The Norman Lockyer Observatory, the Lockyer Technology Centre, and the Planetarium (jointly NLO), is a public access optical observatory east of

Sidmouth Sidmouth () is a town on the English Channel in Devon, South West England, southeast of Exeter. With a population of 13,258 in 2021, it is a tourist resort and a gateway to the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. A large part of the town has ...

East Devon East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St M ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

. It houses a number of historical optical telescopes, including the Lockyer Telescope, and is operated by Norman Lockyer Observatory Society (NLOS).

History

The observatory was founded by

Joseph Norman Lockyer Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer (17 May 1836 – 16 August 1920) was an English scientist and astronomer. Along with the French scientist Pierre Janssen, he is credited with discovering the gas helium. Lockyer also is remembered for being the fo ...

in 1912 when he retired to Sidmouth following the closure of the South Kensington Observatory, of which Lockyer was Director. Originally known as Hill Observatory, the observatory was renamed Norman Lockyer Observatory after his death in 1920. Thomazine Mary Lockyer ''a.k.a.'' "Lady Lockyer", took a strong interest in the observatory and made gifts to it. She was elected to the

Royal Astronomical Society The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is a learned society and charitable organisation, charity that encourages and promotes the study of astronomy, planetary science, solar-system science, geophysics and closely related branches of science. Its ...

in 1923. The Observatory's historic instruments are associated with Lockyer's pioneering work on star temperature which led to theories of

stellar evolution Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is consi ...

and the foundation of

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

. The facility was operated by the University of Exeter between 1948 and 1984. In 1984

East Devon District Council East Devon is a local government district in Devon, England. Its council is based in the town of Honiton, although Exmouth is the largest town. The district also contains the towns of Axminster, Budleigh Salterton, Cranbrook, Ottery St Mary, ...

became the owner/trustee of the observatory and after a period of renovation leased it to Norman Lockyer Observatory Society (NLOS) in 1995. An exhibition area and 60-seat planetarium was added in 1996 and a 100-seat

convention center A convention center (American and British English spelling differences, American English; or conference centre in British English) is a large building that is designed to hold a Convention (meeting), convention, where individuals and groups ...

for

lecture A lecture (from ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical information, history, background, theo ...

s and

academic conference An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an Convention (meeting), event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic jou ...

s added in 2005. The Connaught Dome, which incorporates 'Lockyer Technology Centre' (the observatory's radio astronomy facility), was opened in 2012. The observatory is staffed by volunteers, and regularly open to the public on published afternoons and evenings.

Instruments

The observatory provides modern

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

s with computer enhanced imaging, maintains some of the nation's most historic astronomical instruments and enjoys a relatively dark

night sky The night sky is the nighttime appearance of celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon, which are visible in a clear sky between sunset and sunrise, when the Sun is below the horizon. Natural light sources in a night sky include moonlig ...

with a southerly aspect across the sea. There are five domes: * 'Mond', housing the 6¼-inch Lockyer Telescope. Built in 1871, this optical refractor telescope is on a German equatorial mount. Norman Lockyer used the

objective lens In optical engineering, an objective is an optical element that gathers light from an object being observed and focuses the light rays from it to produce a real image of the object. Objectives can be a single lens or mirror, or combinations of ...

from this telescope to discover helium in 1868 (before the lens was used in the telescope). * 'Kensington', housing the Kensington Telescope. Built in 1881 for the Solar Physics Observatory, London, this dual refractor telescope has a 10" tube for observation and 9" tube with attached prism and plate glass camera for spectroscopy. * 'McClean', housing the McClean Telescope, donated to the observatory by

Francis McClean Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Francis Kennedy McClean, (1 February 1876 – 11 August 1955) was a British civil engineer and pioneer aviator. Sir Francis was one of the founding members of the Royal Aero Club and one of the founders of naval aviati ...

in 1912. Built in 1897 by the

Grubb Telescope Company Grubb Parsons (legally 'Sir Howard Grubb, Parsons and Co. Ltd.') was a historic manufacturer of telescopes, active in the 19th and 20th centuries. They built numerous large research telescopes, including several that were (at the time of construc ...

, it is a dual refractor consisting of a 12" tube and attachment for a plate glass camera, and a 10" tube for observing. Associated with this telescope is the Cooke Siderostat which projects the Sun's optical spectrum and Fraunhofer absorption lines within the Dome annex. * 'Connaught', housing a 20" reflector and the observatory's radio astronomy facility (Lockyer Technology Centre). * 'Victoria', housing a 12" reflector. The observatory is particularly well situated for spectral analysis in astronomy, which requires a clear sky over the whole

optical spectrum The visible spectrum is the band of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye. Electromagnetic radiation in this range of wavelengths is called ''visible light'' (or simply light). The optical spectrum is sometimes consider ...

, as it enjoys a relatively "clean" sky to the east and south across the sea. The

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

is usually free of

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

and

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of any unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting sources, during the ...

and, as the sea has a uniform

temperature Temperature is a physical quantity that quantitatively expresses the attribute of hotness or coldness. Temperature is measurement, measured with a thermometer. It reflects the average kinetic energy of the vibrating and colliding atoms making ...

, the air is also free of rising

currents Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hy ...

which can distort optical images. The observatory is active in both optical and radio astronomy and has a
astro imaging group
a technology group, a

meteorology Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...

and

weather satellite A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites are mainly of two types: polar orbiting (covering the entire Earth asyn ...

facility and a

science history The history of science covers the development of science from ancient history, ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural science, natural, social science, social, and formal science, formal. Pr ...

group. The observatory's radio call sign is 'GB2NLO' for special events at the observatory. It cooperates with

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

courses of the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

, the

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

and the

Open Universities An open university is a university with an open-door academic policy, with minimal or no entry requirements. Open universities may employ specific teaching methods, such as open supported learning or distance education. However, not all open ...

, and is available for scientific and educational development projects. The observatory is home to the annual South West Astronomy Fair on the second Saturday in August. The observatory celebrated its centenary in 2012, with commemorative events throughout the year, as well as the openings of the Connaught Dome (20" reflector) and Lockyer Technology Centre by

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

. The observatory holds a library, including glass spectral plates. An archive of Lockyer's papers is held at the

Society

The observatory is home to the

astronomical society A list of notable groups devoted to promoting astronomy research and education. International * Astronomers for Planet Earth (A4E) * Astronomers Without Borders (AWB) *International Astronomical Union (IAU) *International Meteor Organization * Ne ...

"Norman Lockyer Observatory Society (NLOS)", founded in 1995. It is a registered

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

with the principal activities of promoting the public understanding of

science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

and astronomy and supporting

science education Science education is the teaching and learning of science to school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some ...

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

s and

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. The facility is financed solely by its membership, private donations and income derived from Public Open Days. No funding is received from national or local

government agencies A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, ...

nor does it receive ongoing

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

from any

organisation An organization or organisation ( Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is an entity—such as a company, or corporation or an institution ( formal organization), or an association—comprising one or more people and having a pa ...

References

{{Reflist, 40em, refs= {{cite web , url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/panoramas/norman_lockyer_observatory_360.shtml , title= Norman Lockyer Observatory, 360° Panorama , date= 19 August 2005 , work=

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

website {{cite web , url=http://normanlockyer.com/ , title=Norman Lockyer Observatory , accessdate=18 July 2016 {{cite web , url=http://normanlockyer.com/history/ , title=History , publisher=Norman Lockyer Observatory , accessdate=18 July 2016 {{cite web , url=http://normanlockyer.com/visitor-information/opening-times/ , title=Opening Times , publisher=Norman Lockyer Observatory , accessdate=18 July 2016 {{cite web , url=http://normanlockyer.com/the-observatory/telescopes/ , title=Telescopes , publisher=Norman Lockyer Observatory , accessdate=18 July 2016{{cite web , url=http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/nlo/Home~EN.php , title=Norman Lockyer Observatory , accessdate=18 July 2016 {{cite web , url=http://projects.exeter.ac.uk/nlo/Observatory___Telescopes___Lockyer~EN.php , title=Lockyer Telescope , accessdate=18 July 2016 Astronomical observatories in England Planetaria in the United Kingdom Buildings and structures in Devon Jurassic Coast Sidmouth

History

Instruments

Society

See also

References