Overview

The Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, was the first major astronomical observatory in the southern hemisphere, and this volume presents an account of its origin, construction and use. It describes technical aspects, such as the instruments and their makers, the installation of the instruments and their initial problems. The difficulties of founding a scientific institution in a remote colony are also detailed. There is a biography of the Cambridge-trained mathematician Fearon Fallows, the Observatory's first director. The architecture, building methods and construction techniques are analyzed. There is also a description of the social aspects of life in Cape Town in the 1820s, touching on slavery and ecclesiastical matters. This text offers emphasis to both the technical and human side of astronomy.

Full Product Details

Author:   Brian Warner
Publisher:   Springer
Imprint:   Springer
Edition:   1995 ed.
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   1.190kg
ISBN:  

9780792335276

ISBN 10:   0792335279
Pages:   240
Publication Date:   30 June 1995
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1: From Cockermouth to the Cape Via Cambridge.- The Origins of the Royal Observatory, CGH.- The Young Fallows.- Cambridge Undergraduate.- Religious Orders.- A Cambridge Career.- Mathematical Reform.- Astronomy at Cambridge.- The Royal Astronomical Society and the Royal Society.- Preparations for Departure.- 2: Cape Residence.- Voyage to the Cape.- Initial Impressions.- The Temporary Observatories.- The Catalogue of Southern Stars.- A Proposed Time Service.- The Search for a Suitable Site.- Lacaille’s Observatory.- Fallows’s Personal Life.- Financial Arrangements.- George Thompson.- Captain Owen and the Longitude of the Cape.- Minor Publications.- Observations of Eclipses.- The Assistants.- Diversions.- 3: Birth of the Observatory.- Land Acquisition: 1823–24.- The Plan Delayed.- The Architect.- The Architecture.- The First Contract.- John Cannon.- The Meridian Line.- John Skirrow.- The Foundations.- Winter 1825.- The Second Contract.- Synopsis of the Construction.- Security Measures.- Quality Control.- The Chases.- Instrument Piers.- Outhouses.- The Domes.- Fittings and Furniture.- 4: Instrumentation.- The Zenith Sector.- The Mural Circle.- The Transit Instrument.- Transportation to the Observatory.- Captain Ronald.- The Herschel 14-foot Reflector.- Clocks and Chronometers.- 5: Life at the Observatory.- Residential Occupation.- Land Acquisition: 1827–28.- Klerck’s Estate.- Completion of the Instrument Piers.- The Meridian Marks.- The Observatory Well.- Beautifying the Site.- Manuel Johnson and the St. Helena Observatory.- Cambridge University Observatory.- Paramatta Observatory.- The South African Museum.- Miscellaneous Associations.- Ecclesiastical Involvements.- The Observatory and Slavery.- The Cape Wine Trade Committee.- 6: No Bed of Roses.- Response toCriticism.- Threat of Abortion.- Swinging the Pendulum.- Testing the Transit and Mural Instruments.- The Departure of Captain Ronald.- First (and only) Meridian Results.- The Mural Circle: Completion of the Saga.- Final Days.- The Observatory in Limbo.- Mrs. Fallows.- Final Publication.- References.

Reviews

'... this is an absorbing and scholarly book by an erudite author, being one of a series he has written on the scientific and cultural life of the Cape colony. I can highly recommend it.' Journal for the History of Astronomy, 30:3 (1999)

... this is an absorbing and scholarly book by an erudite author, being one of a series he has written on the scientific and cultural life of the Cape colony. I can highly recommend it.' Journal for the History of Astronomy, 30: 3 (1999)

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