The Godlee Observatory is an old astronomical

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. His ...

located in a tower on the roof of the University of Manchester's

Sackville Street Building The Sackville Street Building is a building on Sackville Street, Manchester, England. The University of Manchester occupies the building which, before the merger with UMIST in 2004, was UMIST's "Main Building". Construction of the building for t ...

, G floor (formerly UMIST Main Building), in the

City Centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

of Manchester, England. It was given to the city of Manchester by Francis Godlee when construction was completed in 1902. The dome is constructed out of papier-mâché and is reached by an Edwardian era wrought iron staircase and a trap door. Godlee Observatory is home to two original telescopes made by Grubb of Dublin: a Newtonian telescope that uses a concave primary mirror and a flat diagonal secondary mirror, and a refracting telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image. The observatory is operated by the

Manchester Astronomical Society The Manchester Astronomical Society is an organisation that promotes popular and amateur astronomy in North West England. It is one of the oldest provincial astronomical societies in England. The Society is based in the Godlee Observatory loca ...

. As of November 2022, the Observatory is closed indefinitely due to redevelopment work on the North Campus of the University of Manchester.

References

External links

On-line Tour of the Godlee ObservatoryThe Manchester Astronomical SocietySackville Street Building
Astronomical observatories in England Buildings at the University of Manchester Buildings and structures in Manchester {{GreaterManchester-struct-stub