Winter weather 1894 and 2009

Rebekah Higgitt says.....
Don't worry - Christie will be back tomorrow! In the meantime, since London has recently experienced its largest snowfall in 18 years and some fairly low temperatures, I have had a quick look at the report from the Observatory's Magnetic and Meteorological Department for 1894. 5 January 1894, when Turner reported snow and low temperatures in his Journal, was the coldest day in the year from May 1893-May 1894 and temperatures plunged to 12.8° Fahrenheit (-10.67° Celsius) with the maximum that day only reaching 19° (-7.2° Celsius). This temperature was apparently “lower than any previously recorded since 1841, with two exceptions". I can only imagine how modern London's transport system would react!

This image was published in 1881 and shows some of the meteorological equipment used at the Observatory, including the self-registering equipment that was brought in by Christie's predecessor and former boss, George Airy. Some further information about this aspect of the Observatory's work can be found here.

Lots of pictures of the Royal Observatory in the snow this week can be found on Flickr, including this set.

Friday 5 January, 1894

The cold was very severe last night & throughout this day, much snow falling
Very little can be done by M^r Plummer or M^r Dyson.

H.H. Turner, Chief Assistant

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Rebekah Higgitt says.....

Frank Dyson was soon to be Turner's succesor as Chief Assistant. He was already at Greenwich adding the skills of the practical astronomer to his mathematical knowledge gained at Cambridge.

5 January 2009 has also seen low temperatures at the ROG and some snow. However, work for curators, if not astronomers, continues despite the cold and cloudy skies.....

Tuesday January 2, 1894

In the evening severe weather, with snow set in. The Astrophotographic Dome was left open by the observer, & on the next morning the telescope & inside of dome were covered with snow, which however had not melted.

H.H. Turner, Chief Assistant

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Rebekah Higgitt says.......

Bad weather - a perennial problem for astronomers! This image just misses the astrographic dome, which was built above the building off the right (west). It does, however, show the large dome covering the 28-inch telescope with the smaller dome that housed the Sheepshanks telescope in front.