Armagh Observatory and Planetarium is showcasing a very distinctive fusion of artwork and science — due to one in every of its personal. PhD pupil Alice Humpage has turned a 12 months’s price of cloud cowl knowledge, recorded at Armagh by the MET group, right into a putting hand-crocheted blanket that fairly actually weaves collectively creativity and climatology.
Utilizing cloud observations gathered each day at 9am all through 2024’s three hundred and sixty six days (because of the bissextile year), Alice translated the info into particular person crocheted hexagons — every representing a single day of the 12 months. The ensuing paintings vividly depicts the cloudiness over Armagh throughout 2024, with darkish hexagons marking clear skies and lighter shades indicating elevated cloud cowl. The design options 9 distinct yarn colors, every symbolising a unique degree of cloud cowl noticed.
The challenge highlights simply how uncommon utterly clear mornings are within the area — solely six days out of your entire 12 months recorded totally cloudless skies. For these viewing the blanket, January 1st begins on the backside proper nook, whereas December thirty first concludes the design on the high left.
Alice, whose analysis focuses on the evolution of near-Earth asteroid fragments, defined her inspiration:
“I’d seen different examples of temperature blankets and thought it might be a enjoyable and inventive method to current the cloud cowl we measure at our climate station. It ties collectively my work in science and my interest of crochet and can be a pleasant souvenir of my time on the observatory.”
The challenge has already caught the eye of employees and guests alike, with its stunning sample providing extra than simply aesthetic worth – it’s a dialog starter concerning the surroundings, remark, and the position of creativity in science.
Sinead Mackle, Training and Outreach Supervisor at Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, praised the challenge as an ideal instance of STEAM studying in motion:
“At Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, we’re captivated with bringing science to life in new and sudden methods. Alice’s blanket is a wonderful embodiment of how artwork can be utilized to inform scientific tales. It’s a tangible reminder that STEM isn’t nearly numbers and graphs – it’s about creativity, expression, and curiosity too.”
The Observatory and Planetarium group is now exploring methods to exhibit the piece, with plans to share the challenge each regionally and nationally within the coming months.
