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Greenwich Observatory Excursion
10 Dec 2018
Last Wednesday year 5 went to the Greenwich Observatory as a final consolidation of their learning for their science unit - Earth and Space.
We had a fantastic time walking around the observatory, looking at many things such as the giant telescope and watching an amazing space show in the dome of the observatory!
During the show, Dr Emily talked us through the images and videos that were being presented on the dome roof. We saw real life images taken by astronauts on different planets and travelled around the universe to see what it looks like. We also looked at constellations and stars. Dr Emily explained how they work and how they form the shapes they do.
Outside the observatory we were set a challenge by Laura (The Touring Teacher) to find the ‘Prime Meridian Line’. It is the historic Prime Meridian of the World at the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). Since the late 19th century, the Prime Meridian at Greenwich has divided the eastern and western hemispheres of the earth - just as the equator divides the northern and southern hemispheres.
In 1884 the Prime Meridian was defined by Transit Circle telescope at the Royal Observatory which was built by Sir George Biddell Airy, the 7th Astronomer Royal, in 1850. The cross-hairs in the eyepiece of the telescope precisely defined Longitude 0° for the world.
Good news is…we did it! Check out the photos above.