors

AOP is governed by a Board of Governors. Membership of the Board of Governors consists of:

During 2023-24 one new Member was appointed to the Chapter of the Church of Ireland Cathedral of Armagh and one Member retired. There are currently two vacant positions.

BOARD OF GOVERNORS BOARD OF GOVERNORS
GOVERNOR DATE OF
APPOINTMENT		 DATE OF EXPIRY MEETINGS
ATTENDED
(max. 1)
Archbishop J McDowell
(Chair)		 28 April 2020 None 1
The Very Revd S Forster
Dean of Armagh		 14 February 2021 None 1
The Ven E Cairns
Archdeacon of Ardboe		 13 December 2020 None 1
The Ven Dr P Thompson
Archdeacon of Armagh		 13 January 2019 None 1
Revd Canon W M Adair BEM 10 September 2008 None 0
Revd Canon W J A Dawson 1998 31 December 2023
(Retired)		 0
Revd Canon D Hilliard 13 March 2016 None 1
Revd Canon W B Paine 7 May 2017 None 0
Revd Canon R J N Porteus 1998 None 0
Revd Canon M Hagan MBE 23 April 2023 None 1
VACANT (from Feb 2023)
VACANT (from 1 January
2023)
Professor A Fitzsimmons 18April 2019 1 May2024 1

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Mr R Wilson 1 December 2019 30 November 2024 0
Archbishop E Martin 1 January 2021 31 December 2025 0
Ms S Leslie From 1 June 2021 31 May 2026 0
MrG Cox 1 March 2021 28February2026 1

At the annual meeting on 16 May 2023 the Board of Governors endorsed the continuing membership of Messrs Cox and Wilson as its nominees on the Management Committee and afforded the Archbishop time to consider a replacement for Revd Canon Adair as a nominee on the Management Committee. Revd Canon Hagan was subsequently appointed as the third nominee.

The Board considered a paper regarding the Charity Name and Delegation of Charity Trustee Status, which had been prepared following discussions with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, and agreed to include the Members of the Management Committee as Charity Trustees (alongside Members of the Board of Governors) and to change the name of the Charity from ‘The Governors of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’ to ‘Armagh Observatory and Planetarium.’

The Board approved the draft Outline Business Case for AOP Redevelopment Project for submission to DfC.

The Chairs of the Management Committee and Audit and Risk Assurance Committees provided verbal reports to the Board and the minutes of both meetings between June 2022 and April 2023 (draft) were provided.

The Board formally retrospectively approved the Annual Report and Accounts 2021-22 and approved the draft Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23.

The Board noted the Management Report for 2022-23 which included the Director’s Report; Corporate Plan Objectives; Key Performance Indicators and the Risk Register as at 31 March 2023 and approved the draft Business Plan 2023-24.

The Board confirmed that it was satisfied that comprehensive arrangements were in place to ensure that high-quality information was received to enable it to make informed decisions. Internal controls were in place to validate the accuracy and completeness of information presented to the Board.

Minutes of the meeting record the business carried out and actions agreed.

Management Committee of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

The Management Committee comprises:

During 2023-24 there were three changes to the Membership of the Management Committee. Mr McGurgan retired on 30 April 2023 and Revd Canon Hagan replaced Revd Canon Adair as one of the Board of Governors’ nominees to the Management Committee. The term of appointment for both Professor Harra and Mr Brown was extended by one year from 30 April 2023 to 30 April 2024.

There is currently one vacant position, with two further vacancies arising on 30 April 2024. A public appointment process to fill all three of these positions completed in June 2024.

MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
MEMBER DATE OF
APPOINTMENT		 DATE OF EXPIRY MEETINGS
ATTENDED
(max. 6)
Mr J Briggs (Chair) 1 January 2018 31 December 2027 6
Professor L Harra 1 November 2014 30 April 2024 4
Mr S Brown 1 November 2014 30 April 2024 6
Mr P McGurgan 1 November 2014 30 April 2023 1 from 1
Professor M Mathioudakis 11 November 2016 10 November 2026 5

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Mr R Wilson 1 December 2019 30 November 2024 2
Professor C Jackman 1 January2021 31 December 2025 3
Professor M Darnley 1 January2021 31 December 2025 4
Mr P Kennedy 1 March 2021 28 February2026 6
Dr K Lemon 1 March 2021 28 February2026 5
Mr E Rooney 1 March 2021 28 February2026 5
Mr G Cox 19 May2021 18 May2026 5
Revd Canon W M Adair
BEM		 15 September 2021 16 May 2023 0 from 1
Revd Canon M Hagan
MBE		 17 May 2023 NONE 1 from 3
VACANT (from 1 May
2023)

A special meeting of the Management Committee was held in May 2023 to consider the draft Outline Business Case for AOP Redevelopment Project and in April 2023 the Management Committee recommended the final draft for Board approval at a Special Meeting held on Thursday 4 May 2023.

On 17 April 2023, the Committee noted an Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Notice of Motion acknowledging, endorsing and supporting the work of AOP and its international linkages and partnership with Birr and Dunsink – the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland.

The draft 2023-24 Business Plan was approved for submission to DfC in April 2023. It was approved by the Permanent Secretary on 14 November 2023.

In April the Management Committee considered a number of papers relating to Whistleblowing/Raising a Concern and approved AOP’s updated Policy; reaffirmed its commitment to an ethical culture where all concerns were taken seriously; undertook to provide assurance to the Permanent Secretary regarding staff awareness of the Policy and appointed Mr Greg Cox as AOP’s Designated Officer (Whistleblowing Champion).

The Management Committee considered an update on discussions with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland in relation to changing the Charity Name and the Delegation of Charity Trustee Status in April 2023. In June 2023 it noted that the Charity Commission was comfortable with changing the registered name from ‘The Governors of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’ to ‘Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’ and unanimously agreed that the Management Committee Members take on the responsibility of Charity Trustee alongside the Members of the Board.

A two-day meeting took place in June 2023. In addition to routine business over the two days the Management Committee received a presentation on Carbon Reduction and Action Plan; held an interactive session with staff; undertook practical taster sessions; received a presentation and discussion with the Council in relation to Armagh Place Strategies; received a presentation on DfC’s Building Inclusive Communities Strategy and a reviewed the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which would formally establish the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland. The MoU was signed on Thursday 21 September 2023 in Dunsink, Dublin.

The Committee considered and was content with the summary of its annual Effectiveness Review in September 2023.

In September, on the Chair’s recommendation, it approved the establishment of a Liaison Committee between Management Committee and key SMT officers to ensure all issues relating to the redevelopment project were aligned and addressed. The first meeting took place on 17 November 2023.

At the December meeting the Management Committee received a Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Plan. A subcommittee was also established to consider the 2024-25 budget.

At each of its meetings throughout the year the Committee received a report from the Director, a presentation on Research from an Astronomer, updates from each of its standing sub-committees and approved relevant reports. Regular governance reports such as the Bi-Annual Assurance Statement, the Corporate Risk Register, ICT Risk Register, Key Performance Indicators and Finance reports were reviewed and approved. The Committee considered and noted amendments to policies that had been reviewed in line with the policy review process and approved new policies as appropriate.

Throughout the year, the Management Committee also considered progress on AOP’s Vision and redevelopment which included updates from the Redevelopment Sub-Committee.

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Internal controls are in place to validate the accuracy and completeness of information presented to the Management Committee.

Minutes of the meetings record the business carried out and actions agreed.

Audit and Risk Assurance Committee

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee is drawn from the Management Committee and comprises a minimum of four and maximum of five members. A special meeting took place in June 2023 to discuss the Internal Audit Strategy with the reappointed Internal Audit provider.

AUDIT AND RISK ASSURANCE COMMITTEE AUDIT AND RISK ASSURANCE COMMITTEE
MEMBER MEETINGS ATTENDED
(max. 5)
Mr S Brown Chair (from June 2021) 5
Professor L Harra 3
Mr P McGurgan (to 30 April 2023) 1 from 1
Mr P Kennedy 5
Mr E Rooney 5
Dr K Lemon (from June 2023) 4 from 4

During 2023-24 the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee considered the Internal Audit Charter; the Internal Audit Strategy 2023-2026, Internal Audit Plan 2023-24; reports from Internal Audit on progress against the audit plan and on outstanding recommendations; a revised Report to Those Charged With Governance in respect of the 2021-22 Accounts and reports from external auditors on the 2022-23 Annual Report and Accounts; review of the Accounting Officer’s Assurance Statement and review of the Risk Register. In view of the severity of ICT related risks, including data/cyber security, a separate ICT Risk Register was developed.

The Committee is satisfied that the integrated approach, the frequency of meetings, the breadth of the business undertaken, the skills of Members and the range of attendees at meetings of the Committee has allowed the Committee to meet the governance requirements of the organisation and assisted the Management Committee to demonstrate its stewardship of the public resources with which it is charged.

The Committee is satisfied that the organisation has robust risk management arrangements in place which are in line with the good practice in the HM Treasury ‘Orange Book’ and are reviewed regularly by the Management Committee.

There were 4 Internal Audit recommendations from prior years outstanding, 2 of which have been completed. The Committee is satisfied that progress is being made to complete the remaining outstanding recommendations. There were 6 new internal audit recommendations identified during 2023-24, 3 of which have been implemented.

Minutes of the meetings record the business carried out and actions agreed.

Staffing Policy and Remuneration Committee

The Staffing Policy and Remuneration Committee is drawn from the Management Committee and comprises a minimum of four and maximum of five members. Special Meetings took place in October 2023 and January 2024 to discuss Strategic Workforce Planning and PDRA pay scales respectively.

STAFFING POLICY AND REMUNERATION COMMITTEE STAFFING POLICY AND REMUNERATION COMMITTEE
MEMBER MEETINGS ATTENDED
(max. 6)
Mr E Rooney (Chair) 6
Mr S Brown 6
Mr J Briggs 6
Dr K Lemon 6
M P Kennedy 6

In 2023-24, amongst other matters, the Committee considered:

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AOP retained its Diversity Mark (Bronze Award) and Project Juno Practitioner Status. The application for Juno Champion did not meet the standard.

Research and Education Advisory Committee

The Research and Education Advisory Committee is drawn from the Management Committee and comprises a minimum of four and maximum of five members.

RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE RESEARCH AND EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEMBER MEETINGS ATTENDED
(max. 2)
Professor L Harra (Chair) 2
Professor M Darnley 2
Dr K Lemon 1
Professor M Mathioudakis 1

In 2023-24, amongst other matters, the Committee considered:

A Local Organising Committee (LOC) comprising members from across AOP ensured the smooth delivery of 4 Conferences held at the Planetarium in September 2023.

Redevelopment Sub-Committee

The Redevelopment Sub-Committee’s membership is drawn from the Management Committee and comprises of six members.

REDEVELOPMENT SUB-COMMITTEE REDEVELOPMENT SUB-COMMITTEE
MEMBER MEETINGS ATTENDED
(max. 3)
Mr S Brown (Chair) 3
Mr J Briggs 2
Mr G Cox 1
Mr P Kennedy 3
Dr K Lemon 2
Mr E Rooney 2

The primary purpose of the Sub-Committee was to drive the ‘Development of AOP Science and Education Park’ Project forward, and oversee the delivery of the outcomes and benefits, most notably initially an Outline Business Case (OBC) by March 2023. It was a very ambitious and challenging timetable and there was a little slippage. The OBC, which was submitted to DfC on 1 June 2023, remains under consideration.

Since submission of the OBC in June 2023, this ‘task and finish’ Sub-Committee, which will continue until the OBC is approved, has met twice and considered a range of issues associated with project governance including the Business Case, planning / design issues, funding packages and stakeholder engagement.

Finance Sub-Committee

An interim finance sub-committee was established in December to consider the potential budget constraints faced for 2024/25 and possible actions to be taken. The sub-committee met three times, taking a detailed look at budget proposals and determining cost priorities. This culminated in a letter from the Accounting Officer to the DfC Permanent Secretary in May 2024 setting out identified savings and inescapable costs.

Conflicts of Interest

The organisation maintains a register of interests to ensure that potential conflicts of interest can be identified and addressed in advance of Board, Management Committee and other Committee discussions. The register is formally revisited on an annual basis. Where conflicts exist, they are recorded in the Committee minutes and the Chair of the meeting decides the most appropriate way of managing the conflict. This may include that member not taking part in discussions or making decisions on certain matters or being excluded for part or all of that meeting.

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The Register of Interests for Board of Governors, Management Committee and senior staff is published on the AOP website in accordance with central government guidance.

Directors and Secretary

Professor Michael Burton is Director and Chief Executive.

The Corporate Manager provides a range of secretarial support services to the Board of Governors, Management Committee and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee; the HR and Policy Officer provides secretarial support to the Staffing Policy and Remuneration Committee, and Executive Officers support the Research and Education Advisory Committee and Redevelopment Sub-Committee.

3. Business Planning and Risk Management

Business Planning

‘Our mission is the pursuit of knowledge and understanding of the cosmos, and the sharing of that knowledge in order to inspire future generations and enrich the intellectual, economic, social and cultural life of all.’

‘Our vision is to be recognised as an international centre of scientific excellence for the pursuit of astronomy and the public understanding of science, for our capacity for innovation and our extraordinary heritage, a place our community can be proud of.’

The pillars that support us are – Knowledge, Legacy, People and Engagement.

The five-year strategy is built around four strategic themes - Enduring Relevance, National and International Standing, Offering More and Pursuing our Priorities.

The Strategic Plan aligns closely with the aims and objectives of the Observatory and Planetarium’s sponsor - the Department for Communities (DfC) – and with the broader aims and objectives of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government. The organisation’s Strategic Plan 2021-26 received Departmental approval on 17 August 2021.

The work of the Observatory encompasses both internationally acclaimed research and a unique cultural heritage — scientific, historical, architectural — as well as maintaining the unique daily climate series (the longest daily series from a single site in the UK and Ireland) and undertaking a world-class programme of science in the community, which complements the Planetarium’s main business of education.

The Planetarium’s main business is education, and all age and social groups are welcome to visit. The educational programmes and demonstrations are designed to include participation by children of pre-nursery age up to senior citizens and all age groups in between. The primary educational aim of the Planetarium is to endorse and promote the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) agenda which promotes scientific careers to young people. All of the ancillary activities support the primary aim, with the additional target of offering excellent value for money, both to the visitors taking part and to the public purse. The Planetarium maintains a focus on being inclusive so that all children can enjoy the Planetarium experience.

Full details of all the Observatory and Planetarium’s activities are provided in comprehensive Annual Reports which are available online at: www.armagh.space.

No Ministerial Directions have been given regarding the work of AOP.

Risk Management

Risk Management is an essential element of AOP’s corporate governance framework and is closely linked to the system of internal control and business planning process. HM Treasury Orange Book establishes the concept of risk management and provides a basic introduction to its concepts, development and implementation of risk management processes in government organisations. A robust risk management process assists AOP in identifying and managing issues which may hinder the achievement of objectives. The arrangements are regularly reviewed.

As well as ensuring that there is an effective system in place to deal with threats to AOP’s aims and objectives, the organisation encourages a proactive approach to innovation and well-managed risk taking where there is potential to realise sustainable improvements in the organisation’s research and educational services. For this reason, the organisation’s Risk Appetite is ‘Open’.

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The Management Committee sets the risk appetite for AOP. The Accounting Officer, Senior Management and other staff are responsible for ensuring that residual risks are reduced to a level as low as reasonably practicable and wherever possible consistent with the level of risk appetite established by the Management Committee.

Updates are provided to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee on the development and implementation of the risk management process across AOP. The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee provides the Accounting Officer with objective advice on issues concerning the risk, control and governance of the organisation and the associated assurances. An update on the main points considered by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee is provided to the Management Committee following each meeting and the Management Committee has access to all papers for the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee.

4. Fraud and Information Risk

The Accounting Officer has overall responsibility for managing the risk of fraud including:

Risks to data and information held by the organisation are owned and managed by individuals designated as information asset owners. The Corporate Policy and HR Officer responds to requests for information under the Data Protection and Freedom of Information Acts following consultation with the Accounting Officer and the organisation’s governing Committees, as appropriate.

AOP operates a Whistleblowing Policy which informs all members of the organisation of the standards of behaviour expected of them in carrying out their duties, and to provide information on the procedures to follow if a situation arises in which they are required to act in a way which is believed by them to be illegal, improper, or in breach of the Nolan Principles.

5. Governance and Accountability

AOP seeks to achieve excellence in good governance, in particular the precepts: (1) leadership; (2) effectiveness; (3) accountability and (4) sustainability.

The Chair of the Board of Governors has a particular leadership responsibility for securing the sustainability and vitality of the organisation in the long term; giving advice and direction in formulating AOP’s forward look and overall strategy; ensuring that account is taken of guidance provided by the Minister or the Department; promoting the efficient and effective use of staff and other resources; encouraging high standards of probity amongst staff and Board and Committee members alike; and ensuring that the Board and its Committees meet at regular intervals throughout the year and that the Minutes of meetings accurately record the decisions taken and, where appropriate, the views of individual Board members.

Within AOP, the Director, supported by his Senior Management team, has responsibility for the management and effective operation of their organisation. Their operational responsibilities include:

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Members of the Board of Governors and of the Management Committee and their various Sub Committees exercise an effective challenge function on the leadership team in accord with their respective roles in the organisation. They also provide guidance and advice on strategic and operational matters such as Human Resource issues, accountability and relationships with stakeholders.

The members of these Committees are drawn from a very wide community background within, and beyond, Northern Ireland, and provide the organisation with a correspondingly wide range of expert knowledge and advice. All the Committees of AOP operate with full transparency and accountability, and over the last year have proved effective in the discharge of their duties and responsibilities.

It was agreed by the Board of Governors and the Management Committee that the governance arrangements in place removed the need for the current Board of Governors to complete an internal self-assessment of its effectiveness.

The Board of Governors and supporting Committees receive assurances from the Director and his Senior Management and Internal Audit that the governance and accountability processes are being managed effectively.

6. Sources of Independent Assurance

Internal Audit

CavanaghKelly was reappointed as Internal Auditors for the 3 years 2023-24 – 2025-26 using CPD as the Centre of Procurement Expertise. Their work was carried out in accordance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards.

The three year Audit Strategy was approved by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in June 2023.

The Audit and Risk Assurance Committee considered reports on the following areas:

Audit Assignment Assurance Rating
Governance including Whistleblowing and
Risk Management		 Satisfactory
Budgetary Control Satisfactory
Health and Safety and Safeguarding Satisfactory
Internal Audit Follow Up 2023-24 N/A

An overall satisfactory internal audit assurance opinion has been provided.

External Audit

The Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) is required to audit the financial statements under The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 . The C&AG is responsible for reporting whether in her opinion the financial statements give a true and fair view and whether they and the part of the Remuneration Report to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Order and DfC directions made thereunder and applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards. The C&AG is required to report whether, in her opinion, in light of the knowledge and understanding of AOP and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, she has identified any material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report and whether the information which comprises the Statement of the Responsibilities of the Governors and Accounting Officers and Governance Statement, as included within the Annual Report, is consistent with the financial statements. She also reports on whether, in her opinion, in all material respects, the expenditure and income presented in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by the Assembly and whether the financial transactions conform to the authorities which govern them.

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A representative from the Northern Ireland Audit Office is invited to all Audit and Risk Assurance Committee meetings.

7. Review of the Effectiveness of the System of Internal Governance

The system of internal governance is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level, rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve certain policies, aims and objectives; it can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. The system of internal governance is based on an ongoing process designed to identify and prioritise risks to the achievement of the AOP policies, aims and objectives; to assess the likelihood of the events occurring and the impact should they be realised; and to manage the risks effectively, efficiently and economically. The system of internal governance has been in place in AOP for the year ended 31 March 2024 and up to the date of approval of the annual accounts, and accords with Department of Finance guidance.

As previously detailed in Section 2, the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer include the need to maintain a sound system of internal control which supports the achievement of the organisation’s policies, aims and objectives. The review of the effectiveness of the system of internal governance has been informed by the assurances provided by relevant parties such as: Internal Audit and the Senior Management team. Where weaknesses have been identified these have been promptly drawn, through normal reporting mechanisms, to the attention of the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee, Management Committee and/or Board of Governors, as appropriate.

The main procedures in place to monitor the effectiveness of the system of internal governance are as follows:

All reports based on the internal and external audits include opinions on the adequacy and effectiveness of risk management and the control framework in place. These matters are considered by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and are reported by the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee Chair to the Management Committee and the Board of Governors.

Weaknesses identified in AOP’s control systems and internal governances are set out within the next section. Upon identification, plans were immediately put into place to addresses these issues.

8. Internal Governance Divergences

During its audit for 2023-24, NIAO identified no priority 1 issues to be addressed by management in their areas of responsibility.

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9. Conclusion

AOP has an effective governance structure and is operating to a high standard of integrity and probity. In signing this report, I have taken assurances, where available, from the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee and I will continue to monitor the Internal Audit and Northern Ireland Audit Office recommendations to ensure that all issues are appropriately addressed.

To the best of my knowledge this report provides a fair and accurate reflection of the business of AOP and of the status of the controls and checks that have been put in place to regulate and inform the organisation’s committees.

Signed: Professor Michael Burton Accounting Officer Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Date: 21 October 2024

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Refereed Journal Publications: April 2023 – March 2024

Albacete-Colombo J. F., et al., inc. Vink J. S. , 2023, Diffuse X-Ray Emission in the Cygnus OB2 Association, Astrophysical Journal Supplement, 269, 14, doi:10.3847/1538-4365/acdd65, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJS..269...14A

Bagnulo S. , Farihi J., Landstreet J. D. , Folsom C. P., 2024, Discovery of Magnetically Guided Metal Accretion onto a Polluted White Dwarf, Astrophysical Journal, 963, L22, doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad2619, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...963L..22B

Bowman D. M., van Saders J., Vink J. S. , 2023, The Structure and Evolution of Stars: Introductory Remarks, Galaxies, 11, 94, doi:10.3390/galaxies11050094, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023Galax..11...94B

Christou A. A. , Egal A., Georgakarakos N., 2024, The Taurid Resonant Swarm at Mercury, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 527, 4834, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3516, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.527.4834C

Connolly R., et al., 2023, inc. Butler C. J. , Challenges in the Detection and Attribution of Northern Hemisphere Surface Temperature Trends Since 1850, Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics, 23, 105015, doi:10.1088/1674-4527/acf18e, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023RAA....23j5015C

Çubuk K. O. , et al., inc. Burton, M.G. , Eden D. J. , 2023, The Mopra Southern Galactic Plane CO Survey - data release 4- complete survey, Publications Astronomical Society Australia, 40, e047, doi:10.1017/pasa.2023.44, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023PASA...40...47C

Ding Y., et al., inc. Sarzi M. , 2023, The Fornax3D project: Environmental effects on the assembly of dynamically cold disks in Fornax cluster galaxies, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 672, A84, doi:10.1051/0004- 6361/202244558, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...672A..84D

Doyle L. , Ramsay G. , Doyle J. G. , 2023, VizieR Online Data Catalog: Superflares in solar-type stars with TESS (Doyle+, 2020), VizieR On-line Data Catalog: J/MNRAS/494/3596. Originally published in: 2020MNRAS.494.3596D

Dutta S., et al., inc. Eden D. J. , 2024, ALMA Survey of Orion Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (ALMASOP): Molecular Jets and Episodic Accretion in Protostars, Astronomical Journal, 167, 72, doi:10.3847/1538-3881/ad152b, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024AJ....167...72D

Farnocchia D., et al., inc. Gray Z. , 2023, The Second International Asteroid Warning Network Timing Campaign: 2005 LW3, The Planetary Science Journal, 4, 203, doi:10.3847/PSJ/acfd22, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023PSJ.....4..203F

Fréour L., Neiner C., Landstreet J. D. , Folsom C. P., Wade G. A., 2023, The magnetic field of the chemically peculiar star V352 Peg, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 520, 3201, doi:10.1093/mnras/stac2104, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.520.3201F

Galán-de Anta P. M. , et al., inc. Sarzi M. , 2023a, The fragility of thin discs in galaxies - I. Building tailored N-body galaxy models, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 520, 4490, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad419, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.520.4490G

Galán-de Anta P. M. , Capelo P. R., Vasiliev E., Dotti M., Sarzi M. , Corsini E. M., Morelli L., 2023b, The fragility of thin discs in galaxies - II. Thin discs as tracers of the assembly history of galaxies, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 523, 3939, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1593, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.523.3939G

Ge Y., et al., inc. Eden D. J. , 2023, Large-scale velocity-coherent filaments in the SEDIGISM survey: Association with spiral arms and the fraction of dense gas, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 675, A119, doi:10.1051/00046361/202245784, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...675A.119G

Geem J., et al., inc. Gray Z. , 2023, Spectral type and geometric albedo of (98943) 2001 CC21, the Hayabusa2# mission target, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 525, L17, doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad073, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.525L..17G

Gray Z. , et al., inc. Bagnulo S. , 2024, Polarimetry of Didymos–Dimorphos: Unexpected Long-term Effects of the DART Impact, The Planetary Science Journal, 5, 18, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ad0f18, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024PSJ.....5...18G

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Graykowski A., et al., inc. Clarke C. , 2023, Light curves and colours of the ejecta from Dimorphos after the DART impact, Nature, 616, 461, doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05852-9, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023Natur.616..461G

Gu Q.-L., et al., inc. Eden D. J. , 2024, The Magnetic Field in the Colliding Filaments G202.3+2.5, Astrophysical Journal, 963, 126, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad1bc7, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...963..126G

Guarcello M. G., et al., inc. Vink J. S. , 2023, Photoevaporation and Close Encounters: How the Environment around Cygnus OB2 Affects the Evolution of Protoplanetary Disks, Astrophysical Journal Supplement, 269, 13, doi:10.3847/1538-4365/acdd67, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJS..269...13G

Hambleton K. M., et al., inc. Vink J. S. , 2023, Rubin Observatory LSST Transients and Variable Stars Roadmap, Publications Astronomical Society Pacific, 135, 105002, doi:10.1088/1538-3873/acdb9a, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023PASP..135j5002H

Hawthorn F., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2024, TESS duotransit candidates from the Southern Ecliptic Hemisphere, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 528, 1841, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3783, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.528.1841H

Hernandez M. S., Schreiber M. R., Landstreet J. D. , Bagnulo S. , Parsons S. G., Chavarria M., Toloza O., Bell K. J., 2024, Rotation plays a role in the generation of magnetic fields in single white dwarfs, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 528, 6056, doi:10.1093/mnras/stae307, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.528.6056H

Higgins E. R. , Vink J. S. , Hirschi R., Laird A. M., Sabhahit G. N. , 2023, Stellar wind yields of very massive stars, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 526, 534, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad2537, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.526..534H

Hirano N., et al., inc. Eden D. J. , 2024, ALMA Survey of Orion Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (ALMA- SOP): Discovery of an Extremely Dense and Compact Object Embedded in the Prestellar Core G208.68-19.92-N2, Astrophysical Journal, 961, 123, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad09e2, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...961..123H

Hsu S.-Y., et al., inc. Eden D. J. , 2023, ALMA Survey of Orion Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (ALMASOP): The Warm-envelope Origin of Hot Corinos, Astrophysical Journal, 956, 120, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acefcf, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...956..120H

Iodice E., et al., inc. Sarzi M. , 2023, Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS): Exploring the nature of ultradiffuse galaxies in the Hydra-I cluster. I. Project description and preliminary results, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 679, A69, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202347129, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...679A..69I

Jones G. H., et al., inc. Bagnulo S. , 2024, The Comet Interceptor Mission, Space Science Reviews, 220, 9, doi:10.1007/s11214-023-01035-0, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024SSRv..220....9J

Karoly J., et al., inc. Eden D. J. , 2023, The JCMT BISTRO Survey: Studying the Complex Magnetic Field of L43, Astrophysical Journal, 952, 29, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acd6f2, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...952...29K

Kleiner D., et al., inc. Loni A. , 2023, The MeerKAT Fornax Survey. II. The rapid removal of H I from dwarf galaxies in the Fornax cluster, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 675, A108, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346461, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...675A.108K

Kupfer T., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2024, LISA Galactic Binaries with Astrometry from Gaia DR3, Astrophysical Journal, 963, 100, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad2068, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...963..100K

Kwon Y. G., Bagnulo S. , Cellino A., 2023, Optical spectropolarimetry of large C-complex asteroids: Polarimetric evidence for heterogeneous surface compositions, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 677, A146, doi:10.1051/00046361/202347021, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...677A.146K

Landstreet J. D. , Villaver E., Bagnulo S. , 2023, Not So Fast, Not So Furious: Just Magnetic, Astrophysical Journal, 952, 129, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acdac8, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...952..129L

Li J.-Y., et al., inc. Bagnulo S. , 2023, Ejecta from the DART-produced active asteroid Dimorphos, Nature, 616, 452, doi:10.1038/s41586-023-05811-4, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023Natur.616..452L

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Loni A. , et al., inc. Sarzi M. , Galán-de Anta P. M. , 2023, NGC 1436: the making of a lenticular galaxy in the Fornax Cluster, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 523, 1140, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1422, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.523.1140L

Loubser S. I., et al., inc. Loni A. , 2024, The star formation histories of galaxies in different stages of preprocessing in the Fornax A group, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 527, 7158, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3654, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.527.7158L

Luo Q.-y., et al., inc. Eden D. , 2023, ALMA Survey of Orion Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (ALMASOP): A Forming Quadruple System with Continuum “Ribbons” and Intricate Outflows, Astrophysical Journal, 952, L2, doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acdddf, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...952L...2L

Maccagni F. M., et al., inc. Loni A. , 2023, The AGN fuelling/feedback cycle in nearby radio galaxies. V. The cold atomic gas of NGC 3100 and its group, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 675, A59, doi:10.1051/0004- 6361/202346521, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...675A..59M

Moreno F., et al., inc. Gray Z. , 2023, Characterization of the Ejecta from the NASA/DART Impact on Dimorphos: Observations and Monte Carlo Models, The Planetary Science Journal, 4, 138, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ace827, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023PSJ.....4..138M

Moulton T., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2023, NGTS clusters survey - IV. Search for Dipper stars in the Orion Nebular Cluster, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 521, 1700, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad364, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.521.1700M

Nikolov Y., Luna G. J. M., Stoyanov K. A., Borisov G. , Mukai K., Sokoloski J. L., Avramova- Boncheva A., 2023, Transient and asymmetric dust structures in the TeV-bright nova RS Oph revealed by spectropolarimetry, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 679, A150, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202346997, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...679A.150N

Patel M., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2023, GRB 201015A and the nature of low-luminosity soft gamma-ray bursts, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 523, 4923, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1703, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.523.4923P

Penttilä A., Muinonen K., Granvik M., Gray Z. , Bagnulo S. , Kolokolova L., Moreno F., 2024, Modeling Linear Polarization of the Didymos–Dimorphos System before and after the DART Impact, The Planetary Science Journal, 5, 27, doi:10.3847/PSJ/ad1757, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024PSJ.....5...27P

Philip Monai A. , Martin P., Jeffery C. S. , 2024, The distribution, kinematics, and luminosities of extreme helium stars as probes of their origin and evolution, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 527, 5408, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad3291, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.527.5408P

Rani R., Moore T. J. T., Eden D. J. , Rigby A. J., Duarte-Cabral A., Lee Y.-N., 2023, Identification of molecular clouds in emission maps: a comparison between methods in the 13CO/C18O (J = 3-2) Heterodyne Inner Milky Way Plane Survey, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 523, 1832, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1507, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.523.1832R

Ruffa I., et al., inc. Sarzi M ., 2023, WISDOM project - XIV. SMBH mass in the early-type galaxies NGC 0612, NGC 1574, and NGC 4261 from CO dynamical modelling, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 522, 6170, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1119, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.522.6170R

Ruffa I., et al., inc. Sarzi M. , 2024, A fundamental plane of black hole accretion at millimetre wave-lengths, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 528, L76, doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad167, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024MNRAS.528L..76R

Sabhahit G. N. , Vink J. S. , Sander A. A. C. , Higgins E. R. , 2023, Very massive stars and pair-instability supernovae: mass-loss framework for low metallicity, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 524, 1529, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1888, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.524.1529S

Scott L. J. A. , Jeffery C. S. , Farren D., Tap C., Dorsch M., 2023, Abundance analysis of a nitrogen-rich extremehelium hot subdwarf from the SALT survey, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 521, 3431, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad688, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.521.3431S

Serra P., et al., inc. Loni A. , 2023, The MeerKAT Fornax Survey. I. Survey description and first evidence of ram pressure in the Fornax galaxy cluster, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 673, A146, doi:10.1051/0004- 6361/202346071, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...673A.146S

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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Shenar T., et al., inc. Bagnulo S. , 2023, A massive helium star with a sufficiently strong magnetic field to form a magnetar, Science, 381, 761, doi:10.1126/science.ade3293, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023Sci...381..761S

Smith G. D., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2023, NGTS clusters survey - V. Rotation in the Orion star-forming complex, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 523, 169, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1435, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.523..169S

Snowdon E. J. , Jeffery C. S. , Schlagenhauf S. , Dorsch M., Monageng I. M., 2023, Ton S 415: a close binary containing an intermediate helium subdwarf discovered with SALT and TESS, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 525, 183, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad2303, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.525..183S

Soon W., et al., inc. Butler C.J. , 2023, The Detection and Attribution of Northern Hemisphere Land Surface Warming (1850–2018) in Terms of Human and Natural Factors: Challenges of Inadequate Data, Climate, 11, 179, doi:10.3390/cli11090179, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023Clim...11..179S

Vermette B., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2023, Constraining the White-dwarf Mass and Magnetic Field Strength of a New Intermediate Polar through X-Ray Observations, Astrophysical Journal, 954, 138, doi:10.3847/15384357/ace90c, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...954..138V

Vilangot Nhalil N. , Shetye J. , Doyle J. G. , 2023, Searching for signatures of H α spicule-like features in the solar transition region, Monthly Notices Royal Astronomical Society, 524, 1156, doi:10.1093/mnras/stad1742, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023MNRAS.524.1156V

Vink J. S. , 2023, Very massive stars and nitrogen-emitting galaxies, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 679, L9, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202347827, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...679L...9V

Vink J. S. , Sabhahit G. N. , 2023, Exploring the Red Supergiant wind kink. A Universal mass-loss concept for massive stars, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 678, L3, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202347801, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...678L...3V

Vink J. S. , et al., inc. Higgins E. R. , Sabhahit G. N. , 2023, X-Shooting ULLYSES: Massive stars at low metallicity. I. Project description, Astronomy & Astrophysics, 675, A154, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202245650, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023AA...675A.154V

Wang J.-W., et al., inc. Eden D. , 2024, Filamentary Network and Magnetic Field Structures Revealed with BISTRO in the High-mass Star-forming Region NGC 2264: Global Properties and Local Magnetogravitational Configurations, Astrophysical Journal, 962, 136, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad165b, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...962..136W

Ward-Thompson D., et al., inc. Eden D. , 2023, First BISTRO Observations of the Dark Cloud Taurus L1495A-B10: The Role of the Magnetic Field in the Earliest Stages of Low-mass Star Formation, Astrophysical Journal, 946, 62, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/acbea4, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...946...62W

Wickhusen K., Oberst J., Christou A. , Damme F., 2023, Trajectory analysis for combined missions to mars and its Trojan Asteroids, Planetary and Space Science, 228, 105649, doi:10.1016/j.pss.2023.105649, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023PSS..22805649W

Xu F., et al., inc. Eden D. , 2024, On the Scarcity of Dense Cores (n > 10[5] cm[-3] ) in High-latitude Planck Galactic Cold Clumps, Astrophysical Journal, 963, L9, doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad21e6, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024ApJ...963L...9X

Zhang X., Jeffery C. S. , Su J., Bi S., 2023, The Formation of Blue Large-amplitude Pulsators from White- dwarf Main-sequence Star Mergers, Astrophysical Journal, 959, 24, doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ad0a65, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023ApJ...959...24Z

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Non Refereed Journal Publications: April 2023 – March 2024

Bailey M. E. , Christou A. A. , Finnegan J. A., 2023, The Flying Fish Fireball of 2014 July 17, WGN, Journal of the International Meteor Organization, 51, 38, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2023JIMO...51...38B

Belkin S., et al., inc. Ramsay G. , 2024, GRB 230911A: The First Discovery of a Fermi GRB Optical Counterpart with the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO), Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society, 8, 6, doi:10.3847/2515-5172/ad1876, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024RNAAS...8....6B

Christou A. , Gritsevich M., 2023, in EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts. Meteor phenomena in the atmosphere of Venus, EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts. pp EGU–4306, doi:10.5194/egusphereegu23-4306

Dermott S., Li D., Christou A. , 2023, in AAS/Division of Dynamical Astronomy Meeting. Do HED meteorites originate from two large craters on asteroid Vesta?. p. 202.04

McMahon, M. , 2023, Herschel Family Papers held at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium. Journal of the Herschel Society 22, 4–13

McMahon, M. , 2024, Hugh Breen, Father of Astronomers. History Armagh 5, 38–40

McMahon, M. , Black, A. , 2024, The Armagh Observatory Troughton Equatorial Telescope (1795) Network. Scientific Instrument Society Bulletin 27–40 (2024).

McMahon M. , Nežič R. , 2024, Archival research in a planetarium: The first projector at Armagh Planetarium, Communicating Astronomy with the Public Journal, 34, 37, https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2024CAPJ...34...37M

Morgan L., Law C. Y., Tan J., Eden D. , 2024, in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts. Filaments All the Way Down: Examining the hierarchical nature of the ISM. p. 156.05

Stricklan A., Shetye J. , 2023, in American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts. What do coronal hole jets eat: A look at these beasts and the mechanisms that feed them. p. 103.02

During the reporting year, G Ramsay published many reports related to the discovery of transients and is directly related to his work on the GOTO and BlackGem projects. The Transient Name Server (TNS) is an IAU supported service which reports newly discovered extragalactic transients. He led or was co-Investigator on 201 TNS Discovery Reports and 14 TNS AstroNotes. In addition, he was co-Investigator on 11 GRB Coordinates Network Circular Services (GCNs), which report the results of optical follow-up of Gravitational Wave and Gamma-ray Burst events. He led 1 Astronomical Telegram (ATel) reporting the outburst of a CV candidate.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Presentations: April 2023 – March 2024

Date AOP Speaker Title Location/Mode Category
03 Apr 2023
 G. Ramsay

 Key Tools, Techniques and
Methods Over Last 20 Years

 Astrobytes, Armagh Observatory
and Planetarium, Armagh
 Internal Outreach
06 Apr 2023
 J.S. Vink

 Mixing and Mass Loss in
Massive Stars


 SDSS-V/IReNA Science
Festival, KU Leuven, Belgium
(virtual)
Research
16 Apr 2023
 J. Rigney
 From the Leviathan to LOFAR Birr Castle, Co. Offaly, Ireland
 Outreach
17 Apr 2023
 A. Philip Monai

 Recap: The Formation of the
Solar System

 Astrobytes, Armagh Observatory
and Planetarium, Armagh
 Internal Outreach
17 Apr 2023
 J.S. Vink

 The Heaviest Stars and Black
Holes in the Universe


 AOP Management Committee
Meeting, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
28 Apr 2023
 G. Ramsay
 Stellar Activity and NGTS

 NGTS Consortium Meeting, Queen's
University Belfast
Research
29 Apr 2023
 M.E. Bailey



 Giant Comets and Their
Impacts Through Time: The
Most Recent Giant Comet and
its Impact on Civilization

 Society for Interdisciplinary Studies
Spring Meeting, Watford, England
 Outreach
03 May 2023
 J.S. Vink
 Space
 St Teresa Primary School, Belfast Outreach
05 May 2023
 M. Burton

 The Director’s Cut –
Orienteering the Cosmos




 A Special Planetarium Show for
Participants in the British
Orienteering Championships in
Armagh, Armagh Planetarium,
Armagh
 Outreach
13 May 2023
 J. Rigney
 From the Leviathan to LOFAR Birr Castle Co. Offaly, Ireland
 Outreach
16 May 2023
 M. Sarzi
 The Fornax3D Survey

 Galaxy Groups and Clusters III
Conference, La Serena, Chile
 Research
24 May 2023
 J. Rigney
 Single Station Science

 LOFAR Science Summer School
Workshop, Sofia, Bulgaria
 Teaching
24 May 2023
 J. Rigney
 Pulsars and Fast Radio Bursts
LOFAR Science Summer School
Workshop, Sofia, Bulgaria
 Teaching
30 May 2023
 D. Eden


 MAJORS: Massive, Active,
JCMT-Observed Regions of
Star Formation.

 JCMT Users’ Meeting 2023,
University College London, London
 Research
02 Jun 2023
 C.S. Jeffery


 The SALT Survey of Hydrogen-
Deficient Stars and Hot
Subdwarfs



 Science Highlights from SALT
Conference, Nicolas Copernicus
Astronomical Centre, Warsaw,
Poland
 Research
06 Jun 2023
 C.S. Jeffery


 The SALT Survey of Hydrogen-
Deficient Stars and Hot
Subdwarfs

 Institut für Physik und Astronomie,
Universität Potsdam, Germany
 Research
08 Jun 2023
 M. Burton

 Armagh – Exploring the
Cosmos

 Lisburn Probus Club, Lisburn Golf
Club, Lisburn, Co. Antrim
 Outreach
09 Jun 2023
 M. Burton

 The Director’s Cut – The
Planets
 Armagh Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
12 Jun 2023
 C.S. Jeffery

 Shocks and Chaos in Pulsating
Helium Stars


 Department of Applied Mathematics
and Theoretical Physics, University
of Cambridge, England
 Research
12 Jun 2023
 J.S. Vink

 Why are the Most Massive
Stars not the Largest?

 Astrobytes, Armagh Observatory
and Planetarium, Armagh
 Internal Outreach
13 Jun 2023
 J. Rigney


 Low Frequency Radio Emission
Associated with a CME and
EUV Wave
LOFAR Family Meeting 2023
Conference, Olsztyn, Poland
 Research

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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14 Jun 2023
 G. Ramsay
 Stellar Activity and BlackGem
BlackGem Consortium Meeting,
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
 Research
15 Jun 2023
 M.E. Bailey


 Using Kinesthetic Learning to
Bring Heaven Down to Earth in
a Practical Way

 U3A Summer School, Greenmount
College, Antrim
 Outreach
19 Jun 2023
 J.S. Vink

 The Fundamentals of the WR
Phenomenon


 The Wolf-Rayet Phenomenon in the
Universe Meeting, Morelia,
Michoacán, Mexico
 Research
21 Jun 2023
 Z. Gray


 The Aftermath of the DART
Impact: A Polarimetric Study of
Didymos-Dimorphos


 Asteroids, Comets and Meteors
(ACM) Conference 2022, Flagstaff,
Arizona, USA
 Research
22 Jun 2023
 R. Nežič




 Sungrazers Through Space
and Time: Polarimetric
Behaviour of Selected
Sungrazing Comets Near
Perihelion


 Asteroids, Comets, Meteors (ACM)
Conference 2023, Flagstaff, Arizona,
USA
Research
29 Jun 2023
 M. McMahon
 Science and Spectacle



 Crossing Frontiers: Elements and
Environment in the Middle Ages,
International Research Conference,
Queen’s University Belfast
 Research
29 Jun 2023
 M.E. Bailey



 How Astronomy Impacts Our
Understanding of the Middle
Ages and Its Changing
Environment




 Panel Discussion, Crossing
Frontiers: Elements and
Environment in the Middle Ages,
International Research Conference,
Queen’s University Belfast
 Research
30 Jun 2023
 M. Sarzi

 The SAURON Survey and the
Oxford Years


 Conference Celebrating the
Retirement of Prof Roger Davies,
Oxford, England
 Research
07 Jul 2023
 J. Rigney
 Stellar Activity

 STELLAR BG Final Meeting,
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
 Research
11 Jul 2023
 M. Sarzi

 Artificial Intelligence and Data
Visualisation in Astronomy


 UKRI Summer School in Artificial
Intelligence and Astronomy,
Canterbury University, England
 Teaching
18 Jul 2023
 M. McMahon

 First Light: 230 Years of
Observing in Armagh
 Armagh Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
23 Aug 2023
 L. Scott

 Heavy Metal Subdwarfs:
Testing Chemical Stratification


 Irish National Astronomy Meeting
(INAM), University College Cork, Co.
Cork, Ireland
Research
24 Aug 2023
 M. Burton

 UNESCO and the Astronomical
Observatories of Ireland
Irish National Astronomy Meeting
(INAM), University College Cork, Co.
Cork, Ireland
Research
24 Aug 2023
 J. Rigney


 Low Frequency Radio Emission
Associated with a CME Shock
and EUV Wave
Irish National Astronomy Meeting
(INAM), University College Cork, Co.
Cork, Ireland
Research
24-Aug-23
 C.S. Jeffery


 The SALT Survey of Hydrogen-
Deficient Stars and Hot
Subdwarfs		 Irish National Astronomy Meeting
(INAM), University College Cork, Co.
Cork, Ireland
Research
31 Aug 2023
 M. Sarzi

 The Fornax3D and Meerkat
Fornax Surveys

 MeerKAT Fornax Workshop,
Cagliari, Italy
 Research
01 Sep 2023
 M.E. Bailey

 Near-Earth Objects: Origins,
Impacts and Risk

 North Down and Ards U3A, Bangor,
Co. Down
 Outreach
02 Sep 2023




 M. Burton,
H. Alexander,
S. Mackle,
M. Grimley,
M. McMahon






 The Armagh Experience
Compere [Heather]
Small Changes, Big Impact
[Sinead]
Our Solar System [Mark]
Historical Research [Matthew]
Present and Future [Michael]


 British Association Planetaria Annual
Conference, Armagh Planetarium,
Armagh
Research and
Education

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

47

04 Sep 2023
 S. Schlagenhauf



Using Adaptive-Optics Assisted
MUSE Observations to
Measure Galaxy Distances with
the Planetary Nebulae
Luminosity Function

IAU Symposium, Krakow, Poland
 Research
06 Sep 2023
 J.S. Vink

 Wind and Mass Loss in Hot
Stars

 Symposium on Chemical Yields,
Heidelberg, Germany
 Research
08 Sep 2023
 M. Burton

 The Director’s Cut – A Cosmic
Journey

 AMCVn5 Workshop, Armagh
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
11 Sep 2023
 L. Scott

 Surface Abundances of Hot
Subdwarfs


 Annual Meeting of the UK BRIDGCE
and IReNA Network, The University
of Edinburgh, Scotland
 Research
15 Sep 2023
 C.S. Jeffery


 Highlights from the SALT
Survey of Helium-Rich Hot
Subdwarfs


 11th Workshop on Hot Subluminous
Stars and Related Objects, Armagh
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
15 Sep 2023
 G. Ramsay


 Plato Complementary Science
and the Guest Observer
Programme

 Plato UK Meeting, University of
Warwick, England
 Research
15 Sep 2023
 L. Scott


 Modelling Lead Stratification in
Heavy Metal Subdwarfs
Atmospheres

 11th Workshop on Hot Subluminous
Stars and Related Objects, Armagh
 Research
19 Sep 2023
 G. Ramsay

 Report from the Executive
Board

 GOTO Science Meeting, University
of Warwick, England
 Research
25 Sep 2023
 J.S. Vink
 Introduction

 The Second XShootU In-Person
Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic
 Research
01 Oct 2023
 K.O. Çubuk

 One Planet and the Universe -
100 Hours of Astronomy

 Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outeach
02 Oct 2023
 M.E. Bailey

 Earth’s Place in Space: A Brief
Introduction to Astronomy

 Causeway U3A, Portstewart, Co.
Antrim
 Outreach
05 Oct 2023
 M.E. Bailey


 The Human Orrery: Ground-
Based Astronomy for All!
(Zoom)


 Online Across Scotland: Across
Scotland U3A Astronomy Group,
Scotland
 Outreach
06 Oct 2023
 M. Burton

 The Director’s Cut – Star
Formation
 Armagh Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
12 Oct 2023
 J. Landstreet

 The Magnetic Attraction of
White Dwarfs




 Stellar Magnetic Fields from
Protostars to Supernovae, Munich
Institute for Astro-, Particle and Bio
Sciences (MIAPbP), Garching,
Germany
 Research
12 Oct 2023
 J. Rigney


 The Sun and the (Low Mass)
Stars, Searching for Radio
Flares and CMEs on M Dwarfs

 Seminar, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
13 Oct 2023





 A. Humpage,
A. Marshall Lee, A.
Philip Monai,
E. Winch,
K. Trakakis,
S. Schlagenhauf
PhD Flash Talks
 Armagh Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
18 Oct 2023
 J. Landstreet
 What is an Ap Star?




 Stellar Magnetic Fields from
Protostars to Supernovae, Munich
Institute for Astro-, Particle and Bio
Sciences (MIAPbP), Garching,
Germany
Research
20 Oct 2023
 D. Eden

 Astronomy: From Large to
Small
 DJK House, Liverpool, England
 Outreach

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

48

20 Oct 2023
 S. Bagnulo
 Plus or Minus




 Stellar Magnetic Fields from
Protostars to Supernovae, Munich
Institute for Astro-, Particle and Bio
Sciences (MIAPbP), Garching,
Germany
 Research
22 Oct 2023
 M. Sarzi
 Italian Stars in Armagh



 Event about research and
sustainability organised with the
Italian Consulate, Armagh
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
25 Oct 2023
 M.E. Bailey

 Near-Earth Objects: Origins,
Impacts and Risk

 University of Northumbria,
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
 Research
26 Oct 2023
 S. Bagnulo

 No So fast, Not So Furious,
Just Magnetic




 Stellar Magnetic Fields from
Protostars to Supernovae, Munich
Institute for Astro-, Particle and Bio
Sciences (MIAPbP), Garching,
Germany
 Research
27 Oct 2023
 M. Burton


 Geographies of Outer Space at
the Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium


 “Geographies of Outer Space” QUB
Course, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Teaching
27 Oct 2023
 S. Bagnulo


 Magnetically Driven Accretion
at the Surface of a Metal
Polluted White Dwarf




 Stellar Magnetic Fields from
Protostars to Supernovae, Munich
Institute for Astro-, Particle and Bio
Sciences (MIAPbP), Garching,
Germany
 Research
31 Oct 2023
 L. Scott

 Diffusion in Stars and Stratified
Atmosphere Models


 PhD Student Discussion Meeting,
Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
02 Nov 2023
 G. Sabhahit

 Massive Stars Near the
Eddington Limit

 Seminar, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
03 Nov 2023
 M. Burton

 The Director’s Cut – Star
Death
 Armagh Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
05 Nov 2023
 J. Rigney

 The Sun and the (Low Mass)
Stars

 Mayo Dark Skies Festival 2023, Co
Mayo, Ireland
 Outreach
06 Nov 2023
 J.S. Vink
 First Light from JWST


 Northern Ireland Amateur Astronomy
Society (NIAAS), Ballyclare, Co.
Antrim
Outreach
10 Nov 2023
 D. Eden

 MAJORS: First Results from
W49A




 New Eyes on the Cold Universe:
Star Formation in the Milky Way and
Beyond in the Era of JWST and
ALMA, Royal Astronomical Society,
London, England
 Research
15 Nov 2023
 L. Scott
 Heavy Metal Subdwarfs

 Astrophysics Seminar, Queen’s
University Belfast
 Research
22 Nov 2023
 K.O. Çubuk

 Engaging Space Facts and
Future Space Missions
 UK Space Conference, ICC, Belfast Outreach
01 Dec 2024
 M. Burton
 The Director’s Cut – Galaxies Armagh Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
07 Dec 2023
 C.S. Jeffery

 The Secret Lives of Ancient
Stars		 AOP Management Committee
Meeting, Armagh Planetarium,
Armagh
 Governance
15 Dec 2024
 J.S. Vink

 How Heavy is the Most
Massive Star

 Seminar, University of Leeds,
England
 Research
09 Jan 2024
 C.S. Jeffery
 A Brief Tour of the Universe


 Presbyterian Women’s Association,
First Presbyterian Church, Armagh,
Armagh
 Outreach
10 Jan 2024
 M. McMahon
 UNESCO

 Astrobytes, Armagh Observatory
and Planetarium, Armagh
 Internal Outreach
11 Jan 2024
 J.S. Vink

 Mass loss History of Very
Massive Stars

 Supermassive Stars Workshop,
University of Geneva, Switzerland
 Research

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

49

24 Jan 2024
 Z. Gray
 Placement in La Palma

 Astrobytes, Armagh Observatory
and Planetarium, Armagh
 Internal Outreach
25 Jan 2024
 E. Higgins


 Nucleosynthesis, Winds and
Chemical Yields of Very
Massive Stars

 Seminar, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
26 Jan 2024
 C.S. Jeffery


 Highlights from the SALT
Survey of Hydrogen-Deficient
Stars and Hot Subdwarfs

 Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge,
England
 Research
07 Feb 2024
 L. Scott
 Heavy Metal Stars

 Irish Astronomical Association
Seminar, Queen’s University Belfast
 Outreach
08 Feb 2024
 A. Christou
 Introduction to Orbital Motion

Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
08 Feb 2024
 J. Rigney
 Radio Astronomy

 Transition Year Workshop, Dunsink
Observatory, Co Dublin, Ireland
 Outreach
13 Feb 2024
 J.S. Vink
 Introduction
 XShootU Virtual VII
 Research
15 Feb 2024
 S. Bagnulo
 Night Time Astronomy


 Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
16 Feb 2024 M. Burton The Director’s Cut – The Lives
of Stars		 Armagh Planetarium, Armagh Outreach
21 Feb 2024
 M.E. Bailey



 Using Kinesthetic Learning to
Help Understand Our Place in
Space: From Solar System to
Near Universe

 Irish Astronomical Association,
Queen's University Belfast
 Outreach
21 Feb 2024
 C.S. Jeffery


 Highlights from the SALT
Survey of Hydrogen-Deficient
Stars and Hot Subdwarfs




 “Next Generation of Binary
Population Synthesis Models for Hot
Subdwarf Stars: Theory Meets
Observations” Workshop, Bamberg.
Germany
Research
22 Feb 2024
 M. Burton

 Our Galaxy: Gas, Dust and
Surveys


 Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
22 Feb 2024
 D. Eden

 Molecular Clouds and Star
Formation in the Milky Way


 Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
22 Feb 2024
 M. Burton



 Armagh, Birr and Dunsink:
Research and Education
Entwined with History and
Heritage

 Royal Geographical Society,
Queen’s University Belfast
 Outreach
22 Feb 2024
 Z. Gray

 Careers in Astronomy
(4 x talks)
 W5, NI Science Festival, Belfast
 Outreach
23 Feb 2024
 Z. Gray

 Careers in Astronomy
(4 x talks)
 W5, NI Science Festival, Belfast
 Outreach
28 Feb 2024
 L. Scott
 Stars

 Astrobytes, Armagh Observatory
and Planetarium, Armagh
 Internal Outreach
29 Feb 2024
 J.S. Vink


 Radiative Transfer and Stellar
Winds, Massive Stars, Black
Holes a GWs


 Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
04 Mar 2024
 M.E. Bailey

 Earth, Moon, and Space: From
Planet Earth to the Stars

 Carolside Primary School, Clarkston,
East Renfrewshire, Scotland
Outreach
04 Mar 2024
 M.E. Bailey

 Earth, Moon, and Space: From
Planet Earth to the Stars

 Carolside Primary School, Clarkston,
East Renfrewshire, Scotland
Outreach

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

50

05 Mar 2024
 M.E. Bailey

 Earth, Moon, and Space: From
Planet Earth to the Stars		 Carolside Primary School, Clarkston,
East Renfrewshire, Scotland
Outreach
06 Mar 2024
 J.S. Vink
 Discussion Sample Selection 1st Binarity at LOw Metallicity
(BLOeM) Collaboration Meeting, KU
Leuven, Belgium
 Research
07 Mar 2024
 C.S. Jeffery
 Topics in Stellar Pulsation Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
07 Mar 2024
 J. Rigney
 The Scale of Telescopes Visitor Night, Dunsink Observatory,
Co Dublin, Ireland
 Outreach
09 Mar 2024
 M. Burton

 The Director’s Cut – Scientific
Instrument Society		 Scientific Instrument Society Study
Tour, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
10 Mar 2024
 C.J. Butler

 The Armagh Observatory
Weather and Climate Record		 Scientific Instrument Society Study
Tour, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh

 Research and
Heritage Outreach
10 Mar 2024
 J.S. Vink

 Massive Star Science Goals,
Importance of UV		 Ullyses: Continuing the Voyage of
Discovery Research, Space
Telescope Science Institute,
Baltimore, USA
 Research
13 Mar 2024
 D. Eden
 What Causes Stars to Form? University of Leeds, England
 Research
14 Mar 2024
 C.S. Jeffery


 Highlights from the SALT
Survey of Hydrogen-Deficient
Stars and Hot Subdwarfs		 Seminar, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
14 Mar 2024
 M. McMahon


 The Imagined Planetarium -
Building Armagh Planetarium
1937-1968		 Armagh and District History Group,
Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
14 Mar 2024
 G. Ramsay



 1. Super-flares from the Sun
and other stars.
2. Multi-Messenger Astronomy
and wide-field optical surveys		 Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
18 Mar 2024
 M. Sarzi

 St Patrick Green Day, Climate
Change		 Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Outreach
19 Mar 2024
 K.O. Çubuk
 Our Solar System Ballycraigy Primary School, Antrim,
Co. Antrim
 Outreach
19 Mar 2024
 A. Philip Monai
 Groups in the SALT Dample PhD Student Discussion Meeting,
Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
21 Mar 2024
 M. Sarzi


 Galaxy Formation and
Evolution, The Use of Integral-
Field Spectroscopy		 Topics in Astrophysics, AOP/QUB
PhD Programme, Armagh
Observatory, Armagh
 Research
22 Mar 2024
 J. Rigney
 Leviathan to I-Lofar UL Conference for Undergraduate
Women in Physics, Birr Castle, Co.
Offaly, Ireland
 Outreach
26 Mar 2024
 C.S. Jeffery
 Project Sirius PhD Student Discussion Meeting,
Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh		 Teaching
26 Mar 2024
 G. Ramsay
 Activity on M dwarfs BlackGem Consortium Meeting,
Nijmegen, The Netherlands
 Research
27 Mar 2024
 K.O. Çubuk


 The Distribution of Molecular
Clouds Along the Southern
Galactic Plane		 Seminar, Armagh Observatory and
Planetarium, Armagh
 Research
29 Mar 2024
 S. Bagnulo
 Observations of Magnetic
White Dwarfs		 Current Challenges in the Physics of
White Dwarfs Stars Conference,
Santa Fe, USA
 Research

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

51

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Education and Outreach: April 2023 – March 2024

Date Event Description
Apr 2023 – Mar
2024		 The Legendary Telescope Tours at Armagh Observatory
Apr 2023 – Mar
2024		 Little Astronomers (Monthly)
Apr 2023 – Mar
2024		 Our World from Space Club (Monthly)
April 2023 – Mar
2024		 STEM Cadets Afterschools Club (Weekly)
5 May 2023 Orienteering the Cosmos – A Special Planetarium Show for the Orienteers attending the 2023
BritishChampionshipsin Armagh
27 May 2023 2023 Robinson Lecture “From Mars to the Multiverse” by Professor Martin Rees, Astronomer
Royal. Hosted by the Astronomical Observatories of Ireland at Armagh, Birr and Dunsink and
heldin DunsinkObservatory.
29 May 2023 Wee Critters – Interactive Animal Education
4 – 9 Jul 2023 Jurassic Arc – Interactive Workshop
11 – 16 Jul 2023 Bricks 4 Kidz Workshop
18 Jul 2023 First Light: 230 Years of Observatories in Armagh
18 – 23 Jul 2023 Planet Roar – Live Dinosaur Show
26 – 27 Jul 2023 The Ultimate Bubble Show – Live Science Show
15 – 17 Aug 2023 The Science of Dragons with Scientific Sue
3 Aug 2023 Bakineering in Space with Andrew Smyth
Jul – Aug 2023 DVL Summer Public Demonstrations Every Thursday in July and August
9 Sep 2023 Armagh Food and Cider Weekend 2023 Event. Planet Cookies
9 Sep 2023 European Heritage Open Day: Experience The Calver Telescope
12 Sep 2023 Conferences 2023 Public Lecture – The Exciting Lives of Double Stars with Dr Stephen Geier
1 Oct 2023 One Planet and the Universe. IAU 100 Hours of Astronomy Event.
13 Oct 2023 PhD Flash Talks at the Planetarium
18 Oct 2023 Rocket Routes: Navigating with Math with the AmmA Creative Learning Centre. Maths Week
Workshop
21 Oct 2023 International Observe the Moon Day
27 Oct 2023 Stargazing Evening at Armagh Planetarium
30 – 31 Oct 2023 Tall Tales and Terror at Armagh Observatory
30 – 31 Oct 2023 The Witches Are Back – Live Show
23 Nov 2023 Stargazing Evening at Armagh Planetarium
25 Nov – 23 Dec
2023		 Mission Santa
12 and14 Dec
2023		 Christmas Lecture Live Stream with the Royal Institution
24 – 25 Nov 2023 Armagh Georgian Festival: A Very Georgian Collection Tour
29 Dec 2023 Stargazing Evening at Armagh Planetarium
26 Jan 2024 Stargazing Evening at Armagh Planetarium
15 – 16 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Orienteering at the Planetarium
15 – 16 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Data Visualisation Laboratory
15 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Experience the Calver Dome
16 – 17 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: The Ultimate Bubble Show
16 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Director’s Cut – This Month in Astronomy

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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23 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Little Astronomers
23 – 24 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Pink Floyd Dome Show
23 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Stargazing Evening
24 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Legendary Telescopes Tour
24 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: Our World from Space Family Club
25 Feb 2024 NI Science Festival 2024 Event: CapCom Go – Dome Show
15 Mar 2024 Stargazing Evening at Armagh Planetarium

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Intergalactic Craic Podcasts: April 2023 – March 2024

Date Podcast Title
21 Apr 2023 S3Ep3 – Wee Bitta Craic: Bout Ye Ethan?
26 May 2023 S3Ep4 – Wee Bitta Craic: Bout Ye Alice?
16 Jun 2023 S3Ep5 – Craic with all these moons?
27 Oct 2023 S3Ep6 – Intergalactic Craic On The Road

Presenters: H Alexander, E Wince, A Humpage and Z Gray All published via anchor.fm/intergalacticcraic See also: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/intergalacticcraic

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ARMAGH OBSERVATORY AND PLANETARIUM

THE CERTIFICATE AND REPORT OF THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL TO THE NORTHERN IRELAND ASSEMBLY

Opinion on financial statements

I certify that I have audited the financial statements of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium for the year ended 31 March 2024 under the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. The financial statements comprise: the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement; and the related notes including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom accounting standards including Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

I have also audited the information in the Trustees’ Annual Report that is described in that report as having been audited.

In my opinion the financial statements:

Opinion on regularity

In my opinion, in all material respects the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by the Assembly and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

Basis for opinions

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (UK), applicable law and Practice Note 10 ‘Audit of Financial Statements and Regularity of Public Sector Bodies in the United Kingdom’. My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate. My staff and I are independent of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the Financial Reporting Council’s Ethical Standard, and have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

I believe that the audit evidence obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinions.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, I have concluded that Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work I have performed, I have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

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The going concern basis of accounting for Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is adopted in consideration of the requirements set out in the Government Financial Reporting Manual, which require entities to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements where it anticipated that the services which they provide will continue into the future.

My responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees and the Accounting Officer with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this certificate.

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ annual report other than the financial statements, the parts of the Trustees’ Report described in that report as having been audited, and my audit certificate and report. The Trustees and the Accounting Officer are responsible for the other information included in the annual report. My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in my certificate, I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

My responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or my knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If I identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, I am required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact.

I have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters

In my opinion based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which I report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ Annual Report.

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion:

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56

Responsibilities of the Board of Governors and Accounting Officer for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Statement of the Governors and Accounting Officer Responsibilities, the Governors and the Accounting Officer are responsible for:

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

My responsibility is to examine, certify and report on the financial statements in accordance with the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.

My objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error and to issue a certificate that includes my opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

I design procedures in line with my responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of non-compliance with laws and regulation, including fraud. My procedures included:

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Annual Report and Accounts for 2023-24

57

A further description of my responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of my certificate.

In addition, I am required to obtain evidence sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by the Assembly and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

Report

I have no observations to make on these financial statements.

Dorinnia Carville Comptroller and Auditor General Northern Ireland Audit Office 106 University Street BELFAST BT7 1EU

29 October 2024

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2024

Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Restricted Total Total Unrestricted Unrestricted Unrestricted Restricted Restricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023 Funds 2023 Funds 2023
Note £ £ £ £ £ £
Income from:
Charitable activities 2 2,348,511 810,084 3,158,595 2,502,195 1,035,208 3,537,403
Other tradingactivities 4 195,615 - 195,615 193,471 - 193,471
Total incoming resources 2,544,126 810,084 3,354,210 2,695,666 1,035,208 3,730,874
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities 5 3,670,849 200,797 3,871,646 3,948,037 227,819 4,175,856
Other tradingactivities 7 106,900 - 106,900 110,013 - 110,013
Total outgoing expenditure 3,777,749 200,797 3,978,546 4,058,050 227,819 4,285,869
Net income / (expenditure) ) 1,233,623 ( 609,287 ) 624,336 ( ) 1,362,384 ( 807,389 554,995
)		 (
Transfers between funds 15 709,378 ) 709,378 ( - 833,469 ) 833,469 ( -
Other recognised gains/(losses):
Gains/(losses) on the revaluation of fixed 10 & 11 500,740 - 500,740 255,242 - 255,242
assets and heritage assets
Actuarial gains less provisions on 15 & 19 121,000
)		 ( - ) 121,000 ( 2,411,000 - 2,411,000
defined benefit pensionscheme
Net Movement in Funds 144,505
)		 ( ) 100,091 ( ) 244,596 ( 2,137,327 26,080
)		 ( 2,111,247
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward at 1 April 2023 12,572,443 148,028 12,720,471 10,435,116 174,108 10,609,224
Total funds carried forward at 31 March 2024 12,427,938 47,937 12,475,875 12,572,443 148,028 12,720,471

All amounts above relate to continuing operations of the organisation. The notes on pages 62 to 74 form part of the financial statements.

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59

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

Note 2024 2023
Fixed Assets £ £
Intangible assets 9 206,627 288,207
Tangible assets 10 9,607,418 9,885,719
Heritage Assets 11 2,995,970 2,698,595
Total fixed assets 12,810,015 12,872,521
Current assets
Stocks 12 25,152 19,852
Debtors 13 113,140 181,025
Cash at bank and in hand 18 290,949 379,211
Total current assets 429,241 580,088
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 14 763,381
)		 ( 890,138
)		 (
Net current liabilities 334,140
)		 ( 310,050
)		 (
Total assets less current liabilities 12,475,875 12,562,471
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year - -
Net assets excluding pension asset 12,475,875 12,562,471
Defined benefit pension scheme asset 19 - 158,000
Net assets 12,475,875 12,720,471
Funds
Restricted funds 15 47,937 148,028
Unrestricted funds 15 4,752,692 5,010,569
Revaluation Reserves 15 7,675,246 7,403,874
Pension Reserve 15 - 158,000
Total Charity Funds 12,475,875 12,720,471

The financial statements on pages 59 to 74 were approved by the Board of Trustees of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium on 30 September 2024 and were subsequently signed on 21 October 2024 on its behalf by:

Trustee Mr John Briggs

Accounting Officer Professor Michael Burton

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 March 2024

2024 2024 2023 2023
Note £ £
Net cashprovided by operating activities 17 242,341 669,531
Cash flows from investing activities:
Interest received 4,831 1,418
Purchase of tangible fixed assets ) 335,434 ( ) 683,100 (
Sale of tangible fixed assets - 8,575
) 330,603 ( ) 673,107 (
Increase /(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 88,262
)		 ( 3,576
)		 (
Further detail is reported in Notes 17 and 18.
Reconciliation of net cashflow to movement in net cash funds
2024 2023
£ £
Increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year 88,262
)		 ( 3,576
)		 (
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2023 379,211 382,787
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2024 18 290,949 379,211

The notes on pages 62 to 74 form part of the financial statements.

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024

1 Summary of significant accounting policies

(a) Basis of accounting

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention as modified by the revaluation of certain assets. The accounts comply with relevant accounting standards and disclosure requirements issued by the Department of Finance. In all other aspects the financial statements comply with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (Charities SORP (FRS102)).

The Trustees of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium confirm that they have complied with their duty to have regard to the guidance on Public Benefit produced by the Charities Commission of Northern Ireland under section 4 of the Charities Act (Northern Ireland) 2008 (the public benefit requirement statutory guidance) and that this has informed the activities of the organisation in the year to 31 March 2024.

The Trustees are satisfied that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions which cast significant doubt on the ability of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium to continue as a going concern.

(b) Incoming resources

Grant income from Department for Communities (DfC) is shown in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) in the year in which it is received. Grants that relate to specific capital expenditure are initially recognised in the SOFA and transferred to a restricted fund, Government Grant for Fixed Assets. Where no restriction on the use of the assets exists the value is transferred to an unrestricted fund. Grants that relate to specific research projects are recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities and transferred to a restricted fund. Once the relevant conditions for recognition (entitlement and certainty of value) have been met, they are transferred to funds to match the relevant expenditure. Other grants are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable.

(c) Resources expended

Resources expended are accounted for on an accruals basis. Expenditure is classified under the principal charitable activities of Research, Education and Governance & Support.

(d) Pension scheme

The organisation provides pension benefits to its employees by participating in the Local Government Pension Scheme for Northern Ireland, administered by Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC), which is a defined benefit scheme. Annual contributions to the NILGOSC scheme are determined by the scheme and based on actuarial advice. The operating costs of providing retirement benefits to the organisation's employees are recognised in accounting periods in which the benefits are earned by employees, and the related finance costs and other changes in value of the assets and liabilities are recognised in the period in which they arise. AOP has decided to apply the principles of IFRIC14 in relation to pension surplus restriction. IFRIC14 requires allowances to be made for a minimum funding requirement, which limits the amount of economic benefit available to the excess of the value of prospective current service costs above the funding requirement.

(e) Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets represent contributions to international astronomical research projects, financed by capital grant. They are identifiable, for example, as part of a major telescope installation. The organisation benefits in the form of research participation or collaboration, which in turn contributes to the research outputs. Intangible fixed assets are stated at cost and amortised over the expected life of the project.

(f) Tangible fixed assets

The cost of tangible fixed assets is their purchase cost or valuation together with any incidental costs of acquisition. Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of tangible fixed assets, less their estimated residual values, on a straight-line basis over the expected useful economic lives of the assets concerned. Land is not depreciated.

The principal annual depreciation rates used are as follows:

Buildings Remaining asset life as valued
Digistar 20%
Fixtures and fittings 20 - 50%
Office equipment 20 - 25%
Scientific equipment 10 - 25%
Exhibits 10 - 50%
Motor Vehicles 20%

Land and buildings are included in the balance sheet at depreciated replacement cost, estimated value in use or market value. Land and buildings are professionally revalued at least every 5 years in accordance with accounting guidance. Land and buildings were last revalued as at the 31 March 2024. Revaluation gains (losses) are transferred to a revaluation reserve. Land and buildings in years where no revaluation occurs are restated using indices.

The valuations of Land and Buildings have been undertaken having regard to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as applied to the United Kingdom public sector and in accordance with HM Treasury guidance, International Valuation Standards and the requirements of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Global Standards.

Other fixed assets (non Land & Buildings) with a life estimated over 5 years have a net book value of £55,099 at 31 March 2024. This accounts for 0.6% of the net book value of fixed assets. The Trustees do not consider it appropriate to carry out an annual indexation of such assets on grounds of immateriality.

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

(g) Heritage Assets

Armagh Observatory was founded in 1789 and from this date the Observatory has collected through its operations scientific items, books, furniture and other artefacts which would be considered heritage assets. It is not the policy of Armagh Observatory and Planetarium to acquire heritage assets but has collected such assets through donations and operations. As at 31 March 2024, heritage assets were re-valued for insurance purposes with reference to auction estimates for replacement. Antique books were valued by Doerr Dallas Valuations Limited. Meteorites were valued by Ulster Museum. Coram James Limited carried out a desktop valuation of clocks, scientific instruments, fine art, furniture and sculptures. The remainder were valued by experienced members of management. It is policy to regularly review the valuation of heritage assets. The heritage assets are being documented on the Collections Database and environmental controls were further improved in 2023/24.

Heritage assets are summarised in these accounts in four categories: Books; Clocks and watches; Scientific instruments; and Furniture, Artworks, etc, and are recorded in catalogues and on databases. Historic buildings which have heritage value are included within operational assets. These were included within the recent property revaluation as operational assets and continue to be used for operational purposes.

(h) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. In general, cost is determined on a first in first out basis. Provision is made where necessary for obsolete, slow moving and defective stocks.

(i) Debtors

Debtors comprise amounts due from customers, grants due, prepaid expenses and value added tax refunds.

(j) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash held in bank accounts payable on demand and cash floats.

(k) Creditors

Creditors comprise payments due to suppliers and accruals for other amounts due but not invoiced at the year end.

(l) Fund accounting

The organisation has various types of funds for which it is responsible, and which require separate disclosure, totalling £12,475,875 at 31 March 2024 (£12,720,471 at 31 March 2023).

Restricted funds

Grants or donations received which are earmarked by the donor for specific purposes. Such purposes are within the overall aims of the organisation.

Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds, comprising designated funds and undesignated funds, are those which are expendable at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objectives of the organisation. In addition to expenditure on the provision of services, such funds may be held in order to finance capital investment and working capital.

Designated funds include the donated assets fund, the government grants fund and the general fund. The general fund is the day to day operating fund.

Donated assets are the buildings and grounds donated to the organisation in 1790 by its founder Archbishop Richard Robinson. The value is adjusted annually by any revaluation of the underlying assets.

The government grant fund represents the capital financing of the Charity's tangible fixed assets. The fund is reduced annually by a value equivalent to depreciation charged on the related assets.

Undesignated funds - These represent the revaluation reserve which records the movement from the revaluation of the Charity's assets and a pension reserve which matches the long term liability of an underfunded defined benefits pension scheme.

(m) Reserves policy

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium adopts a risk-based approach to establishing a sound system of control covering all types of risks to the aims and objectives of the organisation. There is a need to retain a sufficient level of unrestricted cash reserves to meet the risks associated with short term financial contingencies, uncertainties and demands. The Trustees do not believe there are any key assumptions or key sources of estimation uncertainty which could cause a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period. Armagh Observatory and Planetarium budgets to operate on an annual basis within a balanced funding formula of grant-in-aid and self-generated income

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

2 Income from charitable activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
Note £ £ £ £
Grant Income
DfC Recurrent grant-in-aid 1,932,000 - 1,932,000 2,087,000
DfC In-year capitalgrant-in-aid - 435,000 435,000 549,000
Totalgrant-in-aid from the DfC 1,932,000 435,000 2,367,000 2,636,000
Income from other grants and receipts 3 - 340,637 340,637 486,208
Total Grant Income 1,932,000 775,637 2,707,637 3,122,208
Operating Income
Admissions 408,680 - 408,680 391,301
Profit/(loss) on disposal of fixed assets - - - 8,575
Miscellaneous income 7,831 34,447 42,278 15,319
Total Operating Income 416,511 34,447 450,958 415,195
Total Income from Charitable Activities 2,348,511 810,084 3,158,595 3,537,403

3 Income from other grants and receipts

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
Note £ £ £ £
STFC Research and Studentship grants - 270,259 270,259 295,229
Europlanet 2024 RI grant - 8,895 8,895 -
UKRI Open Access block grant - 5,668 5,668 4,193
Science Foundation Ireland grant - 4,576 4,576 -
ASDC grants - 9,583 9,583 -
IAU grant - 4,270 4,270 -
Tourism NI grants - 15,872 15,872 126,735
Royal Astronomical society grant - 5,000 5,000 -
National Lottery Heritage Fund - - - 42,624
DfC Sign Language Partnership grant - 3,450 3,450 -
Museums Association - 9,500 9,500 14,500
JobStart scheme - 3,364 3,364 2,925
Sundry grants and donations - 200 200 2
Total other grants and receipts 2 - 340,637 340,637 486,208

4 Income from other trading activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
£ £ £ £
Shop income 174,419 - 174,419 178,752
Rental income 21,196 - 21,196 14,719
Total Income from other trading 195,615 - 195,615 193,471

5 Expenditure on charitable activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
Note £ £ £ £
Research 6 1,105,162 194,034 1,299,196 1,281,107
Education 6 1,502,938 6,763 1,509,701 1,454,743
Governance and Support 6 1,062,749 - 1,062,749 1,440,006
3,670,849 200,797 3,871,646 4,175,856

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

6 Expenditure on charitable activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
Note £ £ £ £
Research
Staff costs 559,379 106,912 666,291 627,695
Direct costs 166,507 86,852 253,359 266,947
Support costs 143,734 270 144,004 113,193
Depreciation 235,542 - 235,542 273,272
5 1,105,162 194,034 1,299,196 1,281,107
Education
Staff costs 513,774 - 513,774 468,668
Direct costs 128,010 1,880 129,890 180,890
Support costs 300,095 4,883 304,978 254,801
Depreciation 561,059 - 561,059 550,384
5 1,502,938 6,763 1,509,701 1,454,743
Governance and Support
Staff costs 727,680 - 727,680 965,168
Direct costs 8,166 - 8,166 10,372
Support costs 296,935 - 296,935 429,377
Depreciation 29,968 - 29,968 35,089
5 1,062,749 - 1,062,749 1,440,006

Included within Governance and Support costs are the following governance costs:

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
£ £ £ £
Management Committee expenses 3,613 - 3,613 4,813
Internal Audit 15,254 - 15,254 9,852
External Audit 26,700 - 26,700 18,300
45,567 - 45,567 32,965

The cost of audit shown above includes £26,700 fees payable to Northern Ireland Audit Office for statutory audit. NIAO does not provide any other service.

7 Expenditure on trading activities

Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2024 Funds 2023
£ £ £ £
Trading
Direct costs 106,900 - 106,900 110,013
106,900 - 106,900 110,013

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

8 Average staff numbers and related costs

Permanent 2024 2023
staff Others Number Number
Average staff numbers 28.5 6.7 35.2 35.3
Staff costs comprise: Permanent
staff Others 2024 2023
£ £ £ £
Wages and salaries 1,305,600 141,083 1,446,683 1,341,618
Social security costs 137,506 13,316 150,822 142,108
Employer's pension contributions 233,129 26,111 259,240 250,805
Defined benefitpension additional service cost 51,000 - 51,000 327,000
1,727,235 180,510 1,907,745 2,061,531

The number of employees whose employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) exceeded £60,000 was:

2024 2023
Number Number
£60,001 - £70,000 1 1
£70,001 - £80,000 - -
£80,001 - £90,000 1 1

The key management personnel of the organisation comprise the trustees and the Executive Director.

The total amount of employee benefits (including employer pension contributions) received by the Executive Director for his services to the organisation was £105,154 (2023: £100,526).

There was no remuneration paid to trustees during the year (2023: Nil). No travel and subsistence expenses were reimbursed to trustees (2023: Nil). Management Committee members incurred travel and subsistence expenses of £2,287 (2023: £1,766)

Average student numbers and related costs (not included above)

2024 2023
Number Number
PhD students 7.0 8.5
2024 2023
£ £
Student maintenancegrants & stipends 135,617 175,440

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

9
Intangible fixed assets
2024 2023
£ £
Cost
At 1 April 622,018 622,018
Additions - -
Disposals - -
At 31 March 622,018 622,018
Depreciation
At 1 April 333,811 243,480
Charge for year 81,580 90,331
Disposals - -
At 31 March 415,391 333,811
Net book value
At 31 March 2024 206,627 288,207
At 31 March 2023 288,207 378,538

10 Tangible fixed assets

10
Tangible fixed assets
Freehold Assets Digistar Other
Land & Exhibits under Projection Scientific Equipment Total
buildings construction System Equipment & Vehicles
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2023 8,701,213 927,837 91,919 500,351 737,672 1,285,200 12,244,192
Asset revaluation 26,003
)		 ( - - - - - 26,003
)		 (
Additions 42,772 174,700 - - ) 10,847 ( 56,696 263,321
Transfers - 91,919 ) 85,919 ( - - 6,000
)		 ( -
Disposals - - - - 3,127
)		 ( 19,412
)		 ( 22,539
)		 (
At 31 March 2024 8,717,982 1,194,456 6,000 500,351 723,698 1,316,484 12,458,971
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023 - 497,384 - 301,888 608,520 950,681 2,358,473
Adjustment for asset revaluation ) 229,368 ( - - - - - ) 229,368 (
Charge for year 229,368 221,731 - 99,231 47,627 147,030 744,987
Disposals - - - - 3,127
)		 ( 19,412
)		 ( 22,539
)		 (
At 31 March 2024 - 719,115 - 401,119 653,020 1,078,299 2,851,553
Net book value
At 31 March 2024 8,717,982 475,341 6,000 99,232 70,678 238,185 9,607,418
At 31 March 2023 8,701,213 430,453 91,919 198,463 129,152 334,519 9,885,719

Tangible fixed asset additions of £249,990 as shown above were funded by DfC in-year capital grant-in-aid. The remainder was funded by Tourism NI.

If the land and buildings had not been valued, they would have been included at the following amounts:

2024 2024 2023 2023
£ £
Cost 3,885,803 3,862,869
Aggregate depreciation ) 1,260,455 ( ) 1,183,129 (
Net book value based on historic cost 2,625,348 2,679,740

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

10 Tangible fixed assets (continued)

Included within Additions above are certain assets under construction:

d within Additions above are certain assets under construction:
External lighting Exhibits
£
6,000		 Total
£
6,000

Depreciation on tangible fixed assets for the year was £744,987 (2023: £768,415).

Land and buildings include grounds and buildings with a net book value of £2,132,515 (2023: £2,143,316) which were donated to the organisation in 1790 by Archbishop Richard Robinson, the founder of the organisation.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium includes in fixed assets any expenditure over £1,500 (on an item or group of related items) which is expected to be used for more than a year.

11 Heritage assets

Books Clocks & Scientific Furniture, Total
Watches Equipment Artworks, etc
At Valuation £ £ £ £ £
Carrying Amount at 1 April 2023 546,975 572,600 1,298,900 280,120 2,698,595
Additions - - - - -
Revaluation 97,100 53,000 137,000 10,275 297,375
Disposals - - - - -
Depreciation / impairment - - - - -
Carrying Amount at 31 March 2024 644,075 625,600 1,435,900 290,395 2,995,970

It is policy to regularly review the valuation of heritage assets and to carry out a formal revaluation at least once every five years. The most recent valuation took place in 2024.

Summary of heritage asset transactions

There were no purchases, donations, charges for impairment or disposals of heritage assets in the five years ended 31 March 2024. Ordnance Survey maps of Ireland and map chests owned by Armagh Observatory & Planetarium but held in Robinson Library, Armagh, were valued for the first time in 2021-22 at £100,000.

12 Stocks

12
Stocks
2024 2023
£ £
Goods for resale 25,152 19,852

13 Debtors

13
Debtors
2024 2023
£ £
Trade debtors 35,002 14,733
Prepayments and accrued income 51,578 119,174
Other debtors 26,560 47,118
113,140 181,025

14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

14
Creditors: amounts falling due within one		 year
2024 2023
£ £
Trade creditors 150,577 365,384
Accruals and sundry creditors 580,562 492,889
Taxation and social security 32,242 31,865
763,381 890,138

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

15 Statement of Funds

15
Statement of Funds
At 1 April Income Expenditure Revaluation Transfers At 31 March
2023 2024
£ £ £ £ £ £
Restricted Funds
Government grant for fixed assets - 435,000 - - ) 435,000 ( -
Other grants for fixed assets - 13,322 - - 13,322
)		 ( -
Restricted resource grants 148,028 361,762 ) 200,797 ( - ) 261,056 ( 47,937
Total restricted funds 148,028 810,084 ) 200,797 ( - ) 709,378 ( 47,937
Unrestricted Funds
Designated Funds
Donated assets reserve 1,720,283 - - - - 1,720,283
Government grant for assets 2,221,893 - - - ) 391,567 ( 1,830,326
General fund 1,068,393 2,544,126 ) 3,777,749 ( - 1,367,313 1,202,083
5,010,569 2,544,126 ) 3,777,749 ( - 975,746 4,752,692
Undesignated Funds
Revaluation reserve - Land & Buildings 6,012,400 - - 203,365 ) 229,368 ( 5,986,397
Revaluation reserve - Heritage Assets 1,391,474 - - 297,375 - 1,688,849
Pension reserve 158,000 - - ) 121,000 ( 37,000
)		 ( -
7,561,874 - - 379,740 ) 266,368 ( 7,675,246
Total Unrestricted Funds 12,572,443 2,544,126 ) 3,777,749 ( 379,740 709,378 12,427,938
Total Funds 12,720,471 3,354,210 ) 3,978,546 ( 379,740 - 12,475,875
Details of Transfers between funds £
Release of restricted resource grant available to offset overheads ) 261,056 (
Release of deferred capital grant ) 826,567 (
Transfer of external capital grant 13,322
)		 (
Transfer of defined benefit pension service and interest cost 37,000
)		 (
Transfer of depreciation adjustment on asset revaluation to general fund ) 229,368 (
General fund 1,367,313
16
Analysis of net assets between funds
Pension Revaluation Unrestricted Restricted Total
Reserve Reserve Funds Funds Funds
£ £ £ £ £
Tangible fixed assets - 5,986,397 3,827,648 - 9,814,045
Heritage assets - 1,688,849 1,307,121 - 2,995,970
Current assets - - 381,304 47,937 429,241
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year - - ) 763,381 ( - 763,381
)		 (
Pension scheme liability - - - - -
Net assets/(liabilities) - 7,675,246 4,752,692 47,937 12,475,875

17 Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flow from operating activities

2024 2024 2023 2023
£ £
Net expenditure for the year per statement of financial activities ) 624,336 ( ) 554,995 (
Adjustments for:
Depreciation 826,567 858,746
Interest received 4,831
)		 ( 1,418
)		 (
(Profit)/Loss on disposal of assets - 8,575
)		 (
Defined benefit pension scheme service and interest cost less contributions payable 37,000 376,000
Increase in stock 5,300
)		 ( 3,622
)		 (
Decrease/(increase) in debtors 67,885 99,396
)		 (
(Decrease)/increase in creditors ) 54,644 ( 102,791
Net cashprovided by operating activities 242,341 669,531

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

18 Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

31 March 1 April
2024 2023
£ £
Cash at bank and in hand 290,949 379,211
Total cash and cash equivalents 290,949 379,211

19 Pension scheme

Introduction

The disclosures below relate to the funded liabilities within the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Pension Fund (the “Fund”( which is part of the Local Government Pension Scheme (Northern Ireland) (the "LGPS") and certain related unfunded liabilities which have been separately disclosed. The LGPS is a funded defined benefit plan with benefits earned up to 31 March 2015 being linked to final salary. Benefits after 31 March 2015 are based on a Career Average Revalued Earnings scheme. Details of the benefits earned over the period covered by this disclosure are set out in 'The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014' (as amended) and ‘The Local Government Pension Scheme (Amendment and Transitional Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014' (as amended). The unfunded pension arrangements relate to termination benefits made on a discretionary basis upon early retirement in respect of members of the Local Government Pension Scheme under the 'Local Government (Early Termination of Employment) (Discretionary Compensation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003'.

Funding / Governance Arrangements of the LGPS

The funded nature of the LGPS requires participating employers and their employees to pay contributions into the Fund, calculated at a level intended to balance the pension liabilities with investment assets. Information on the framework for calculating contributions to be paid is set out in 'The Local Government Pension Scheme Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014' and the Fund's Funding Strategy Statement. The last actuarial valuation was at 31 March 2022 and the contributions to be paid until 31 March 2026 resulting from that valuation are set out in the Fund’s Rates and Adjustment Certificate. NILGOSC is responsible for the governance of the Fund.

Assets

The assets allocated to the Employer in the Fund are notional and are assumed to be invested in line with the investments of the Fund for the purposes of calculating the return over the accounting period. The Fund holds a significant proportion of its assets in liquid investments. As a consequence there will be no significant restriction on realising assets if a large payment is required to be paid from the Fund in relation to an employer's liabilities. The assets are invested in a diversified spread of investments and the approximate split of assets for the Fund as a whole is shown in the disclosures. NILGOSC may invest a small proportion of the Fund's investments in the assets of some of the employers participating in the Fund if it forms part of their balanced investment strategy.

The NILGOSC actuary, Aon Solutions UK Ltd (Aon), has provided the following details for the purposes of accounting for the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium's joint share of the scheme deficit in accordance with FRS 102 at 31 March 2024.

Key assumptions used by the actuary were:

Key assumptions used by the actuary were:
31 March 31 March
2024 2023
Discount rate 4.8% 4.7%
CPI inflation 2.6% 2.7%
Pension increases 2.6% 2.7%
Pension accounts revaluation rate 2.6% 2.7%
Salaryincreases 4.1% 4.2%
Mortality assumptions
31 March 31 March
2024 2023
Years Years
Males
Pensioner member aged 65 at accounting date 21.7 22.2
Active member aged 45 at accounting date 22.7 23.2
Females
Pensioner member aged 65 at accounting date 24.6 25.0
Active member aged 45 at accountingdate 25.6 26.0

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

19 Pension scheme (continued)

Asset Allocation

Asset Allocation
Value at Value at
31/03/2024 31/03/2023
Equities 43.7% 40.0%
Property 9.7% 11.2%
Government bonds 17.4% 20.6%
Corporate bonds 4.2% 3.0%
Multi Asset Credit 13.3% 13.3%
Cash 5.6% 6.5%
Other 6.1% 5.4%
Total 100.0% 100.0%

Reconciliation of funded and unfunded status to balance sheet

Reconciliation of funded and unfunded status to balance sheet
Value at
Value at
31/03/2024
31/03/2023
£'000
£'000
Fair value of assets
Present value of funded defined benefit obligation
Funded status
Unrecognised asset
Present value of unfunded defined benefit obligation
Asset/(Liability)recognised on the balance sheet		 11,787
10,690
(
10,611
)
(
10,530
)
1,176
160
(
1,175
)
-
(
1
)
(
2
)
-
158

The split of the liabilities at the last valuation between the various categories of members is as follows:

Active members 36%
Deferred pensioners 20%
Pensioners 44%

Amounts recognised in statement of financial activities

Amounts recognised in statement of financial activities
Year to Year to
31/03/2024 31/03/2023
£'000 £'000
Operating cost
Current service cost ) 303 ( ) 579 (
Financing cost
Interest on net defined benefit liability 14 49
)		 (
Pension expense recognised in statement of financial activities ) 289 ( ) 628 (
Allowance for administrative expenses included in Current Service Cost 7 6

Amounts recognised in statement of funds

Amounts recognised in statement of funds
Year to Year to
31/03/2024 31/03/2023
£'000 £'000
Asset gains/(losses) arising during the period 617 (1,243)
Actuarial gains/(losses) due to changes in financial assumptions 354 5,024
Actuarial gains/(losses) due to changes in demographic assumptions 164 (55)
Actuarial gains/(losses) due to liability experience 81
)		 ( ) (
1,315
Adjustmentgains/(losses)due to restriction of surplus ) 1,175 ( -
Total amount recognised in statement of funds 121
)		 ( 2,411

Changes to the present value of defined benefit obligation

Changes to the present value of defined benefit obligation
Year to Year to
31/03/2024 31/03/2023
£'000 £'000
Opening defined benefit obligation 10,532 13,497
Current service cost 303 579
Interest expense on defined benefit obligation 488 374
Contributions by participants 130 93
Actuarial gains/(losses) due to changes in financial assumptions 354
)		 ( ) 5,024 (
Actuarial gains/(losses) due to changes in demographic assumptions 164
)		 ( 55
Actuarial gains/(losses) due to liability experience 81 1,315
Net benefitspaid out 404
)		 ( 357
)		 (
Closingdefined benefit obligation 10,612 10,532

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71

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

19 Pension scheme (continued)

Changes to the fair value of assets

Changes to the fair value of assets
Year to Year to
31/03/2024 31/03/2023
£'000 £'000
Opening fair value of assets 10,690 11,620
Interest income on assets 502 325
Remeasurement gains/(losses) on assets 617 1,243
)		 (
Contributions by the employer 252 252
Contributions by participants 130 93
Net benefitspaid out 404
)		 ( 357
)		 (
Closingfair value of assets 11,787 10,690

Actual return on assets

Actual return on assets
Year to Year to
31/03/2024 31/03/2023
£'000 £'000
Interest income on assets 502 325
Gain/(loss)on assets 617 (1,243)
Actual reurn on assets 1,119 (918)
Sensitivity Analysis
Funded LGPS benefits
Discount rate assumptions
Adjustment to discount rate +0.1%pa Base Figure -0.1%pa
Present value of total obligation (£m) 10.441 10.611 10.781
% change in present value of total obligation -1.6% 1.6%
Projected service cost (£m) 0.276 0.288 0.300
Approximate % change in projected service cost -4.1% 4.2%
Rate of general increase in salaries
Adjustment to salary increase rate +0.1%pa Base Figure -0.1%pa
Present value of total obligation (£m) 10.632 10.611 10.590
% change in present value of total obligation 0.2% -0.2%
Projected service cost (£m) 0.288 0.288 0.288
Approximate % change in projected service cost 0.0% 0.0%
Rate of increase to pensions in payment and deferred pension assumption, and rate of revaluation of pension
account assumptions:
Adjustment to pension increase rate +0.1%pa Base Figure -0.1%pa
Present value of total obligation (£m) 10.760 10.611 10.462
% change in present value of total obligation 1.4% -1.4%
Projected service cost (£m) 0.300 0.288 0.276
Approximate % change in projected service cost 4.2% -4.0%
Post retirement mortality assumption
Adjustment to mortality age rating assumption -1 year Base Figure +1 year
Present value of total obligation (£m) 10.887 10.611 10.335
% change in present value of total obligation 2.6% -2.6%
Projected service cost (£m) 0.298 0.288 0.278
Approximate % change in projected service cost 3.6% -3.6%

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Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

19 Pension scheme (continued)

Pension Surplus Restriction

AOP has applied the principles of FRS 102 in relation to pension surplus restriction. FRS 102 outlines that a defined benefit plan asset can only be recognised to the extent that the plan surplus can be recovered through reduced contributions in the future or through refunds from the plan. Aon has assessed that at 31 March 2024 the defined benefit plan asset is restricted to nil as no plan surplus can be recovered by these means.

Cost Management in the LGPS (NI)

Legislation requires HM Treasury to undertake periodic valuations to monitor the cost of the LGPS (NI) to ensure it remains sustainable and affordable.

The outcome of the review relating to the 2016 Valuation recommended no changes to the provisions of the Scheme. The legality of Government's decision to include McCloud costs as a member cost within the 2016 HMT process was challenged by a Judicial Review in 2023 brought by the trades unions. The Judicial Review was unsuccessful, however the unions have been given permission to appeal that decision. If that appeal is successful this may cause the 2016 HMT process to be re-run and could result in changes in benefits or member contributions backdated to 1 April 2019.

Aon were expecting the result of the Judicial Review early in 2024. As the review has not concluded at the time of preparing these results, they have not made any allowance for the potential cost of improving members' benefits.

Goodwin ruling

In June 2020 an Employment Tribunal ruled, in relation to the Teachers' Pension Scheme, that provisions for survivor's benefits of a female member in an opposite sex marriage are less favourable than for a female in a same sex marriage or civil partnership, and that treatment amounts to direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. The chief secretary to the Treasury announced in a written ministerial statement on 20 July 2020 that he believed that changes would be required to other public service pension schemes with similar arrangements. Changes to NI regulations were made on 24 March 2022 and came into effect on 18 April 2022. These changes are yet to be reflected in data provided by NILGOSC, so Aon have not allowed for this ruling in their calculations.

Pay settlements for local government workers

In 2023 the National Joint Council (NJC) offer to local government workers was an increase of £1,925 on all pay points 1 and above. Additionally, in the Autumn budget 2023 the Chancellor announced an increase to the National Living Wage from £10.42 per hour to £11.44 per hour.

Aon do not usually update the active liabilities between valuations for the impact of pay settlements above or below those assumed, however given the above changes, they have allowed for pay experience at a rate of 7% on pre-2015 active liabilities for years ending in 2024, which is the same rate of experience as was proposed for financial year ends in 2023.

20 Capital commitments

Capital commitments at 31 March 2024 totalled £58,000 (2023: £125,000) in respect of expenditure on projects commenced during the year. DfC has agreed funding for 2024/25.

21 Contingent liabilities

Pension liability - Goodwin judgement

In June 2020, an Employment Tribunal ruled, in relation to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme that provisions for survivor's benefits of a female member in an opposite sex marriage are less favourable than for a female in a same sex marriage or civil partnership, and that treatment amounts to direct discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. The chief secretary to the Treasury announced in a written ministerial statement on 20 July 2020 that he believed that changes would be required to other public service pension schemes with similar arrangements. Changes to the NI Regulations were made on 24 March 2022 and came into effect on 18 April 2022. Those changes have not yet been reflected in the pensions data in note 19, but Aon advise that the impact is likely to be immaterial.

There were no other contingent liabilities at the 31 March 2024 (2023: Nil).

22 Remote contingent liabilities (Audited)

There were no remote contingent liabilities at the 31 March 2024 (2023: Nil).

23 Related-party transactions

None of the members of the Board of Governors, the Management Committee, the Director or other related parties have undertaken any material transactions with the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium during the year. The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium has had various material transactions with a number of Government Departments, Executive Agencies and Non-Departmental Public Bodies in Northern Ireland. Most of these transactions have been with DfC, Construction and Procurement Delivery (CPD), Strategic Investment Board (SIB), Tourism NI, and the Education Authority (EA). DfC provides recurrent and capital grant-in-aid (note 2), SIB provides professional advisory and consultancy services, Tourism NI provides marketing and capital grants (note 3), and CPD and EA are the Centres of Procurement Expertise for the organisation. The Royal School Armagh leases land for playing fields at a nominal rent.

No other related party transactions took place in the year, other than certain trustees' expenses already disclosed in note 8.

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Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued)

24 Losses and special payments (Audited)

There were no losses or special payments during the year (2023: Nil).

25 Financial instruments

As the cash requirements of the Observatory and Planetarium are met through grants from DfC and other grant funding bodies, financial instruments play a more limited role in creating risk than would apply to a non-public sector body of a similar size. The majority of financial instruments relate to contracts to buy non-financial items in line with the Observatory’s expected purchase and usage requirements and the Observatory and Planetarium is therefore exposed to little credit, liquidity or market risk.

26 Additional disclosures to comply with the Financial Reporting Manual (FReM)

FReM requires non-departmental public bodies to regard grant-in-aid received as contributions from controlling bodies giving rise to a financial interest in the residual interest of the body and hence accounting for as financing, that is by crediting them to income and expenditure reserve. In addition FReM requires grant-in-aid to be accounted for on a cash basis.

However, as the organisation is required to prepare accounts in accordance with the SORP for charities, DfC has given AOP permission to continue to treat grants as income. If AOP were required to comply with the FReM the result of this compliance would be as follows:

Statement of Financial Activities prepared under FReM

Statement of Financial Activities prepared under FReM
2024 2023
Note £ £
Incoming resources
Incoming resources from research and other non-DfC grants 2 340,637 486,208
Operating income 2 450,958 415,195
Tradingincome 4 195,615 193,471
Total incomingresources 987,210 1,094,874
Resources expended
Direct expenditure of the organisation 3,978,546 4,285,869
Total Resources expended 3,978,546 4,285,869
Net deficit for the year ) 2,991,336 ( ) 3,190,995 (
Loss/(gain) on revaluation of Fixed Assets and Heritage Assets 500,740 255,242
Actuarial(loss)/gain onpension scheme ) 121,000 ( 2,411,000
Amount transferred to funds ) 2,611,596 ( ) 524,753 (

Analysis of funds prepared under the FReM

Analysis of funds prepared under the FReM
2024 2023
£ £
Balance at 1 April 2023 12,720,471 10,609,224
Grant-in-aid received in the year 2 2,367,000 2,636,000
Net operatingcosts for theyear ) 2,611,596 ( 524,753
)		 (
Balance at 31 March 2024 12,475,875 12,720,471

27 Events after the Reporting Date

1) Adjusting Events:

There were no events after the reporting date which would require adjustment to the financial statements.

2) Non-adjusting Events:

There were no events after the reporting date which would require disclosure in the financial statements.

The Accounting Officer authorised the issue of these financial statements on 29 October 2024.

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74