Royal Observatory

The Royal Observatory, Greenwich sits on a hill in Greenwich Park, south-east London, overlooking the River Thames — the historic home of the Prime Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time.

About the Royal Observatory, Greenwich

Commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II and completed in the summer of 1676, the Royal Observatory was designed by Sir Christopher Wren, himself a former Savilian Professor of Astronomy. The King created the post of Astronomer Royal to lead it, appointing John Flamsteed as the first holder of the title — which is why the original building is often called “Flamsteed House.” The observatory holds IAU observatory code 000, the very first in the list, and is one of four sites collectively known as Royal Museums Greenwich, alongside the National Maritime Museum, the Queen's House, and the clipper ship Cutty Sark.

History

Flamsteed was tasked by Charles II with correcting astronomical tables and star positions to help solve the problem of longitude at sea, work that shaped centuries of navigation. Because the Prime Meridian — zero degrees longitude — runs through the site, it gave its name to Greenwich Mean Time, the forerunner of today's Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The observatory's scientific operations were gradually relocated elsewhere during the first half of the 20th century, and Greenwich itself is now preserved almost entirely as a museum, though the Annie Maunder Astrographic Telescope has been operational there for research since 2018.

Location & getting there

The observatory stands on a hill within Greenwich Park at an elevation of about 68 metres, in south-east London, with sweeping views north over the Thames. It's part of the wider Royal Museums Greenwich site.

Visiting the Royal Observatory, Greenwich

The Royal Observatory operates today as a public museum and planetarium. Check the Royal Museums Greenwich website for current opening hours and ticket prices before you visit, as these change seasonally.

See your named star from here

Few places connect better to naming a star than the historic home of celestial navigation itself. Name a star of your own, or search the star catalogue for one already named, then use its coordinates to find it in the sky above Greenwich.