The place of birth of modern astronomy will be 350

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22 June marks the 350th anniversary of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the home of the historic Prime Meridian that is considered by many to be the birthplace of modern astronomy. To celebrate, we look back on how the famous site became the epicenter of astronomical research, time valuation and navigation, while we emphasize how its purpose has evolved over time.

The story of the Royal Observatory began in 1675, when King Charles II of England decided that a specially built scientific institution was needed to resolve a centuries old demand – how can sailors safely navigate at sea?

In the 1600s, Seafaring was the only way for nations to communicate and influence each other, and so finding an answer to the question of vital importance for everything, of trade, diplomacy, exploration and warfare. Sailors and astronomers had long discovered how they could establish their latitude at sea, but despite centuries of seafarers, we still had to find a system to determine the length.

The main goal of the newly beaten Royal Observatory was to find a way to accurately and consistently measure the longitudinal of a sailor, so that the captain of a ship could in turn navigate through the vast oceans that separate the continents. To this end, King Charles II John Flamsteed mentioned his ‘astronomical observer’ – later known as ‘astronomer Royal’ – and the mission of architect Christopher Wren to design the first structure that the institution we see grew up today.

Generations of astronomers, scientists and horologists bent their expertise to resolve the mystery, but it would take many decades before the founding mission of the Royal Observatory was completed. Since its foundation, astronomers had been following the apparent movements of the stars, moon and planets in relation to an imaginary line that runs through the observatory from north to south, known as a ‘meridian’.

These observations led to the creation of the first nautical almanac – a collection of tables that predicted throughout the year through the position of the moon and the stars – together with a manual explaining how the longitude at sea can be determined mathematically, according to the Royal Observatory Greenwich website. By the year 1770, the English horologist John Harrison had also developed a complex timepiece that, in contrast to the sling -based clocks at that time, worked on board on a moving ship, giving sailors two ways to determine the length!

By the 1880s, two -thirds of the ships of the world navigated cards that the Greenwich Meridian used as a reference line. As such, when a conference was held in 1884 to decide the first global global or ‘Prime Meridian’, Greenwich was the obvious, if not undisputed choice.

The invention of railway travel 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 hired during the Meridian Conference from 1884 as the new Global Time Zone system, making it the Global Reference Center for time, navigation and astronomy.

Changing times in the Royal Observatory Greenwich

As centuries passed, generations of astronomers came and went, and each went their own scientific performance and personal figures on the historic site, which became larger as new facilities and buildings arose around the original Flamsteed house designed by Wren.

With the search for longitude, the observatory investigated other ways of astronomy, such as following the magnetic field of the earth, viewing planetary transits and characterizing binary star systems. This was done with the help of powerful new equipment, such as the Great Equatorial Telescope-a 28-foot long (8.5 meters) refractive telescope that had a 28-inch aperture, which had to be housed in a huge circular scale that is known as the ‘UI-dome’ when installed in 1893.

The practices and functions of the observatory were also strongly influenced by cultural and technological paradigm shifts – and some personal resentment – that shot root in the wider world behind it.

For example, the 1890s saw the Royal Observatory hiring women for the first time, who worked for a pathetic wage as ‘computers’ to investigate and refine observation data. One of their ranks was the famous science communicator and astronomer Annie Maunder, who started the understanding of the scientific community of our Oudster by observing the shifting sizes and positions of sunspots.

Unfortunately, the social convention dictated that Maunder resigned in getting married with her husband and colleague Edward Walter Maunder in 1895. However, the couple would continue their work with the observatory, write books and write expeditions to conquer images of the sun during the eclipse events of the sun. The Maunders also created the famous ‘butterfly diagram’, which used more than a decade of observation data to visualize the ‘fluttering’ butterfly-wing-like disposition of sun spots that acts as the sun progresses through his 11-year activity cycle.

Since its foundation, the Royal Observatory has also confronted its share in conflict, intrigues and danger. Vitriolic rivalry has flourished between his astronomers and prominent scientific figures. John Flamsteed, the first astronomer Die Royal, saved a strong rivalry with Sir Isaac Newton, who hoped to use Flamsteed’s Star hit lists to refine his theories. Flamsteed had refused to release his star graphs until he was sure that the information was correct, which led to a frustrated Newton published an imperfect version of the work without the permission of the astronomer Royal.

The site itself has also passed physical threats, including an attempt at anarchist bomb attack in 1894. World war 2 also saw a V1 flying bombing in the neighborhood, whereby entire parts of the famous ‘onion dome’ were shredded. Fortunately, the telescope itself was deconstructed and left from the observatory to protect it against the war of war.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the ruthless crawl of light pollution, Smog from nearby London and the vibrations and magnetic interference from the Greenwich rail lines had made an unattainable location for delicate astronomical observation.

In 1948 the telescopes and astronomers of Greenwich – including the great largest part of the Great Equatorial Telescope – to move to the village of Herstmonceux at about 60 miles from where Flamsteed had set the first stone for the first royal observatory in 1675. The large equatorial1, whereverly, would be true.

A new era for the Royal Observatory Greenwich

In the modern era, the Royal Observatory Greenwich serves as an invaluable historical site that is aimed at involving and inspiring the next generation of astronomers both a museum and a location for science communication.

Visitors are free to follow Royal in the footsteps of the astronomers and to enter the same with Wren designed rooms raised by Sir Isaac Newton. It represents a powerful mix of the old and the new, with the only planetarium show in London next to the historic Prime Meridian and detailed replicas of the timepieces that are used to guarantee safe navigation by sea.

“Founded in 1675, the observatory was established to help navigation through astronomical observations and time valuation, starting with the meticulous project of John Flamsteed to catalog 3,000 stars,” said Royal Observatory Greenwich History of Science Curator Daisy Chamberlain to Space.com. “Since then, the work of the observatory has been expanded with studies of magnetic variation, meteorology and chronometer testing for the navy.”

“Today we share the miracles of time and space with our visitors through a number of fascinating permanent galleries, conversations, tours and heritage activities.”

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On clear nights you can still find astronomers who sail their trade on the historic site, using the Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope-existing from a huge Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope next to a smaller refractor-to-do transit data, in addition to a stunning view of the Kosmos.

“The Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope has given us the privilege of keeping practical astronomy alive and good at the observatory, with the help of modern technology that our predecessors could dream of alone in previous centuries,” explained Jake Foster, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich to Space.com. “With astrophotography and live streams of astronomical events, we want to bring the sights of the Down to Earth Universe to enjoy everyone.”

“Even under the modern lightly polluted skies of London, there is so much to see! We hope that the Royal Observatory Astronomers from recent days would approve our efforts.”

Make sure you look at the Royal Observatory Greenwich website to stay up to date with conversations, tours and events to celebrate the 350 -year anniversary of the historical site.