February 4, 2019  The Royal Observatory and GMT

We drove to Greenwich to visit the Royal Observatory and the home of the prime meridian, where east meets west and Greenwich Mean Time.  One of the factors contributing to Great Britain's dominance of the sea was their investment in the Royal Observatory to develop  navigation technology.

The Royal Observatory is situated on a hill in Greenwich Park, overlooking the River Thames. It played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation, and is best known for the fact that the prime meridian passes through it, and thereby gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time.

The Royal Observatory with Flamsteed House on the right where the bright red Time Ball has dropped at 1:00pm every day since 1833, providing one of the world's earliest public time signals, distributing time to ships on the Thames and many Londoners. The observatory was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II and the site was chosen by Sir Christopher Wren. At that time the king also created the position of Astronomer Royal, to serve as the director of the observatory and to "apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so much desired longitude of places for the perfecting of the art of navigation." He appointed John Flamsteed as the first Astronomer Royal. The building was completed in the summer of 1676. The building was often called "Flamsteed House", in reference to its first occupant.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw at the Royal Observatory with London in the background.  

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw at the entrance to the Royal Observatory.  The Shepherd Gate Clock is an early example of an electric clock, was a slave mechanism controlled by electric pulses transmitted by a master clock inside the main building. The network of master and slave clocks was constructed and installed by Charles Shepherd in 1852. The clock by the gate was the first to display Greenwich Mean Time to the public, and is unusual in using the 24-hour analog dial.  Below the clock are standards for lengths including a yard, two feet, one foot, six inches and one inch. 

Elder Burkinshaw on the east side of the Prime Meridian and Sister Burkinshaw on the west side.  Since the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian at Greenwich has divided the eastern and western hemispheres of the earth - just as the equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.  In 1884 the Prime Meridian was defined by Transit Circle telescope at the Royal Observatory which was built by Sir George Biddell Airy, the 7th Astronomer Royal, in 1850. The cross-hairs in the eyepiece of the telescope precisely defined Longitude 0° for the world.

The Prime Meridian line at Greenwich shows the longitude readings (east or west of the Prime Meridian, which is by definition 0°)  This section shows longitude for many cities in South America on the left (west) and a couple of cities in Africa and Southeast Asia on the right (east).

The Prime Meridian line at Greenwich shows the longitude readings (east or west of the Prime Meridian, which is by definition 0°)  This section shows longitude for many cities in North America on the left (west) and Europe and Asia on the right (east).

The Royal Observatory is built on a hill NS has a beautiful view of London from the Prime Meridian courtyard.

The beautiful Octagon Room was designed to observe celestial events including eclipses, comets and planetary movements. However, the positioning of Flamsteed House meant that the original purpose of the Royal Observatory could not be fulfilled from the Octagon Room. With big windows, the room was perfect for watching the sky, but not ideal for positional observations, because none of the walls were aligned with a meridian.

Elder Burkinshaw with Elder Lynn and Sister Cindy Turner (Blackfoot, ID) look at some of the historic time pieces. 

The Octagon Room features prominent portraits of King Charles II who commissioned the Royal Observatory and Sir Christopher Wren who designed and directed the construction.

The Airy Transit Circle Telescope was designed and built in 1851 by Astronomer Royal George Biddell Airy.   It was immediately recognized by astronomers as an instrument of great accuracy. But its importance for everyone else dates from a conference held in Washington DC in 1884 to create an international time-zone system. It was agreed that the meridian line marked by the cross-hairs in the Airy Transit Circle eyepiece would indicate 0° longitude and the start of the Universal Day.  Greenwich Mean Time which had been the de facto standard for the world was now acknowledge as the world's official reference time.

By 1700, skilled seamen could find their position north or south (their latitude), but still lacked accurate instruments or methods to calculate their east-west position, known as longitude.  With growing international trade, the lives and valuable cargoes lost in shipwrecks made solving this problem of longitude urgent for all sea-going nations.

For generations the longitude problem taxed the world's greatest scientific minds, including Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton, and led to the foundation of the Royal Observatory. At the Royal Observatory, two developments solved the longitude problem, one by Nevil Maskelyne, the fifth Astronomer Royal, based on observations of the sky. The other was the creation of a portable timekeeper that would keep accurate track of Greenwich Mean Time on a ship anywhere in the world.  

The challenge for keeping time was that all traditional clocks to that time, depended on a consistently swinging pendulum.  These pendulum clocks worked well on land, but on a ship, sway from the undulating sea caused serious deviations in time keeping.  This was such a serious problem that the British government offered a prize of £20,000 for anyone that could solve this problem.  Thus began the life's work of John Harrison, a self-educated English carpenter and clockmaker who invented the marine chronometer, who developed this long-sought-after device for solving the problem of calculating longitude while at sea.

The evolution of clock/watch making is illustrated below with John Harrison's four marine chronometers (H1, H2, H3 and H4) which are on display at the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

Marine timekeeper H1.  This is the first experimental marine timekeeper made by John Harrison between 1730 and 1735 as a first step towards solving the longitude problem and winning the great £20,000 prize offered by the British Government. It is unaffected by the motion of a ship owing to its two interconnected swinging balances and compensates for changes in temperature and thanks to extensive anti-friction devices, runs without any lubrication. It was the first relatively successful marine timekeeper of any kind and was the toast of London when Harrison unveiled it in 1735. It is one of the great milestones in clock-making history.

Marine timekeeper, H2. Made between 1737 and 1739, this is a larger and more solidly built version of H1, with the additional refinement of a remontoire - a device to ensure that the drive to the two balances is as uniform as possible. It is probable that Harrison, who had moved to London by this time, had some help in making parts of H2. Because he discovered a design fault with its balances, Harrison never allowed H2 to be tested at sea. He kept it running at his house for many years until, in 1766, it was taken from him by the Astronomer Royal under the conditions of the longitude prize. 

Marine timekeeper, H3. Started in 1740, this third timekeeper took Harrison nearly 19 years to build and adjust, although it was not to win him the great longitude prize: he found that he just could not persuade the two large, heavy, circular balances to keep time well enough. Nevertheless, H3 incorporates two extremely important inventions, both relevant today: the bimetallic strip (still in use worldwide in thermostats of all kinds) and the caged roller bearing, a device found in nearly all modern mechanical engineering.

Marine timekeeper, H4 also known as the "sea watch."  This is Harrison's prize-winning longitude watch, completed in 1759. Harrison had been working on improving watches as a sideline to his development of the much larger H3. In 1753 a pocket watch was made to Harrison's design by watchmaker John Jefferys. This went so well that Harrison began to realize that it pointed to the longitude solution - not in H3 but in smaller watches. Work began on H4 in 1755 and, with its very stable, high frequency balance, it proved the successful design. It is shown here at almost actual size.

Today the primary standard used by the world to reference time is called Coordinated Universal Time (abbreviated to UTC).  It is within about 1 second of mean solar time at 0° longitude, and is not adjusted for daylight saving time. In some countries where English is spoken, the term Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is often used as a synonym for UTC.  The system has been adjusted several times, including a brief period where time coordination radio signals broadcast both UTC and "Stepped Atomic Time (SAT)" before a new UTC was adopted in 1970 and implemented in 1972. This change also adopted leap seconds to simplify future adjustments.  A number of proposals have been made to replace UTC with a new system that would eliminate leap seconds. A decision whether to remove them altogether has been deferred until 2023.

An explanation of the current world time standard, UTC.

Our final stop was at the the National Maritime Museum, also located in Greenwich.  Here are a few pictures of our visit to this site.

Sister Burkinshaw and the "Ship in a Bottle" at the entrance to the National Maritime Museum.  As you can see, it was cold and drizzly that day.

The giant world map in the National Maritime Museum. Interesting to see how much of the world still does not have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Also located in the National Maritime Museum is The Baltic Exchange Memorial Glass which comprises several stained glass windows designed by English artist John Dudley Forsyth which were installed over a staircase at the Baltic Exchange in London in 1922, as a memorial to the members of the exchange who were killed while serving during World War I.  The memorial consists of a half-dome and five large windows which in the original building were below the dome. They were installed over a staircase to the lower floor. The glass was painted and stained by skilled glass painters following Forsyth's design. These were then fired and assembled into windows, where they were held together by a network of lead strips.

Elder Burkinshaw in the half-dome stained-glass exhibit.  It is over three metres in height, and is a fusion of classical and religious symbolism, which celebrates the heroism and triumph of war. In the dome is the winged figure of Victory who steps from a boat through the central archway of a Roman temple. Roman centurions and female figures welcome victory, and the dove of peace can be seen flying above her head. Displayed within the architecture are the shields and badges of the colonies and dependencies of the British Empire, with the Royal Coat of Arms at the centre.

Truth represents honesty when dealing with others. Truth was an important virtue to Roman citizens. Interestingly, the symbolism of the snake and mirror, which appear on this window, are more traditionally associated with the virtue of Prudence. The snake traditionally symbolizes caution, while the mirror reflects a true image to the observer.

This was the central window in the war memorial at the Baltic Exchange. In Justice's right hand she holds a sword, which signifies the right of the law to exact punishment for offences, and in her left, scales which symbolize the impartiality with which justice is administered.

This window depicts the virtue of faith, representing belief in God. Faith carries a cross-headed staff in her hand, symbolizing Christianity, while the child to her left reads from the gospels.

The virtue of Fortitude represents strength and courage in times of trouble. Here, a cherub presents Fortitude with a sword or mace, a symbol of strength and protection. She is guided through troubled times by the light of the torch that she holds aloft.

This window shows the virtue of Hope which represents aspirations of happiness. Hope may also refer to the desire for victory and lasting peace. Hope is shown resting her right hand on an anchor, symbolic of the stability that she brings during times of difficulty.

This final picture from the National Maritime Museum is the virtue of hot chocolate on a cold day as demonstrated by Elder Burkinshaw!

Valentines Day Dinner at Miller & Carter Steakhouse with Elder Barry and Sister LuAnne Wolsey (Raymond, Alberta Canada).

Our visit to the Greenwich Museums were very interesting and provided some real insight into the history of the world and the development of technology as well as the need for each of us to teach and practice the virtues that sustain society.  This emphasis on history is illustrated by two great quotes.

First, George Santayana, who was an American educated philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist is known for the aphorism "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Second, a more positive perspective was presented by President Spencer W. Kimball when he said, "When you look in the dictionary for the most important word, do you know what it is?  It could be 'remember' because all of us have made covenants - we know what to do  and how to do it - our greatest need is to remember.  That is why we go to sacrament meeting each Sabbath day - to take the sacrament when we listen to the priests pray that they '...may always remember him [Jesus Christ] and keep his commandments which he has given..."  Remember is the word.  Remember is the program."  (Spencer W. Kimball, "Circles of Exaltation", BYU Devotional Address to Seminaries and Institutes of Religion Faculty, 28 June 1968)

Our hope is that we will all remember history and be filled with gratitude that leads us to obedience.  Not blind obedience but obedience because we can see and remember the great blessings we receive from those who have gone before us.

Elder and Sister Burkinshaw