GREENWICH OBSERVATORY

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1798, 22 August 1906, Page 65

GREENWICH OBSERVATORY

(From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, June 22. The future of Greenwich Observatory, of world-wide renown, has become an imminent question. “ Someone has blundered ” on a gigantic scale, otherwise the London County Council’s new electric station would never have been established so close to the Observatory as to interfere with its delicate recording instruments. According to Lord Goschon, the blunder is the fault of <jvoryone concerned —the Admiralty, the Astronomer-Royal, the London County Council, and Parliament. Nobody thought tho thing out beforehand; nobody appears to have realised the consequences until the mischief was half done. No one denies the seriousness of tho situation as regards tlio Observatory. Greenwich is tho astronomical centre of tho -world, and many millions of observations connected with cartography and astronomy depend largely for their value upon the fixity of the Royal Observatory as a reference point. The position of every place shown on British and American maps and charts, and on most foreign maps, is dependent upon observations taken at Greenwich, and every ship at sea ascertains its position by reference to Greenwich observations. Nearly all nations of importance nowuse Greenwich time as a standard or universal time. “If a e’nglc ship were lost in consequence of confusion being introduced into longtitude,” says Lord

Ellcnborough, who raised the question in the Loids this week, “its value might well bo treble that of these new electrical works of the London County Oounoil.” The noble Lord protested' that the geography of the whole world must not bo interfered with because tb© County Council preferred to use vertical engines instead of turbine®; and he could not refrain from dragging in tho übiquitous Education Bill. "It seems sad,” he remarked, amidst eomo laughter, " that tho education, of half a million of London children should have been entrusted to a body who are evidently ignorant of the first principles of geography and astronomy.” The Earl of Crawford, premier Earl of Scotland, and ex-president of the Astronomical Society, raked several interesting points in the debate. Fo - rmally years,'he said, the moon had been given over to Greenwich Observatory oy the scientific world, just as ’lie observ; - tion of tho minor planets rested witn Berlin, and other matters astronomical were looked after by American observers. If Greenwich were now reduced to the position of saying that its lunar observations had lost weight and value, it would be a terrible blow to the reputation of the Royal Observatory, and to the position of Great Britain ae a scientific country. Another difficulty was that disputes as to boundaries between countries were mainly settled by astronomical observations as to the position of the moon; and as the moon was being constantly watched at Greenwich Observatory, applications were frequently received from foreign countries as to tho error of the moon at ouch an hour on such a day. That also showed how extremely important it was that the observations at Greenwich should bo reliable. Such was the accuracy demanded of the instruments at Greenwich Observatory that measures of extension were fractions of thickness of a spider’s web, and hundredths of a second of time. Therefore, though the disturbance caused to the instruments at the Observatory by the electric works might be infinitely small, that infinitely small disturbance might lead to i nca lon lab 1 e damnge. Altogether, as Lord Kelvin remarked, the difficulties of the situation seem absolutely endless. It is plain that the present position must not continue, and equally plain that it would never do to remove the Royal Observatory. On tho other hand, the London ratepayers can hardly he expected to sacrifice half a million of money for a mistake which it should have been the business of Parliament, the Admiralty, and tho Astronomer-Royal to foresee and prevent. As a possible way out of the impure, the First Lord of Ihe Admiralty has decided to appoint a committee representing jointly the Council and the Admiralty, to discover what the effect cf the new Council works upon the Observatory really was, and to ascertain whether by any rearrangement of the machinery the threatened damage can be averted.