Dunsink Observatory
Organization | Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) | ||
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Observatory code | 982 | ||
Location | Dunsink, Dublin, Ireland | ||
Coordinates | 53°23′13″N 6°20′15″W / 53.38708°N 6.33756°W | ||
Established | 1785 | ||
Website | Dunsink Observatory | ||
Telescopes | |||
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Related media on Commons | |||
The Dunsink Observatory is an astronomical observatory established in 1785 in the townland of Dunsink in the outskirts of the city of Dublin, Ireland.[1]
Dunsink's most famous director was
History
The observatory was established by an
The entry for the observatory in Thom's Directory (1850) gives the following account of the observatory,
::ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN, DUNSINK
- Astronomer Royal, Sir William Rowan Hamilton, A.M., LL.D.
- Assistant Astronomer, Charles Thomson, esq.
This Observatory, endowed by Francis Andrews, esq., LL.D., Provost of Trinity College, and erected in 1785, was placed, by statute, in 1791, under the management of the "Royal Astronomer of Ireland," an appointment first filled by Dr. Henry Ussher, and subsequently by Dr. Brinkley, Bishop of Cloyne.
The Institution is amply furnished with astronomical instruments, and is open to all persons interested in astronomical science, on introduction to the resident Assistant. It is situated in Lat. 53° 23' 13" N., Long. 6° 20' 15" W.[1]
Éamon de Valera, who had driven the establishment of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) in 1940, added a School of Cosmic Physics to it in 1947, partly in order to revive the observatory, for which it was given responsibility.
The named chair
By the late 20th century, the city encroached ever more on the observatory, which compromised the seeing. The telescope, no longer "state of the art", is now used mainly for public 'open nights'.
The observatory is currently part of the DIAS. It provides accommodation for visiting scientists and is also used for conferences and public outreach events. Public talks on astronomy and astrophysics are given regularly at the observatory by professional and amateur astronomers. Stargazing events are also held using the Grubb telescope.
Directors of the observatory
Dates | Name | Other titles | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1783–1790 | Rev. Henry Ussher | Andrews Professor of Astronomy | Died in office |
1792–1827 | Rev. John Brinkley | Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland (from 1793) | Appointed Bishop of Cloyne in 1826 |
1827–1865 | Sir William Rowan Hamilton | Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | Appointed as a 21-year-old undergraduate. In addition to astronomy, he worked on mathematics. He developed what is now known as Hamiltonian mechanics, and the system of quaternions, having discovered them in 1843. He died in office. |
1865–1874 | Franz Brünnow | Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | Retired due to failing health and eyesight |
1874–1892 | Sir Robert Stawell Ball | Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | In 1892 became Lowndean Professor of Astronomy and Geometry at Cambridge |
1892–1897 | Arthur Alcock Rambaut |
Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | In 1897 became Radcliffe Observer at Oxford |
1897–1906 | Charles Jasper Joly | Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | Died in office |
1906–1912 | Sir Edmund Taylor Whittaker |
Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | In 1911 became a professor at Edinburgh |
1912–1921 | Henry Crozier Keating Plummer | Andrews Professor of Astronomy, Royal Astronomer of Ireland | In 1921 became professor of mathematics at the Artillery College in Woolwich |
1921–1936 | Charles Martin | Acting Director, assisted by F J O'Connor (1908-1987). Died in office | |
1936–1947 | Vacant | No astronomical work was done | |
1947–1957 | Hermann Alexander Brück |
Director of DIAS School of Cosmic Physics | In 1957 became Astronomer Royal for Scotland |
1958–1963 | Mervyn Archdall Ellison |
Director of DIAS School of Cosmic Physics | Died in office |
1964–1992 | Patrick Arthur Wayman | Andrews Professor of Astronomy (from 1984, honorary), Director of DIAS School of Cosmic Physics | Retired, with a short gap before the next appointment. |
1994–2007 | Evert Meurs | Senior Professor DIAS | Retired |
2007–2018 | Luke Drury | Andrews Professor of Astronomy (honorary), Director of DIAS School of Cosmic Physics | Retired |
2018–present | Peter T. Gallagher | Senior Professor and Head of Astronomy and Astrophysics, DIAS |
In fiction
The observatory is one of the locations featured in the book, The Coroner's Daughter by Andrew Hughes, which was selected as the Dublin UNESCO City of Literature One City One Book for 2023.[8]
See also
References
Sources
- "The Andrews Professor of Astronomy of Astronomy (1783)". School of Physics. Trinity College Dublin. Retrieved 26 September 2017.
- Wayman, P. A. (March 1986). "The Andrews' Professors of Astronomy and Dunsink Observatory, 1785–1985". Irish Astronomical Journal. 17 (3): 167–183. Bibcode:1986IrAJ...17..167W.
Citations
- ^ a b Alexander Thom, Irish Almanac and Official Directory 7th ed., 1850 p. 258. Retrieved: 2011-02-22.
- ^ Ordnance Survey Map Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine. Select Wind Report for elevation. Retrieved: 2011-02-22.
- ^ The South Telescope of Dunsink Observatory Authors: Wayman, P. A. Journal: Irish Astronomical Journal, vol. 8(8), p. 274 Bibliographic Code: 1968IrAJ....8..274W
- ^ History of the Cauchoix objective
- Bibcode:1870AReg....8..196.
- ^ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 53, "South, James", by Agnes Mary Clerke (WikiSource 2010)
- ^ Dyson, F. W. (1916). "Standard time in Ireland". The Observatory. 39 (3): 467–468.
- ^ Halpin, Hayley (12 October 2022). "A mystery novel set during 1816 chosen as the 2023 One Dublin One Book". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 15 October 2022.