The Royal Observatory, Greenwich played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known as the location of the prime meridian. The observatory is situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the River Thames.

The group lands in an area hidden from all muggle gazes in thanks to several large bushes. Hopefully no one has become too queasy from the trip, but if you have those bushes are right there to...you know...help you out. After handing the portkeys back to Professor Flamsteed, he instructs you to keep your bum bags with your special entry tickets and muggle money on your person. REMEMBER! Under NO circumstances are you to break the The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. After making your way up the hill as a group, you approach the main gate and are greeted by a sharply dressed docent in dark purple who waves as you pass with a cheerful, "Welcome to the Royal Observatory, Greenwich!"



Now through the main entrance, you find yourselves to the left of the Meridian Courtyard, as Professor Flamsteed reminds you by pointing to the guide maps you picked up while still in the Astronomy classroom at Hogwarts. After instructing you all to get them out and briefly going over the various activities he hopes you will be sure to take a look at before needing to catch the portkeys. "Don't forget, meet back at our meeting location no later than 3:15," he sternly reminds the group. "Now get a move on and enjoy your day of scientific inquiry and discovery!"

ACTIVITIES
OOC: you do NOT need to do every single one of these activities for full participation credit for this lesson. I would like you to pick AT LEAST 2, ideally 3, and RP accordingly. There is no real post minimum for each activity as long as the content is there. Just have fun with things and, remember, your character is in MUGGLEDOM.

Also, since we are all RPing in the SAME thread, please please PLEASE title your post with the LOCATION & ACTIVITY with which your character is participating in so we can all keep track of where we all are and find others to play with PLEASE AND THANK YOU!

Watch a show at the Peter Harrison Planetarium

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[ official site ]

Think of a planetarium as a tour bus of the Universe taking you on amazing journeys to explore and experience the wonders of the night sky.

Combining real images from spacecraft and telescopes with advanced CGI, all projected onto a fully immersive dome, the Planetarium can fly you into the heart of the Sun, transport you to distant galaxies, show you the birth of a star or land you on Mars.

The Peter Harrison Planetarium at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich is now London’s only planetarium, and features state-of-the-art HD projection technology, visualisations based on real scientific data and real astronomers and seats 120.

The show currently playing is titled From Earth to the Universe.

Partake in the Anvilled Star Artist Workshop

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[ official site ]

Reflecting ourselves and the universe around us, mirrors can take many forms and they are vital components in many of the telescopes which astronomers have used to explore and understand the Universe. Artist Matthew Luck Galpin used his blacksmithing skills to rework meteorites by heating, hammering, grinding and polishing them into mirrors called ‘Anvilled Stars’.

This process echoes the formation of the planets, pulled together and shaped by gravity, heat and rotation. The meteorites themselves formed when the Solar System was young; they are the left-over remnants of the material from which the planets were made, the building blocks of the Earth and everything on it.

Now you can create one too! Simply present the special ticket to one of the three blacksmiths and they will help you through the process so you can take home a truly one of a kind souvenir.

Astronomy Inspires gallery

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See how the universe expanded from the smallest and how our solar system was formed. The Astronomy Inspires gallery showcases an orrery from the 19th century which demonstrates the motion of the planets. Alongside is a state-of-the-art projection wall showing the how the Universe formed: from the Big Bang to now in 4 minutes! With many interactive displays, there is much you can discover about how the scientists mapped the seas and the stars!

Just past the entrance to this part of the Royal Observatory you will have the opportunity of touching a 4.500,000,000 year old meteorite! During the early life of the solar system the meteorites were part of the asteroid belt and thought to have reached earth between 6000-4000 years ago, falling in Campo De Ciela (Field of Heaven) in the Argentine desert after a journey of millions of years.

Great Equatorial Telescope Dome

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[official site]

The 28-inch Greenwich refracting telescope is the largest of its kind in the UK and the seventh largest in the world. Completed in 1893 as a replacement for the 12¾-inch Merz that originally occupied its position, it was commissioned in 1885 by William Christie, Astronomer Royal between 1881 and 1911. It was designed to keep the Royal Observatory at the forefront of contemporary astronomy and more active in the growing disciplines of astrophysics and photography. The job of constructing the telescope was given to Howard Grubb, an Irish optical manufacturer who was then the world leader in the field.

Although the telescope was removed from Greenwich to Herstmonceaux in 1957, it was used for research into double star systems throughout its working life until its retirement in the late 1960s. It was returned to Greenwich in 1971, and has become a central part of educational programmes at the Royal Observatory. With the recent addition of a computer-aided guidance system and CCD camera, it continues to work as an excellent visual aid to observing the night sky.

While nighttime provides a more optimum environment, if you wait in the queue long enough you can take a peek through this telescope. We are sure you will still be able to see something - most likely a planet.

Flamsteed House

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[official site]

Flamsteed House is the original Observatory building at Greenwich, designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1675 on the instructions of King Charles II. The Observatory was built on the site of Greenwich Castle, which originally belonged to Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (brother of Henry V) and was often used as a guest house and hunting lodge by Henry VIII. Be sure to check out the two time galleries while you explore around here!

But that is not all Professor Flamsteed hopes you will see. Circled on all of your guidemaps is the Octagon Room. The room was designed to observe celestial events including eclipses, comets and planetary movements. However, the positioning of Flamsteed House meant that the original purpose of the Observatory could not be fulfilled from the Octagon Room. With big windows, the room was perfect for watching the sky, but not ideal for positional observations, because none of the walls were aligned with a meridian. Most important positional observations were actually made in a small 'shed' in the Observatory gardens, though King Charles II remained blissfully unaware of this. The telescopes are fully operational and ready for you to take a look through!

Also on display here is a fascinating garment with a sign beside it.

Watch the Time Ball drop

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The bright red Time Ball on top of Flamsteed House is one of the world's earliest public time signals, distributing time to ships on the Thames and many Londoners. It was first used in 1833 and still operates today. To view the Time Ball you will need to exit the house and watch from the Meridian Courtyard. Each day, at 12.55, the time ball rises halfway up its mast. At 12.58 it rises all the way to the top. At 13.00 exactly, the ball falls, and so provides a signal to anyone who happens to be looking. Of course, if you were looking the wrong way, you had to wait until the next day before it happened again.

Meridian Courtyard

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Since the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian at Greenwich has served as the reference line for Greenwich Mean Time. It can now claim to be the centre of world time, and was the official starting point for the new Millennium. 22 October 2009 marked the 125th anniversary of the Greenwich Meridian as the Prime Meridian of the World.

The meridian line in Greenwich represents the Prime Meridian of the world, Longitude Zero (0° 0' 0"). Every place on the Earth is measured in terms of its angle east or west from this line. To stand astride the line is to have one foot in the eastern and one foot in the western hemisphere of the earth – just as the Equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.
The Prime Meridian at Greenwich passes through a massive special telescope called a transit circle. The transit circle was built by Sir George Airy, the seventh Astronomer Royal, in 1850. The cross-hairs seen in the eyepiece of this transit circle define Longitude 0° for the world.

The 'universal day' is measured from the Prime Meridian. It is the average of a year's worth of 'natural' days and is a scientific time scale used irrespective of time zones.

Coolest thing to do here? Walk and/or straddle the Meridian Line, which represents the Prime Meridian of the World – Longitude 0º!

Astronomers' Garden

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[official site]
Although the name Astronomers’ Garden is recent, this is the oldest of the gardens at the Observatory, the land having been enclosed when the Observatory was built in the 1670's. Now trapezoid in shape, it has had various names, including: ‘The Lawn’, ‘The Terrace Lawn’, ‘The Terrace Garden’, ‘The Upper Garden’ and more recently, ‘The Home of Time Garden’ (1998–2008). The present name, ‘The Astronomers’ Garden’ is a contrivance dating from 2009.

Unique to this year, the garden plays host to a special exhibit called Longitude Punk’d to celebrate the 260th anniversary of the Longitude Act being repealed. A show where Astronomer Royal John Flamsteed appears in thanks to his time machine is both educational and entertaining. Best of all? After the show is finished you can go up and explore the time machine and other steampunk elements including photoshoot opportunities in costume and wigs with your choice of steampunk prop (including a vehicle and telescope!)

Gift Shop & Cafe

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While you won’t find astronaut ice cream here, there is still plenty to spend your muggle money on! Next door to the gift shop is a humble little cafe that offers choices such as sandwiches, gratins and other classics - including stellar parfaits.

Checking his sundial watch, the professor gleefully announces that everyone is free to go about as you please...KEEPING CERTAIN THINGS IN MIND! And mentions something about living long and prospering before running off himself to bask in the glory of the day.

Have fun and be smart!

OOC: please make sure you have posted in this thread departing from the Astronomy classroom BEFORE posting in here. It doesn't matter if you are just joining us now. Anyone and everyone is welcome to come!


I will leave this thread open for several days and will give at least a 24 hours notice before it will close. I will be around to answer any questions you may have so please feel free to shoot me a VM or PM if something comes up!

NOW GO HAVE FUN BEING WIZARDING CHILDREN TAKING OVER A MUGGLE LOCATION AND SANCTUARY OF SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY!

And don't break anything