44-531: The Edinburgh Astronomical Institution was founded in 1811 and wound up in 1847. It was instrumental in the foundation of the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh in 1822. The Institution raised funds, mostly by member subscription, to create three departments: A scientific observatory with an observer was to be under the control of the professors of mathematics, philosophy and astronomy of the University of Edinburgh ,
88-427: A 6.4-inch (16 cm) transit telescope and a 3.5-inch (9 cm) azimuth circle . In 1852 Charles Piazzi Smyth – second Astronomer Royal for Scotland – came up with the idea of building astronomical observatories on high mountains with good weather. He travelled to Tenerife a few years later for site testing. Nothing came of it until about 100 years later, when this mode of operation became common practice
132-589: A loyal address to George IV and the new observatory was granted the title of Royal Observatory. With Government grants and after much delay in procuring instruments it was only in 1834 that Thomas Henderson was appointed the first observer. This was now the Government-funded position of Astronomer Royal for Scotland . The incumbent would also be Regius Professor of Astronomy at the University of Edinburgh. Henderson died in 1844 and in 1846 Charles Piazzi Smyth
176-637: A period of re-organisation and uncertainty. Andrew Lawrence became Regius Professor of Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh, whereas the title of Astronomer Royal for Scotland went to John Brown of the University of Glasgow . For a while Paul Murdin was acting director of the ROE. In 1993 the observatories of the UK – the Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO), the Royal Observatory Edinburgh,
220-489: A popular observatory was to provide general instruction and amusement and a "physical cabinet" would comprise books, globes , meteorological and other instruments . The first president of the Institution was John Playfair , professor of natural philosophy. The members were predominantly landed gentry, advocates, bankers, academics, clergy, etc. The City of Edinburgh provided the abandoned observatory on Calton Hill , and
264-504: A wide audience. Playfair's textbook Elements of Geometry made a brief expression of Euclid 's parallel postulate known now as Playfair's axiom . In 1783 he was a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh . He served as General Secretary to the society 1798–1819. Born at Benvie, slightly west of Dundee to Margaret Young (1719/20 – 1805) and Reverend James Playfair (died 1772), the kirk minister of Liff and Benvie. Playfair
308-933: Is an astronomical institution located on Blackford Hill in Edinburgh . The site is owned by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). The ROE comprises the UK Astronomy Technology Centre (UK ATC) of STFC, the Institute for Astronomy of the School of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Edinburgh , and the ROE Visitor Centre. The observatory carries out astronomical research and university teaching; design, project management, and construction of instruments and telescopes for astronomical observatories ; and teacher training in astronomy and outreach to
352-447: Is used for undergraduate teaching. As of April 2012, the 1967 telescope and mount have been removed to Mid-Kent Astronomical Society; a replacement telescope will be installed later in 2012. The Crawford Collection has first editions of most books relevant to the history of astronomy. This includes many works by the likes of Brahe , Copernicus , Galileo , Kepler and Newton . For the most part, Lord Lindsay collected this library in
396-667: Is visible from the spot. A four-volume collected edition of Playfair's works, with a memoir by James G. Playfair, appeared at Edinburgh in 1822. His writings include a number of essays contributed to the Edinburgh Review from 1804 onwards, various papers in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (including his earliest publication, " On the Arithmetic of Impossible Quantities ", 1779, and an " Account of
440-738: The Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes , and the Joint Astronomy Centre in Hawaii (operating UKIRT and JCMT) – came under the single directorship of Alec Boksenberg , until then director of the RGO. In 1994 the SERC was split up and the ROE became part of the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC). In 1995 the merged observatories were dissolved into four independent entities. Having lost
484-610: The Starlink Project was formed to support astronomical image processing in the UK, the ROE became one of the six original nodes of the Starlink network. Over the years 1973–1979 the ROE built the 3.8-metre UK Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) on Mauna Kea in Hawaii . This is an early example of the use of thin mirrors in large telescopes. The ROE operated UKIRT in cooperation with the University of Hawaii and built instruments for it, including
SECTION 10
#1733086184827528-482: The University of Edinburgh Chair of Moral Philosophy , Playfair succeeded the former to become the chair of mathematics. In 1795 Playfair published an alternative, more stringent formulation of Euclid's parallel postulate, which is now called Playfair's axiom . Although the axiom bears Playfair's name, he did not create it, but credited others, in particular William Ludlam with its prior use. In 1802 Playfair published his celebrated volume entitled Illustrations of
572-494: The ecclesiastical controversy that arose in connection with Sir John Leslie's appointment to the post he had vacated, and published a satirical letter (1806). He moved from 6 Buccleuch Place to a new house at 2 Albany Street (then called Albany Row) in 1807. Playfair was an opponent of Gottfried Leibniz 's vis viva principle, an early version of the conservation of energy . In 1808, he launched an attack on John Smeaton and William Hyde Wollaston 's work championing
616-415: The literary and scientific society for which the city was at that time specially distinguished. In particular, he attended the natural history course of John Walker . Through Nevil Maskelyne , whose acquaintance he had first made in the course of the celebrated Schiehallion experiments in 1774, he also gained access to the scientific circles of London . In 1785 when Dugald Stewart succeeded Ferguson in
660-441: The 1870s and 1880s. An early addition was that of over 2500 items from Charles Babbage 's library after his death in 1871. The Visitor Centre hosts public events, including astronomy lectures and public open nights. The Observatory also holds classes, professional development courses, and other educational events for primary and secondary schools. John Playfair John Playfair FRSE , FRS (10 March 1748 – 20 July 1819)
704-865: The ESO/SERC Southern Sky Survey, which in turn extends the Palomar Observatory Sky Survey beyond its southern limit. In 1988 the telescope was handed over to the Anglo-Australian Observatory , which until 2010 operated it for Australia and the United Kingdom (UK); in July 2010, the Australian Astronomical Observatory was formed, to operate the telescope as part of a facility entirely under Australian control. The photographic laboratory and plate library for
748-556: The Huttonian Theory of the Earth. The influence exerted by James Hutton on the development of geology is thought to be largely due to its publication. In 1805 Playfair exchanged the Chair of Mathematics for that of natural philosophy in succession to John Robison , whom also he succeeded as general secretary to the Royal Society of Edinburgh . He took a prominent part, on the liberal side, in
792-1265: The Lithological Survey of Schehallion ", 1811) and in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ("On the Causes which Affect the Accuracy of Barometrical Measurements" and others), the articles " Aepinus " and " Physical Astronomy ", and a "Dissertation on the Progress of Mathematical and Physical Science since the Revival of Learning in Europe" in the Encyclopædia Britannica (Supplement to fourth, fifth and sixth editions). He also took an interest in Indian astronomy and compared them with traditional and ancient astronomy from Egypt and Greece. He also examined Indian concepts in trigonometry. His Elements of Geometry first appeared in 1795 and has passed through many editions; his Outlines of Natural Philosophy (2 vols., 1812–1816) consist of
836-638: The RGO – was retained by the newly formed UK Astronomy Technology Centre , which superseded the ROE as the Edinburgh establishment of the PPARC. (The ROE name remains as an umbrella term for UKATC; IfA, Edinburgh University; and the Visitor Centre). Following the work on Gemini, the UK ;ATC was put in charge of managing the construction of the 4-metre f/1 VISTA (Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy). In
880-572: The ROE as an SRC/SERC establishment spent most of its resources on running and supporting national facilities, while astronomical research was left to the university's Department of Astronomy. The ROE operated the UK Schmidt Telescope (UKST) since it was opened in 1973. This took photographic plates in blue light of the entire southern sky. Together with red-light plates taken by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) they form
924-566: The Royal Observatory and to abolish the post of Astronomer Royal for Scotland. When the Earl of Crawford learned of the plans to close the Royal Observatory, he offered to give the instruments of his own Dunecht observatory and his unique astronomical library to the nation on condition that the Government build and maintain a new Royal Observatory to replace the one on Calton Hill. Ralph Copeland
SECTION 20
#1733086184827968-492: The UK's joining fee. Also Astronomer Royal for Scotland and Regius Professor of Astronomy in the University of Edinburgh : Directors of ROE or UK ATC after amalgamation and dissolution of "The Royal Observatories": The original 1894 building includes two cylindrical copper domes on top of the East and West Towers. These were refurbished in 2010. The East Dome still shelters a 36-inch (0.9 m) Cassegrain reflector that
1012-768: The UKST in 1988 – the ROE now also lost the UKIRT and the JCMT, operated by the independent Joint Astronomy Centre . ROE retained its role of building instruments for telescopes and satellites. It also became the UK project office for the construction of the Gemini Observatory , a pair of 8.1-metre telescopes run by seven countries. A review of the Royal Observatories in 1996 concluded that the running of observatories and building of instruments should be put out to competitive tender, raising
1056-462: The UKST remained at the ROE in Edinburgh. Since 1967 the ROE had been operating a machine (GALAXY – G eneral A utomatic L uminosity A nd X - Y ) to digitise photographic plates. After the opening of the UKST, this was upgraded to become the COSMOS (COordinates, Sizes, Magnitudes, Orientations and Shapes) machine in 1975. It operated until 1993 and was replaced by a new SuperCOSMOS machine. When in 1980
1100-557: The chair of natural philosophy (physics) at St Andrews University, but again without success. In 1773 he was licensed to preach by the Church of Scotland and was offered the united parishes of Liff and his home parish of Benvie (made vacant by the death of his father). However, Playfair chose to continue his studies in mathematics and physics, and in 1782 he resigned his charge to become the tutor of Adam Ferguson . By this arrangement Playfair regularly visited Edinburgh and went on to cultivate
1144-416: The fear of privatisation or closure. In 1997 this came to a halt and instead it was decided to reduce the RGO and the ROE into a smaller single astronomy technology centre. In 1998 the RGO was closed, while the ROE escaped lightly: The Plate Library and SuperCOSMOS machine were handed over to the University of Edinburgh, while the technology and project management expertise of the ROE – and to a lesser degree of
1188-698: The first ever common-user infrared camera. In 1987 the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) – also on Mauna Kea – was handed over to the ROE after the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory had completed its construction. The JCMT is a 15-metre diameter, millimetre- and sub-millimetre-wavelength telescope, which was run by a partnership of the UK, the Netherlands and Canada until 2014. After Malcolm Longair – ninth Astronomer Royal for Scotland – left in 1990, astronomy in Edinburgh underwent
1232-491: The new Science Research Council (SRC), which in 1981 became the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC). From 1961 to 1973 the ROE's Earlyburn Outstation some 20 miles (30 km) south of Edinburgh was used for optical tracking of artificial satellites. From 1967 to 1976 the observatory operated a 16/24-inch (0.4/0.6 m) Schmidt camera – matching the one in Edinburgh – at its Monte Porzio Catone observing station near Rome. A division of labour developed: By 1976
1276-510: The observatory the title of "Royal Observatory of King George the Fourth". In 1834 – with Government funding – the instrumentation of the observatory was completed. This cleared the way to uniting the observatory with the Regius Chair, and Thomas Henderson was appointed the first Astronomer Royal for Scotland and second Regius Professor of Astronomy. The main instruments of the new observatory were
1320-482: The popular observatory was then set up in the existing Gothic Tower. Another observatory building was demolished and in 1818 work started on its replacement, which is now known as the Playfair Building. The Institution's funds were exhausted before instruments could be purchased for the new scientific observatory. This would be a recurring problem until the Institution's eventual demise in 1847. In 1822 it presented
1364-650: The position remained vacant until 1834. In 1811 private citizens had founded the Astronomical Institution of Edinburgh with John Playfair – professor of natural philosophy – as its president. The Institution acquired grounds on Calton Hill to build an observatory, which was designed by John's nephew William Henry Playfair ; it remains to this day as the Playfair building of the City Observatory . During his visit of Edinburgh in 1822, George IV bestowed upon
Edinburgh Astronomical Institution - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-480: The propositions and formulae which were the basis of his class lectures. Playfair's contributions to pure mathematics were not considerable, his papers "On the Arithmetic of Impossible Quantities" and "On the Causes which Affect the Accuracy of Barometrical Measurements", and his Elements of Geometry , all already referred to, being the most important. His lives of Matthew Stewart , Hutton , and Robison , many of his reviews , and above all his "Dissertation" are of
1452-634: The public. The ROE Library includes the Crawford Collection of books and manuscripts gifted in 1888 by the 26th Earl of Crawford . Before it moved to the present site in 1896, the Royal Observatory was located on Calton Hill , close to the centre of Edinburgh, at what is now known as the City Observatory . The University of Edinburgh in 1785 and by Royal Warrant of George III created the Regius Chair of Astronomy and appointed Robert Blair first Regius Professor of Astronomy. After his death in 1828
1496-578: The theory. In 1808 he also published a review of Laplace 's Traité de Mécanique Celeste . He died at 2 Albany Street on 20 July 1819. He is buried nearby in Old Calton Burial Ground (a secular burial ground). Playfair's brothers were architect James Playfair , solicitor Robert Playfair and engineer William Playfair . His nephew, William Henry Playfair (1790–1857) was an eminent architect in Scotland. In later life he admired and proposed to
1540-456: The time ball on Calton Hill and the time gun on Edinburgh Castle by telegraph wire. It also controlled a time gun in Dundee and a clock at Rosyth dockyard . In the 1910s and 1920s research at the ROE led to more accurate pendulum clocks , which remained in service until they had to give way to quartz clocks in the 1960s. On May 21, 1913, at 01:00, a bomb planted by suffragettes detonated. No one
1584-513: The tradition of the UKST this is a survey telescope with a wide field of view. It works in the infrared and uses an array of 16 large infrared detectors. The telescope is located at the Paranal Observatory of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). In 1962 five European countries had founded the ESO; the UK joined in 2002 as the tenth member country. VISTA was handed over to ESO in 2009 as part of
1628-432: The wealthy widow Jane Apreece . She turned him down and married Sir Humphry Davy . He died of strangury on 20 July 1819, and, although an eminent man, was buried in an unmarked grave in Old Calton Burial Ground , on Waterloo Place in Edinburgh. His, and his brother, James's graves were marked by a plaque unveiled in 2011 following a local campaign. The monument to his memory by William Henry Playfair, on Calton Hill ,
1672-483: The world over. A time service was established in 1858. Timings of star transits were used to keep the observatory clock accurate. The clock was wired up to control the drop of a time ball on Nelson's Monument . This is visible from the port of Leith , thus providing accurate time for shipping. Another wire led to a time gun on Edinburgh Castle . Chronic underfunding by the Government eventually led to Smyth's resignation in 1888. The Government then intended to close
1716-412: Was a Church of Scotland minister, remembered as a scientist and mathematician, and a professor of natural philosophy at the University of Edinburgh . He is best known for his book Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth (1802), which summarised the work of James Hutton . It was through this book that Hutton's principle of uniformitarianism , later taken up by Charles Lyell , first reached
1760-490: Was appointed as his successor. Due to the deteriorating finances of the Institution it was forced to hand over its property to the Government in 1847. The Royal Observatory continued on Calton Hill. After Piazzi Smyth's resignation in 1888 it moved in 1896 to its present site on Blackford Hill . 55°57′17″N 3°11′0″W / 55.95472°N 3.18333°W / 55.95472; -3.18333 Royal Observatory, Edinburgh The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh (ROE)
1804-504: Was appointed third Astronomer Royal for Scotland and oversaw the move of the two observatories from Dunecht and Calton Hill to Blackford Hill . The new site was opened in April 1896. The instruments to move into the domes were a 15-inch (38 cm) refractor (East Dome) and a 24-inch (0.6 m) reflector (West Dome). An 8.5-inch (22 cm) transit circle was housed in a separate building further west. The time service continued to control
Edinburgh Astronomical Institution - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-472: Was educated at home until the age of 14, when he entered the University of St Andrews to study divinity. He also did further studies at Edinburgh University . In 1766, when only 18, he was a candidate for the chair of mathematics in Marischal College (now part of the University of Aberdeen ), and, although he was unsuccessful, his claims were admitted to be high. Six years later (1772) he applied for
1892-471: Was inside the building but there was damage to floors and stone walls. During the first half of the 20th century the ROE pursued the new fields of photographic and photoelectric recording of stellar positions, brightnesses and spectra . From the 1950s onwards the ROE has concentrated even more on instrumentation and automation. In 1965 the ROE moved from the responsibility of the Scottish Office into
1936-560: Was installed in 1930. This is part of the visitor centre exhibition, but is not operational any more. A 16/24-inch (0.4/0.6 m) Schmidt camera was installed in the West Dome in 1951. In 2010 this was removed to the National Museum of Scotland . The only working telescope is a Meade MAX 20in ACF (0.5 m) reflector in a hemispherical dome on top of the teaching laboratories. This telescope
#826173