Observatory Today
Today the buildings include a museum of astronomical and navigational tools, which is part of the National Maritime Museum, notably including John Harrison's prize-winning longitude marine chronometer, H4, and its three predecessors, although all four are the property of the Ministry of Defence. Several additional horological artefacts are also displayed, documenting the history of precision timekeeping for navigational and astronomical purposes, including the mid 20th century Russian-made F.M. Fedchenko clock (the most accurate pendulum clock ever built in multiple copies). It is also home to the 28-inch Grubb refracting telescope of 1893, the largest of its kind in the UK. The Shepherd Clock outside the observatory gate is an early example of an electric slave clock. In February 2005 construction work began on a £15 million redevelopment project to provide a new planetarium and additional display galleries and educational facilities. The 120 seat Peter Harrison Planetarium officially opened on 25 May 2007.
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Famous quotes containing the word observatory:
“Where there is an observatory and a telescope, we expect that any eyes will see new worlds at once.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)