Durham University Observatory
Encyclopedia
The Durham University Observatory is a weather observatory
owned and operated by the University of Durham. It is a Grade II listed building located at Potters Bank, Durham and was founded in 1839 initially as an astronomical and meteorological observatory (owing to the need to calculate refraction
from the air temperature) by Temple Chevallier
until 1937 when the observatory moved purely to meteorological recording. The observatory's current Director is Professor Tim Burt of the Geography Department. After the Radcliffe Observatory
, Durham has the longest unbroken meteorological record of any University in the UK, with records dating back to the 1840s, principally due to the work of Gordon Manley
in creating a temperature record that would be comparable to Oxford's. At present the observatory contributes to the Met Office
's forecasts by providing automated records.
Observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
owned and operated by the University of Durham. It is a Grade II listed building located at Potters Bank, Durham and was founded in 1839 initially as an astronomical and meteorological observatory (owing to the need to calculate refraction
Refraction
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed...
from the air temperature) by Temple Chevallier
Temple Chevallier
Temple Chevallier was a British clergyman, astronomer, and mathematician. Between 1847 and 1849, he made important observations regarding sunspots. Chevallier has been called "a remarkable Victorian polymath"...
until 1937 when the observatory moved purely to meteorological recording. The observatory's current Director is Professor Tim Burt of the Geography Department. After the Radcliffe Observatory
Radcliffe Observatory
Radcliffe Observatory was the astronomical observatory of Oxford University from 1773 until 1934, when the Radcliffe Trustees sold it and erected a new observatory in Pretoria, South Africa. It is a grade I listed building.- History :...
, Durham has the longest unbroken meteorological record of any University in the UK, with records dating back to the 1840s, principally due to the work of Gordon Manley
Gordon Manley
Gordon Valentine Manley, FRGS was an English climatologist who assembled the Central England temperature series of monthly mean temperatures stretching back to 1659. This is the longest standardised instrumental record available for anywhere in the world...
in creating a temperature record that would be comparable to Oxford's. At present the observatory contributes to the Met Office
Met Office
The Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
's forecasts by providing automated records.
Former Observers
- 1840 - 1841 Temple ChevallierTemple ChevallierTemple Chevallier was a British clergyman, astronomer, and mathematician. Between 1847 and 1849, he made important observations regarding sunspots. Chevallier has been called "a remarkable Victorian polymath"...
- 1841 John Stewart Browne
- 1842 - 1846 Arthur Beanlands
- 1846 - 1849 Robert Anchor Thompson
- 1849 Le Jeune
- 1849 Robert Healey Blakey (acting)
- 1849 - 1852 Richard Carrington
- 1852 - 1853 William EllisWilliam EllisWilliam Ellis may refer to:*William Ellis * Sir William Charles Ellis MD , physician, pioneering superintendent of asylums and Methodist lay preacher...
- 1854 - 1855 Georg Friedrich Wilhelm RümkerGeorg Friedrich Wilhelm RümkerGeorg Friedrich Wilhelm Rümker was a German astronomerBorn at Hamburg, he was the son of Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker. He was astronomer at the observatory at Durham, England, from 1853 to 1856. He then became assistant at the Hamburger Sternwarte , then located at Stadtwall, and in 1862 was...
- 1856 - 1863 Albert MarthAlbert MarthAlbert Marth was a German astronomer who worked in England and Ireland.He came to England in 1853 to work for George Bishop, a rich wine merchant and patron of astronomy. At that time, paid jobs in astronomy were quite rare....
- 1863 - 1864 Edward Gleadowe Marshall
- 1865 - 1867 Mondeford Reginald Dolman
- 1867 - 1874 John Isaac Plummer
- 1874 - 1885 Gabriel Alphonsus Goldney
- 1885 - 1900 Henry James Carpenter
- 1900 - 1919 Frederick Charles Hampshire Carpenter
- 1919 - 1938 Frank Sargent
- 1938 - 1939 E. Gluckauf
- 1940 - 1945 A. Beecroft
- 1945 - 1948 L. S. Joyce
- 1949 - 1951 K. F. and G. A. Chackett
- 1951 - 1957 J. Musgrave
- 1957 - 1968 F. and D. Glockling
- 1969 - 1990 A. Warner