The Royal Observatory Greenwich: A Glance At Its History And Work (Cambridge Library Collection - Astronomy) - Softcover

Maunder, E. Walter

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1108065066 ISBN 13: 9781108065061

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2014

Synopsis

When this highly illustrated work first appeared in 1900, the day-to-day business of an astronomer was prone to misapprehension; the reality tended to be clouded by the temptation to imagine observatories as preoccupied with making awe-inspiring discoveries and glimpsing distant worlds. Describing himself as a hybrid between an engineer and an accountant, astronomer Edward Walter Maunder (1851–1928) explodes the romantic myths and takes the reader on an entertaining tour of the history and real purposes of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. Founded with the sole aim of advancing navigation at sea, the observatory originally confined its activities to the accurate compilation of celestial charts. In exploring the observatory's various departments and the lives of its Astronomers Royal, Maunder shows how its remit slowly expanded into heliography, meteorology, spectroscopy and the study of magnetism, which transformed it from a tool of the Navy to a major institution in contemporary astronomy.

About this title

Book Description:

In this entertaining and highly illustrated history of the Royal Observatory, first published in 1900, astronomer Edward Walter Maunder (1851–1928) explores the departments of the institution and the lives of its Astronomers Royal, illuminating the fabulous and often overlooked advances made there since its founding in the seventeenth century.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1108065066
• ISBN 13: 9781108065061
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 326