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Miscellaneous astronomical methods, primarily to find longitude from hypotheses, sent in by various lesser known scientists and navigators. There is also material on Sir J. South's experiments with longitude, a long letter by Airy on the altitudes of the Moon, lunar tables, computations of the Moon's apparent motion and a letter by Sir F. Beaufort.

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Computation of a comet's latitude and longitude from right ascension and north polar distance, 17 January - 20 July [no year]; observation of rockets with Sir James South, 1831; note on the filing down of the transit instruments; and observations of the meridian mark, 1833-1834.

Scope and Contents Minutes of Board of Longitude meetings regarding, among other matters, experiments to discover the longitude of Falmouth; instruments required by Fearon Fallows at the Cape of Good Hope; Sir Humphrey Davy's suggestion of publishing a catalogue of double stars by John Herschel and Sir James South; Johann Tiarks's trip to Heligoland to discover the longitude of the island and its relative position to both the coast of Germany and Greenwich; the purchase of a 14-foot reflecting telescope for...

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Regarding the comparative state of astronomical observations in England and on the Continent.

Scope and Contents From the File:

Observations and correspondence regarding miscellaneous astronomical matters.

Scope and Contents Correspondence between T. Henderson, G.B. Airy and T. Maclear, comprising a letter from Henderson aboard H.M.S. 'Melville', 25 January 1832; a letter from Henderson concerning tables of corrections for the microscopes on the mural circle, 27 September 1833; a list of observations with the transit circle, 10 April 1832 - 24 May 1833, and the mural circle, 16 May 1832 - 24 May 1833, with a list of corrections to mural circle microscope readings, dated 27 September 1833; a memorandum by...

Scope and Contents Correspondence concerning improved instruments, new techniques and inventions, and a proposed planetarium and cometarium. The new inventions include improved sextants and sea horizons; a micrometer; a paper on finding Greenwich Time, complete with a drawing; achromatic eyepieces; an improved quadrant; drawings of eye pieces; a heliotrope; and an illuminating process for telescopes. The correspondents include Sir B. Donkin, Sir C. Wood, Sir H.G. Ward, Sir W. Denison, J. Challis, C.B....

Scope and Contents Correspondence on the establishment of the observatory at Liverpool, covering the financing of the venture, its advantages to navigators, plans of the docks, a telescope and a water-powered mechanism. The principal correspondents are J. Aiken, W.T. Jones and J. Franklin. There is also printed correspondence between R. Sheepshanks, J. Taylor and Sir J. South. The letters include correspondence with W. Simms, London, and G. Mertz, Munich, on the instruments. There are also articles from...

Scope and Contents Correspondence on the posthumous publication of the Groombridge Star Catalogue. The letters detail errors in Groombridge's stars, the production of a preface, the printing of the work and its distribution. The correspondents include Sir F. Beaufort, F. Baily, Sir J. Barrow, Sir C. Wood, T.F. Colby, T. Galloway, G. Peacock, Lord Wrottesley and A. de Morgan. The papers include a protracted argument between Sir J. South and Airy regarding the catalogue featured in 'The Times' in November 1838;...

Scope and Contents Correspondence with the Nautical Almanac Office, primarily with W.S. Stratford over the 'Nautical Almanac', and including topics such as the minor planets, Jupiter's satellites, Halley's and Encke's Comets, and errors in the 'Nautical Almanac' and Greenwich observations. There is further correspondence with the British Association for the Advancement of Science on the subject of producing a comprehensive star catalogue and reductions. The correspondents include Sir J. Barrow, Sir J. South,...

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Correspondence on the positions of stars, with their errors, new discoveries, comparisons of star places (i.e. with the Tabula Regiomontana) and the motion of variable stars. The correspondents include F. Baily, Sir F. Beaufort, J.F.W. Herschel, J. Glaisher, R. Sheepshanks, W.H. Smyth, T. Galloway, W.S. Stratford, J.R. Hind, W.R. Dawes, Sir G. Everest and W. Lassell. The papers also include various parts of star catalogues.

Scope and Contents From the Series: The first part of collection is comprised of papers concerning the internal affairs of the Board of Longitude, including the granting of awards, accounts, minutes, committee papers, petitions and memorials, the loan of instruments, publications and the payment of staff. These are followed by a wide range of papers relating to the Board's work, concerning clocks, chronometers and other instruments; longitude and latitude; magnetic variation; schemes and inventions; tables; pendulum...

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Sent to Dr Thomas Young.

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Originally enclosing the letters at [RGO 14/48: 312-319].

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Concerning observations made by South and Herschel.

Scope and Contents Minutes of the Council of the Royal Society:27 May 1784: resolving that the printing bill for the second volume of the 'Greenwich Observations' be paid.24 June 1784: concerning the King's approval of a proposal for ascertaining the relative situations of the observatories at Greenwich and Paris.29 July 1784: concerning and including a letter from Lieut. General Roy, dated 28 June 1784, on the measurement of a base line. The minutes also cover Visitation...

Scope and Contents Miscellaneous papers concerning astronomical matters, including letters from T. Henderson, C.P. Smyth, A. de Morgan, J.R. Hind, J.W. Lubbock, J. Challis, F. Baily and others. The subjects covered include the printing of comet tables; the locations in the 'Philosophical Transactions' of the papers of Flamsteed, Bradley and Maskelyne relating to Greenwich observations; reports on the transit of Mercury, 1832; the occultation of Mercury, 1838; newspaper cuttings of the transit of Mercury in...

Scope and Contents (1) Correspondence, 1834-1895Correspondence regarding J.C. Adams and other subjects, as follows:Index to correspondence, 1895.C. Taylor's suggestion of a memorial to J.C. Adams at Westminster Abbey, 1892.D. McAlister's proposal for a publication of J.C. Adams's papers, with lists of important correspondence, 1892-1893.Notes on correspondence in the Royal Observatory records regarding the search for Neptune, 1834.Notes from J.F.W. Hershel's...

Scope and Contents Photocopies of correspondence and other papers relating to Thomas Firminger: 1. [ ] Firminger to (sister) 'My dear Kate' (possibly Catherine Dyer, née Firminger), 20 April 1848.2. Elizabeth Firminger to Catherine [Dyer], 6 April 1854.3. Thomas Firminger to William [Dyer], 17 January 1859.4. Sir James South to Thomas Firminger, 25 June 1861.5. Sir James South to [Thomas Firminger], 2 July 1861.6. Thomas Firminger to Catherine [Dyer], 6 November...

Scope and Contents Material concerning work on the geodetic surveys and longitudes in Britain, Europe and India. The papers include two maps of triangulations in Ireland (one on a smaller scale); a plan of principal triangles in Britain; a map of triangulations in Germany; a sketch of triangulations at Royston, Bedfordshire; calculations to find the latitude and longitude of Ben Lomond; triangulations in Scotland and on the Shetland Isles; disturbances of gravity of Shanklin Down, Isle of Wright, with a list...

Scope and Contents The mutual accusations of Lt. W.S. Stratford and W. Woolhouse, 1837.Correspondence on the Superintendent of the proposed Naval School at Portsmouth, 1838-1839.Letter from Captain Shirreff to Airy regarding the rate of pay of schoolmasters in the Navy, 12 August 1840, including 'Naval Notice on Regulations for the Qualification, Pay, and Half Pay of Naval Instructors and Schoolmasters'.Letters from the Admiralty examining the Greenwich Hospital Schools and concerning...

Scope and Contents From the Series: The first part of collection is comprised of papers concerning the internal affairs of the Board of Longitude, including the granting of awards, accounts, minutes, committee papers, petitions and memorials, the loan of instruments, publications and the payment of staff. These are followed by a wide range of papers relating to the Board's work, concerning clocks, chronometers and other instruments; longitude and latitude; magnetic variation; schemes and inventions; tables; pendulum...

Scope and Contents Airy's miscellaneous private correspondence, volume 1, including letters concerning many private and scientific subjects, with much on the Dolcoath experiment. There are letters from Babbage, Bayne, Bromhead, Buckland, Clarkson, Coddington, Croker, Davy, Everest, Groswell, Hastler, Hawkes, Herslow, Herschel, Higman, Hustler, Malkin, Musgrave, Parkes, Peacock, Powell, Sedgwick, Sheepshanks, Smyth, South, Thackeray, Trail, Whewell and Woodsworth, with an index to the correspondents at the...

Scope and Contents Letters concerning the meeting of 5 June 1858.Letters on the practical expulsion of Sir J. South from the Board of Visitors, 1858.Letters relating to the appointment of Professor G.G. Stokes as Visitor, 1858.Letters relating to the appointment of Col. G. Everest as Visitor, 1859.Letters concerning the meeting of 4 June 1859.Letters concerning the meeting of 2 June 1860.Papers introductory to the report to the Board of Visitors, 5 June 1858,...