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University Of London Observatory
UCL Observatory (called the University of London Observatory until 2015) at Mill Hill in London is an astronomical teaching observatory. It is part of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London. History The Observatory was opened, as the University of London Observatory, on 8 October 1929 by the then Astronomer Royal Frank Watson Dyson, initially to house the 24-inch reflector built by Grubb of Dublin in 1881 and housed in Dr W.E. Wilson's observatory at Daramona, County Westmeath, Ireland, which was donated to the University of London after his death. An 8-inch refractor was installed in 1931 following its donation to the University by H.R. Fry of Barnett the previous year, and was named after him. In 1932, the University received a 6-inch refractor telescope from the estate of Mr. John Joynson of Liverpool. Although originally housed in the North dome in the Bloomsbury campus main quad, it was later relocated to the Observatory. In July 1938, the Ob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal University of London, and is the second-largest list of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, university in the United Kingdom by total enrolment and the largest by postgraduate enrolment. Established in 1826 as London University (though without university degree-awarding powers) by founders who were inspired by the radical ideas of Jeremy Bentham, UCL was the first university institution to be established in London, and the first in England to be entirely secular and to admit students regardless of their religion. It was also, in 1878, among the first university colleges to admit women alongside men, two years after University College, Bristol, had done so. Intended by its founders to be Third-oldest university in England debate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astronomical Observatories In England
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, galaxies, meteoroids, asteroids, and comets. Relevant phenomena include supernova explosions, gamma ray bursts, quasars, blazars, pulsars, and cosmic microwave background radiation. More generally, astronomy studies everything that originates beyond Earth's atmosphere. Cosmology is a branch of astronomy that studies the universe as a whole. Astronomy is one of the oldest natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history made methodical observations of the night sky. These include the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Chinese, Maya, and many ancient indigenous peoples of the Americas. In the past, astronomy included disciplines as diverse as astrometry, celestial navigation, observational ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celestron
Celestron, LLC is a company that manufactures telescopes and distributes telescopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, microscopes, and accessories manufactured by its parent company, the Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan. History The predecessor of Celestron was Valor Electronics, an electronics and military components firm founded in 1955 by Tom Johnson (astronomer), Tom Johnson. Johnson became involved with telescopes when he built a 6" reflecting telescope for his two sons. In 1960, Johnson established the "Astro-Optical" division of Valor, which would later become Celestron. By 1964, Johnson had founded "Celestron Pacific" as a division of Valor Electronics offering Schmidt-Cassegrain telescopes from 4" to 22". In 1970 Celestron introduced its "C8" 8" diameter 2032 mm focal length, ƒ10 telescope, the first of a new line of telescopes built using methods developed by Celestron to produce Schmidt-Cassegrains at a high volume and low cost. These models made significant inr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Fossey
Stephen John Fossey is a British astronomer who is the director of UCL Observatory, part of University College London (UCL). He discovered the nearby supernova SN 2014J and is one of the three editors of ''The Observatory'' magazine. Education Fossey studied at University College London (UCL), receiving his Bachelor of Science with Honours in 1983. This was followed in 1990 by a PhD in Astronomy (also at UCL). Fossey became a member of staff at ULO (University of London Observatory), which was later renamed UCL Observatory. Research and publications Fossey's research interests are in the interstellar medium, exoplanets and time-domain astronomy. He has authored two dozen refereed scientific papers on these topics. His first scientific publication was a single-author letter in ''Nature''. Along with Ingo Waldmann and David Kipping, Fossey discovered in 2009 that the exoplanet HD 80606b (previously known from radial velocity) transits its host star. In January 2014, Fossey di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SN2014J
SN 2014J was a Type-Ia supernova in Messier 82 (the 'Cigar Galaxy', M82) discovered in mid-January 2014. It was the closest Type-Ia supernova discovered for 42 years, and no subsequent supernova has been closer . The supernova was discovered by chance during an undergraduate teaching session at the University of London Observatory. It peaked on 31 January 2014, reaching an apparent magnitude of 10.5. SN 2014J was the subject of an intense observing campaign by professional astronomers and was bright enough to be seen by amateur astronomers. Discovery The supernova was discovered by astronomer Steve Fossey, of University College London and four of his undergraduate students: Ben Cooke, Guy Pollack, Matthew Wilde and Thomas Wright. Fossey was training the students on how to use a small telescope at University of London Observatory, located in Mill Hill, a suburb of north London. The discovery was serendipitous, because Fossey was not searching for supernovae, had not plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Extrasolar Planets
An exoplanet or extrasolar planet is a planet outside the Solar System. The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet was in 1992 around a pulsar, and the first detection around a main-sequence star was in 1995. A different planet, first detected in 1988, was confirmed in 2003. In 2016, it was recognized that the first possible evidence of an exoplanet had been noted in 1917. In collaboration with ground-based and other space-based observatories the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is expected to give more insight into exoplanet traits, such as their composition, environmental conditions, and potential for life. There are many methods of detecting exoplanets. Transit photometry and Doppler spectroscopy have found the most, but these methods suffer from a clear observational bias favoring the detection of planets near the star; thus, 85% of the exoplanets detected are inside the tidal locking zone. In several cases, multiple planets have been observed around a star. About 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ritchey–Chrétien Telescope
A Ritchey–Chrétien telescope (RCT or simply RC) is a specialized variant of the Cassegrain telescope that has a hyperboloid, hyperbolic primary mirror and a hyperbolic secondary mirror designed to eliminate off-axis optical errors (Coma (optics), coma). The RCT has a wider field of view free of optical errors compared to a more traditional reflecting telescope configuration. Since the mid 20th century, a majority of large professional research telescopes have been Ritchey–Chrétien configurations; some well-known examples are the Hubble Space Telescope, the Keck telescopes and the ESO Very Large Telescope. History The Ritchey–Chrétien telescope was invented in the early 1910s by American astronomer George Willis Ritchey and French astronomer Henri Chrétien. Ritchey constructed the first successful RCT, which had an aperture diameter of in 1927 (Ritchey 24-inch reflector). The second RCT was a instrument constructed by Ritchey for the United States Naval Observatory; t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ASTELCO
The company ASTELCO Systems is a manufacturer of telescopes, telescope control systems, domes/enclosures and related technology for professional astronomical research or public use. ASTELCO is located in Sauerlach near Munich and was founded in 2004. The company built the telescope and mount of the TRAPPIST Telescopes, famous for the discovery of the TRAPPIST-1 system, a red dwarf with seven terrestrial planets. The company also built the telescopes and mounts for the SPECULOOS Southern and Northern Observatory, which are searching for terrestrial planets around ultracool dwarfs and brown dwarfs in the habitable zone. Other projects include the 60 cm Robotic Telescope BOOTES-5 in Mexico, the COATLI robotic 50 cm telescope in Sierra San Pedro Mártir and the prototype for ESO VLT Laser Guide Star Telescope. The company builds classical Cassegrain and Ritchey-Chrétien telescope designs. The company also builds entire observatories An observatory is a locatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worshipful Company Of Clockmakers
The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers was established under a Royal Charter granted by King Charles I in 1631. It ranks sixty-first among the livery companies of the City of London, and comes under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council. The company established a library and its museum in 1813, which is the oldest specific collection of clocks and watches worldwide. This is administered by the company's affiliated charity, the Clockmakers' Charity, and is presently housed on the second floor of London's Science Museum. The modern aims of the company and its museum are charitable and educational, in particular to promote and preserve clockmaking and watchmaking, which as of 2019 were added to the HCA Red List of Endangered Crafts. The Clockmakers' Museum, comprising a collection of clocks, watches, portraits and ephemera is housed in a new gallery provided by the Science Museum, officially opened by Princess Anne on 22 October 2015. The museum was first established in 1813, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mill Hill
Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross, close to the Hertfordshire border. It was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population was 18,451 in 2011. It consists of the original Mill Hill Village; the later-developed Mill Hill Broadway (now the area's main hub); and Mill Hill East, alongside large swathes of countryside. A further area at the western edge of the suburb, The Hale, is on the borders of Mill Hill and Edgware, and is partly in each. History The area's name was first recorded as Myllehill in 1547 and appears to mean "hill with a windmill". However, the workings of the original Mill are in the building adjacent to The Mill Field. Mill Hill Village is the oldest known inhabited part of the district, a ribbon development along a medieval route called 'The Ridgeway'. It is thought that the name 'Mill Hill' may ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
