Astronomer Royal

John Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal, by Thomas Gibson. Royal Society, London.

Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astronomer Royal works to make observations to improve navigation, cartography, instrument design, and applications of geomagnetism.[1] The position was created with the overall goal of discovering a way to determine longitude at sea when out of sight of land[2].

  1. ^ Higgitt, Rebekah (12 September 2013). "Astronomers Royal, scientific advice and engineering". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
  2. ^ Forbes, Eric Gray (1975). Greenwich observatory. London: Taylor and Francis. p. 174. ISBN 978-0-85066-093-7.