Royal Observatory, Astronomical observatory in Greenwich, England
The Royal Observatory stands on a hill in Greenwich Park and houses the Great Equatorial Telescope beneath its onion dome at 68 meters elevation. The site includes several red brick buildings, among them Flamsteed House with its towers and a cluster of exhibition rooms displaying instruments for timekeeping and navigation.
King Charles II commissioned the observatory in 1675, appointing Christopher Wren as architect and John Flamsteed as the first Astronomer Royal of England. The institution became a center for solving the longitude problem during the 18th century, which had hindered sailors for decades.
Visitors stand on a brass line that divides the eastern hemisphere from the western, keeping one foot in each half of the world. Many photograph themselves at this symbolic spot, which shows how people organize space and time.
Entry covers access to the main buildings and outdoor areas, with advance booking advisable for planetarium sessions. The hill offers open views over London but can be steep, and pathways are not fully wheelchair-friendly everywhere.
The red time ball drops every day at 1:00 PM GMT from the tower, continuing a tradition that began in 1833 to help ships calibrate their chronometers. Captains watched the drop from a distance to synchronize their clocks with the exact time before sailing into open water.
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