Roseland Observatory

Roseland Observatory sits at Court Farm in mid Cornwall, England, a site built around solar observation that traces back to a total solar eclipse in 1999.

About Roseland Observatory

The observatory was started in 1998 by Clive Purchase in preparation for the 1999 solar eclipse, and was originally set up at Roseland Community School before relocating.

History

Roseland Observatory's early work focused on the 1999 eclipse, when it carried out infrared flux measurements that produced unusual results under cloud cover, results that were still being researched afterwards, with support from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory. Following the eclipse, Brian Sheen, a lecturer in astronomy and astrophysics at Cornwall College, relocated the observatory to its present site at Court Farm, near St Stephen-in-Brannel.

Telescopes & research

The observatory's equipment has included a 20-inch heliostat, at one point the largest instrument of its kind in the country, dedicated to studying the Sun, alongside teaching programmes that introduced primary school pupils to the basics of astronomy.

Location & getting there

Roseland Observatory is located at Court Farm, about a mile southeast of St Stephen-in-Brannel, in mid Cornwall, England.

Visiting Roseland Observatory

Roseland Observatory can be reached by phone, and further details are published on its official website; contact them directly to check current opening times and night-viewing sessions before travelling.

See your named star from here

Roseland Observatory has spent decades pointing instruments at the Sun by day and the stars by night. Name a star and find its coordinates in our catalogue for your own after-dark session.