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Buildings at Melbourne Observatory
Image: Negative - View of Melbourne Observatory, 1880s
Source: Museum Victoria
The location of buildings across the Observatory site was a direct outcome of the scientific requirements of the work being undertaken.
When Melbourne Observatory opened in 1863, all the astronomical functions of the Observatory were initially gathered in the main building, including the transit telescope, equatorial telescope and prime vertical telescope. However the sensitive magnetic instruments needed to be kept way from any other metal objects that might disturb the measurements. The instruments were kept in two separate magnet houses, the Absolute House and the Horary House, both some distance from the main Observatory building, and separate from one another. The meteorological instruments were also kept in a separate cluster to the east of the main building, so that the air could circulate freely around the thermometers.
The location of additional buildings and structures was also dictated by scientific and astronomical considerations. Transit telescopes could be attached to the main building as they only had to have line of sight in one plane; thus new transit rooms were added to the main building in 1866 and 1883. New equatorial-mounted telescopes were placed elsewhere on the grounds so that they could have clear views at lower altitudes; attaching them to the main building would have added considerably to the costs, as they would need to be raised higher to give them a clear view over the main building's roofline. The Astrograph could be relatively close to the main building to its north, because its allotted task was to photograph stars towards the south celestial pole.
The location of the Great Melbourne Telescope some distance from the main building was dictated by the concern that it should be removed as far as possible from the existing magnet houses on the south and west of the site, to reduce the chance of the large metal telescope, lenses and associated machinery interfering with the magnetic observations. Its location to the north of the site also gave it clear lines of sight in most directions, except for its own roll-back roof to the south.
Timeline of Main Buildings
Absolute Magnet House, 1861
Horary Magnet House, 1861; demolished & replaced by Differential Magnet House, 1867
Main Observatory Building, 1861-1863
Astronomer's Residence (original), 1861; demolished 1914
Assistant Astronomer's Residence, 1861; demolished 1914
Second Transit Room added to Main Building, 1866
Differential Magnet House, 1867; demolished & replaced by Magnet House, 1877
Great Melbourne Telescope House, 1869-1870
Thermograph House, 1870; demolished
Photoheliograph House, 1873
South Equatorial House, 1874
Magnet House, 1877
Thermometer Shed, 1879; moved 1885; demolished
East Transit Room added to Main Building, 1883
New Workshop added to Great Melbourne Telescope House, 1888
Astrograph House, 1889
Astronomer's Residence (new), 1889
Computing Room added to Main Building, 1892
Caretaker's Quarters, 1902
Astrophotographic Room added to Main Building, 1902
Strong Room added to Main Building, 1902
Whirling Room added to Great Melbourne Telescope House, 1904
Anemometer Tower, 1906
Items per page: 10 50 (showing 361 - 370) 370 items
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Standard Length - Yard, W.& T. Avery Ltd, London, 1915
Standard brass yard, serial no. 3252, made by W. & T. Avery Ltd, 1915. Used as a standard yard at Melbourne Observatory. 1 yard is approximately 91cm.
From: Birmingham, United Kingdom Images: 10 -
Quadrant Electrometer - Thomson Type, with Glass Dome, circa 1880s
A simple Thomson type quadrant electrometer. Used at Melbourne Observatory. An electrometer measures electrical charge. The basic quadrant electrometer was developed by Lord Kelvin (S ...
From: South Yarra, Australia Images: 1 -
Quadrant Electrometer - Thomson Type, with Glass & Metal Case, circa 1900
Thomson type quadrant electrometer, with replenisher and auxiliary electrometer, circa 1900. Used at Melbourne Observatory. An electrometer measures electrical charge. The basic quadr ...
From: South Yarra, Australia Images: 1 -
Galvanometer - Thomson Type, circa 1900
Thomson (Lord Kelvin) type galvanometer on wooden base. Used at Melbourne Observatory. Probably dates from around 1900. No manufacturer's markings. A galvanometer measures electrical c ...
From: South Yarra, Australia Images: 1 -
Artificial Horizon - Troughton & Simms, London, circa 1850s
Artificial horizon, made by Troughton & Simms, London. Used at both Williamstown Observatory and Melbourne Observatory, and for Geodetic Survey of Victoria. The artificial horizon was ...
From: London, United Kingdom Images: 1 -
Artificial Horizon - Surveyor-General's Office, Victoria
Artifical horizon used at Melbourne Observatory, and also in Geodetic Survey of Victoria. The artificial horizon was used, especially in field observations, to establish the elevation ...
From: South Yarra, Australia Images: 1 -
Standard Weights - Metric, 0.01 Grams to 1 Kilogram, Troughton & Simms, London, circa 1865
Set of standard metric weights, gilt brass and platinum wire in wooden box. Made by Troughton & Simms, London, circa 1865. Used at Melbourne Observatory.
From: London, United Kingdom Images: 7 -
Pressure Gauge - Bourdon Type, 1-4 psi, Russel & Glover, Melbourne, circa 1940s
Bourdon pressure gauge, scale graduated in lbs. per square inch. 1 psi is approximately 6.9 kPa.
From: Melbourne, Australia Images: 1 -
Seismograph - Gray-Milne, James White, Glasgow,1887
Gray-Milne Seismograph, designed by Thomas Gray and John Milne in Tokyo and made by James White in Glasgow, No. 5, 1887. A seismograph measures earth tremors. This seismograph was pu ...
From: Glasgow, United Kingdom Images: 2 -
Theodolite - Ertel, 13-inch x 9-inch, Ertel & Sohn, Munich, Germany, 1850s
Theodolite, 13 inch horizontal circle and 9 inch vertical circle, by Ertel & Sohn, Munich. Horizontal circle is graduated to 5 minutes and vertical circle to 15 minutes. It is likely t ...
From: Munich, Germany Images: 9
