Cambridge Observatory

Cambridge Observatory stands on Madingley Road in the west of Cambridge, part of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1823, it now belongs to the Institute of Astronomy. The original building holds the Institute’s library, filled with modern and historic astronomical works. A cluster of optical telescopes remains on site, though small by today’s standards and affected by city lights. The 36-inch telescope once measured how fast stars move until 2019. The observatory has been home to many notable figures in astronomy. John Couch Adams worked here, as did Arthur Eddington, Hugh Newall and Hugh Ernest Butler. Robert Woodhouse also made important contributions from this site. The Northumberland and Thorrowgood telescopes are still used today for public stargazing events. From 1990 to 1998, the Royal Greenwich Observatory operated nearby in Greenwich House. Visitors find the historic telescopes and the Institute of Astronomy Library open to view. The library’s shelves hold centuries of star charts and theoretical works. The telescopes sit under a sky partly brightened by Cambridge’s lights. Nearby, the former Greenwich House still marks where the Royal Greenwich Observatory once moved. The whole site links past research with today’s outreach programmes.