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A painting of the Royal Observatory Greenwich. | Credit: Historical Image Archive /Getty Images
June 22 marks on the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the home of the historic Prime Meridian, which many are regarded by many as the birthplace of modern astronomy. To celebrate, we look back at how the famous location for the epicenter of astronomical research, time measurement and navigation became and underlines how its purpose has developed over time.
The history of the Royal Observatory began in 1675 when King Charles II of England decided that a specially built scientific institution was necessary to solve a centuries -old question – how can seafarers safely navigate at sea?
In the 1600s, sea food was the only way for the nations to communicate and claim the influence of one another, and therefore the search for an answer to the question for everything from trade, diplomacy, research and warfare was of crucial importance. Sailors and astronomers had long since found out how they could create their latitude at sea, but despite centuries -long seafarers, we still had to find a system to determine the length.
The main purpose of the newly shaped Royal Observatory was to find a way to measure the length of a sailor precisely and consistently, which would enable the captain of a ship to navigate through the wide oceans that separated the continents. For this purpose, King Charles II. John Flamsteed appointed “Astronomical Observator” – later known as “astronomer royal” – and the commissioned architect Christopher Wren to design the original structure that the institution we see today grew up.
Generations of astronomers, scientists and horologists ended their expertise to solve the riddle, but it would take many decades for the founding mission to be completed of the Royal Observatory. Since its foundation, the astronomers had followed themselves with the apparent movements of the stars, moon and planets compared to an imaginary line north to the south by the line known as the “meridian”.
A line that marks the ‘Prime Meridian’ loan: Oli Scarff / Getty Images
These observations led to the creation of the first nautical Almanach – a collection of tables that predicted the position of the moon and the star all year round – together with a manual in which it is explained how the length can mathematically determine. By 1770, the English horologist John Harrison had also developed a complex clock that, unlike the watches based in Pendulum, worked on board a movable ship at this time and gave the sailors two options for determining the length!
In the 1880s, two thirds of the global ships navigated with maps that used the Greenwich Meridian as a reference line. A conference was held as such in 1884 to decide on the world’s first global or “first -class meridian”, Greenwich was the obvious, if not undisputed choice.
The invention of the railway trip also required the establishment of a uniform time zone, which was provided by the royal observatory and adopted by the railway companies. This new ‘Greenwich Mean Time’ (GMT) spread quickly and was taken over during the Meridian conference of 1884 as a new global time zone system, which made the observatory to become a global reference center for time, navigation and astronomy.
Change of time in the Royal Observatory Greenwich
When centuries had passed, generations of astronomers Royal came and went and left their own scientific achievements and personal brands in the historical site, which surrounded the original flamsteed house designed by Wren as new facilities and buildings.
With the search for length, the observatory examined other astronomy paths such as pursuing the earth’s magnetic field, looking at planetary transits and characterizing binary star systems. This happened with the help of powerful new devices such as the large equatorial telescope-one 28-foot-length (8.5 meter long) telescope with a 28-inch aperture that had to be housed in a huge circular shell, which is known as “onion dome” when it was installed in 1893.
The practices and functions of the observatory were also strongly influenced by cultural and technological paradigm shifts – and some personal resentors – which were roots in the wider world.
Dr. Richard van der Riet Woolley, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, is under the telescope | Credit: Keystone-France/Getty Images
For example, the 1890s saw the women of the Royal Observatory Hire for the first time, who worked as a “computer” for a miserable wages to examine and refine observation data. One of her ranks was the famous science communicator and astronomer Annie Maunder, who was able to understand the scientific community for our parent star by observing the changing sizes and positions of solar stains.
Unfortunately, the social convention dictated that Maunder married her husband and colleague Edward Walter Maunder in 1895. However, the couple continued their work outside the observatory, wrote books and charta expeditions to grasp pictures of the solar atmosphere during the solar eclipse. The Maunders also created the famous “butterfly diagram”, which was used over a decade of observation data to visualize the “fluttering” butterfly-wing-like disposition of solar stains, which during its 11-year activity cycle when the sun progresses.
The royal observatory has also exposed itself to its share of conflicts, intrigue and dangers since its foundation. Vitriolic rivalries have used up between its astronomers and prominent scientific figures. John Flamsteed, the first astronome royal, met a strong rivalry with Sir Isaac Newton, who hoped to use Flamsteed’s Star charts to refine his theories. Flamsteed had refused to publish his Star Charts until he was sure that the information was correct, which prompted a frustrated Newton to publish an imperfect version of the work without the permission of the astronomer Royal.
A photo of the Royal Observatory Greenwich in London | Credit: Pawel Libera/Getty Images
The location itself has also survived physical threats, including an anarchist bomb attack in 1894. The Second World War also saw a V1 fly bomb nearby, which shredded entire sections of the famous “onion dome”. Fortunately, the telescope itself was deconstructed and pulled away by the observatory to protect it from the dangers of war.
After the Second World War, the relentless crawling of light pollution, the smog from the nearby London and the vibrations and magnetic disorders of railway lines Greenwich had made an inconsistent place for sensitive astronomical observations.
In 1948, the telescopes and astronomers of Greenwich – including the majority of the large equatorial telescope – to the village of Herstmoneceux, where Flamsteed was from Flamsteed, began the foundation for the first royal observatory for the first royal observatory, which was in 1675.
A new era for the Royal Observatory Greenwich
In the modern era, the Royal Observatory Greenwich serves as an invaluable historical place, which serves both as a museum and as a venue for scientific communication that is designed to engage and inspire the next generation of astronomers.
Visitors can step into the footsteps of the Astronomer Royal and step on the same rooms from fences, which were passed on by Sir Isaac Newton. It represents a strong mix of the old and the new with the only planetarium show in London together with the historic Prime Meridian and detailed replicas of the timepieces that are used to ensure safe navigation on the sea route.
“The observatory, founded in 1675, was set up to support navigation through astronomical observations and time measurements, starting with John Flamsteed’s meticulous project,” said 3,000 stars, “said Daisy Chamberlain, deputy curator from Royal Observatory Greenwich, Daisy Chamberlain to Space.com. “Since then, the work of the observatory has expanded to studies on magnetic variations, meteorology and chronomy tests for the navy.”
The Octagon Room is located in the Flamsteed House in the Royal Observatory Greenwich | Credit: Oli Scarff /Getty Images
“Today we share the miracles of time and space with our visitors through a number of fascinating permanent galleries, discussions, tours and cultural heritage activities.”
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On clear nights you will still find astronomers who pursue their trade on the historical website by passing the Astrography telescope of Annie Maunder and a huge Schmidt Cassegrain telescope alongside a smaller refractor to capture transit data and breathtaking views of the cosmos.
“The Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope gave us the privilege of keeping practical astronomy at the observatory and uses modern technology that our predecessors have only been able to dream of in the past centuries,” said Jake Foster, astronom at Royal Observatory Greenwich to Space.com. “With astrophotography and live streams of astronomical events, we want to bring the sights of the universe to earth so that everyone can enjoy.”
“Even under the modern, light sky of London, there is so much to see! We hope that the Royal Observatory astronomers of days that have passed would agree to our efforts.”
Be sure to take a look at the Royal Observatory Greenwich website to stay up to date on discussions, tours and events to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the historical website.
