Royal Observatory

Royal Observatory: The Royal Observatory, Greenwich (formerly the Royal Greenwich Observatory or RGO) was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II, with the foundation stone being laid on 10 August.

oday the buildings include a museum of astronomical and navigational tools, which is part of the National Maritime Museum, notably including John Harrison's prize-winning longitude marine chronometer, H4, and its three predecessors.

Several additional horological artifacts are also displayed, documenting the history of precision timekeeping for navigational and astronomical purposes, including the mid 20th century Russian-made Fedchenko clock (the most accurate pendulum clock ever built in multiple copies). It is also home to the 28-inch Grubb refracting telescope of 1893, the largest of its kind in the UK. The Shepherd Clock outside the observatory gate is an early example of an electric slave clock.

In February 2005 construction work began on a £15 million redevelopment project to provide a new planetarium and additional display galleries and educational facilities. The 120 seat Peter Harrison Planetarium officially opened on May 25, 2007.

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