Royal Greenwich Observatory

Royal Greenwich Observatory
the national astronomical observatory of Great Britain, housed in a castle in E Sussex; formerly located at Greenwich. Also called Greenwich Observatory.

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Astronomical observatory, oldest scientific institution in Britain, founded for navigational purposes in 1675 by Charles II at Greenwich, England.

Its main contributions have been in navigation, timekeeping, determination of star positions, and almanac publication. In 1767 it began publishing The Nautical Almanac, based on the time at the longitude of Greenwich; its popularity among navigators led in part to the Greenwich meridian's being made Earth's prime meridian and the starting point for international time zones in 1884 (see Greenwich Mean Time).

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 astronomical observatory and, until its closure in 1998, the oldest scientific research institution in Great Britain. It was founded for navigational purposes in 1675 by King Charles II of England at Greenwich, and the astronomer in charge was given the title of astronomer royal. Its primary contributions were in practical astronomy—navigation, timekeeping, determination of star positions, and almanac publication. The observatory began publishing The Nautical Almanac (1766, with data for 1767), which established the longitude (latitude and longitude) of Greenwich as a baseline for time calculations. The almanac's popularity among navigators led in part to the adoption in 1884 of the Greenwich meridian as the Earth's prime meridian (0° longitude) and the starting point for the international time zones (time zone).

      The observatory was gradually transferred from Greenwich to Herstmonceux in Sussex from 1948 to 1957, in a search for clearer skies, and it was moved to the Institute of Astronomy of the University of Cambridge (Cambridge, University of) in 1990. A controversial cost-cutting measure, announced by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council in 1997, brought about the shutdown of the observatory in October 1998. The institution's equipment and operations, including the William Herschel Telescope and other instruments located on La Palma in the Canary Islands, were consolidated under the UK Astronomy Technology Centre, headquartered at the Royal Observatory Edinburgh. Some historic instruments and resources at Cambridge were returned to the Old Royal Observatory, which was renamed the Royal Observatory Greenwich. The old observatory is open to the public and is administered by the nearby National Maritime Museum.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Royal Greenwich Observatory — Das Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO, deutsch Königliches Observatorium von Greenwich), das als Arbeitsplatz für die königlichen Hofastronomen erbaut wurde, lag ursprünglich auf einem Hügel im Greenwich Park in Greenwich, London, von wo aus man… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Royal Greenwich Observatory — the national astronomical observatory of Great Britain, housed in a castle in E Sussex; formerly located at Greenwich. Also called Greenwich Observatory …   Useful english dictionary

  • Royal Greenwich Observatory — Royal Green|wich Ob|ser|va|to|ry, the the British national ↑observatory (=a place where scientists study the stars) , which was established in the 17th century, in ↑Greenwich, South London, although it was moved away from there after World War II …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • (the) Royal Greenwich Observatory — the Royal Greenwich Observatory [the Royal Greenwich Observatory] ; » ↑Royal Observatory …   Useful english dictionary

  • Greenwich Observatory. — See Royal Greenwich Observatory. * * * …   Universalium

  • Greenwich Observatory. — See Royal Greenwich Observatory …   Useful english dictionary

  • Greenwich-Observatorium — Royal Greenwich Observatory Das Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO, zu deutsch Königliches Observatorium von Greenwich), welches als Arbeitsplatz für die königlichen Hofastronomen erbaut wurde, lag ursprünglich auf einem Hügel im Greenwich Park in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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  • Royal Observatory — may refer to:* The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (formerly the Royal Greenwich Observatory ) * The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh * Before 1997, Hong Kong Observatory * The Royal Observatory of Belgium, Uccle * Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope,… …   Wikipedia

  • Greenwich — hat folgende Bedeutungen: In London Greenwich (London), Stadtteil Londons London Borough of Greenwich, Stadtbezirk von Greater London (seit 1965) Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich, ehemaliger Stadtbezirk der County of London (1889–1965) Orte in… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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