Book contents
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- NOTE
- Contents
- CHAPTER I Personal Sketch of George Biddell Airy
- CHAPTER II From his birth to his taking his B.A. Degree at Cambridge
- CHAPTER III At Trinity College, Cambridge, from his taking his B.A. Degree to his taking charge of the Cambridge Observatory as Plumian Professor
- CHAPTER IV At Cambridge Observatory, from his taking charge of the Cambridge Observatory to his residence at Greenwich Observatory as Astronomer Royal
- CHAPTER V At Greenwich Observatory, 1836–1846
- CHAPTER VI At Greenwich Observatory, 1846–1856
- CHAPTER VII At Greenwich Observatory, 1856–1866
- CHAPTER VIII At Greenwich Observatory, 1866–1876
- CHAPTER IX At Greenwich Observatory, from January 1st, 1876, to his resignation of office on August 15th, 1881
- CHAPTER X At the White House, Greenwich, from his resignation of office on August 15th, 1881, to his death on January 2nd, 1892
- APPENDIX: List of Printed Papers by G. B. Airy, and List of Books written by G. B. Airy
- INDEX
CHAPTER VIII - At Greenwich Observatory, 1866–1876
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2010
- Frontmatter
- PREFACE
- NOTE
- Contents
- CHAPTER I Personal Sketch of George Biddell Airy
- CHAPTER II From his birth to his taking his B.A. Degree at Cambridge
- CHAPTER III At Trinity College, Cambridge, from his taking his B.A. Degree to his taking charge of the Cambridge Observatory as Plumian Professor
- CHAPTER IV At Cambridge Observatory, from his taking charge of the Cambridge Observatory to his residence at Greenwich Observatory as Astronomer Royal
- CHAPTER V At Greenwich Observatory, 1836–1846
- CHAPTER VI At Greenwich Observatory, 1846–1856
- CHAPTER VII At Greenwich Observatory, 1856–1866
- CHAPTER VIII At Greenwich Observatory, 1866–1876
- CHAPTER IX At Greenwich Observatory, from January 1st, 1876, to his resignation of office on August 15th, 1881
- CHAPTER X At the White House, Greenwich, from his resignation of office on August 15th, 1881, to his death on January 2nd, 1892
- APPENDIX: List of Printed Papers by G. B. Airy, and List of Books written by G. B. Airy
- INDEX
Summary
1866
In this year the cube of the Transit Circle was pierced, to permit reciprocal observations of the Collimators without raising the instrument. This involved the construction of improved Collimators, which formed the subject of a special Address to the Members of the Board of Visitors on Oct. 21st 1865.—From the Report to the Visitors it appears that “On May 23rd 1865, a thunderstorm of great violence passed very close to the Observatory. After one flash of lightning, I was convinced that the principal building was struck. Several galvanometers in the Magnetic Basement were destroyed. Lately it has been remarked that one of the old chimneys of the principal building had been dislocated and slightly twisted, at a place where it was surrounded by an iron stayband led from the Telegraph Pole which was planted upon the leads of the Octagon Room.”—“On consideration of the serious interruptions to which we have several times been exposed from the destruction of our open-air Park-wires (through snow-storms and gales), I have made an arrangement for leading the whole of our wires in underground pipes as far as the Greenwich Railway Station.”—“The Committee of the House of Commons, to whom the Greenwich and Woolwich Line of the South Eastern Railway was referred, finally assented to the adoption of a line which I indicated, passing between the buildings of the Hospital Schools and the public road to Woolwich.”—“The Galvanic Chronometer attached to the S. E. Equatoreal often gave us a great deal of trouble. At last I determined, on the proposal of Mr Ellis, to attempt an extension of Mr R. L. Jones's regulating principle.
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- Information
- Autobiography of Sir George Biddell Airy , pp. 262 - 314Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1896