OBSERVATORIES

Strictly speaking, an observatory is any place from which astronomical studies are carried out. It is even possible to claim that Stonehenge was an observatory, because there is little doubt that it is astronomically aligned. The oldest observatory building now standing seems to be that at Chomsong-dae in Kyingju, South Korea; it dates from AD 632. The name means ‘Star-gazing Tower’. Apparently, it was constructed under the reign of Queen Seondeok (632–647). It is 5.7 m wide at the base and 9.4 m high. Later, elaborate measuring instruments were built by the Arabs and the Indians; some of these still exist such as the great observatory at Delhi. In 1576, Tycho Brahe erected his elaborate observatory at Hven, in the Baltic, and used the equipment to draw up an amazingly accurate star catalogue. In the modern sense, observatories are of course associated with telescopes of some kind or another. A list of some great modern observatories is given in Table 30.4.

National observatories date back for centuries; the oldest seems to be that of Leiden in Holland (1632). The oldest truly national observatory was that at Copenhagen in Denmark, although unfortunately the original buildings were destroyed by fire.

The national British observatory, at Greenwich, was founded in 1675 by order of King Charles II, mainly so that a new star catalogue could be drawn up for the use of British seamen. The original buildings were designed by Wren and are now known as Flamsteed House (after the first Astronomer Royal).