Radcliffe Observatory
The Radcliffe Observatory was an astronomical observatory of Oxford University from 1773 to 1934 in Oxford , England , and from 1934 to 1972 in Pretoria , South Africa.
The observatory was founded by John Radcliffe (around 1652-1714) and is named after him. The building was built to designs by Henry Keene and James Wyatt , leaning against the Tower of the Winds of Athens , and was completed in 1794. The largest telescope since 1901 has been the double refractor with an objective diameter of 60 and 45 cm. Due to the increasingly poor observation possibilities near the growing city of Oxford, the observatory was sold by the Radcliffe Foundation in 1934 and rebuilt in Pretoria. Delayed by World War II and technical difficulties, it was equipped in 1948 with the Radcliffe Telescope , a reflecting telescope with a diameter of 188 cm; one of the largest telescopes of that time. However, there, too, the observation possibilities deteriorated for the same reason, so that the observatory was finally merged with other facilities to form the South African Astronomical Observatory near the city of Sutherland in the 1970s . The Radcliffe Telescope was also relocated there in 1977.
The building in Oxford continues to be used by the university, while instruments from that period can be seen in the Museum of the History of Science . The double refractor was bought by the University of London Observatory and has been in scientific operation there on Mill Hill since 1938 .
Web links
- Radcliffe Observatory (s)
- Knox-Shaw, H .: The Radcliffe Observatory at Pretoria , Astronomical Society of the Pacific Leaflets, Vol. 6, p. 170, 1951
- Radcliffe , University of London Observatory (en)
Coordinates: 51 ° 45 '38.9 " N , 1 ° 15' 50" W.