United States Naval Observatory

Information about United States Naval Observatory

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Aerial view of the U.S. Naval Observatory.


The United States Naval Observatory (USNO) is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States. Located in Northwest Washington, D.C., it is one of the very few observatories located in an urban area; when it was initially constructed, it was far from the light pollution generated by the then-smaller city center.

History

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Number One Observatory Circle, official home of the Vice President of the United States
Established in 1830 as the Depot of Charts and Instruments, it was made into a national observatory in 1842 via a federal law. James Melville Gilliss was put in charge of the project.

The observatory's primary mission was to care for the United States Navy's marine chronometers, charts, and other navigational equipment. It calibrated ships' chronometers by timing the transit of stars across the meridian. Initially located downtown in Foggy Bottom (near the Kennedy Center), the observatory was moved to its present location in 1893, atop Observatory Hill overlooking Massachusetts Avenue, amidst perfectly circular grounds.

The first superintendent was Navy Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury. Maury had the world's first vulcanized time ball, created to his specifications by Charles Goodyear for the U.S. Observatory. It was the first timeball in the United States, and the 12th in the world. Maury kept accurate time by the stars and planets. When the timeball was dropped, a flag was mechanically raised letting all ships and civilians know the exact time. Thus, time was kept not only for Washington, D.C., but, through the use of the telegraph, also for every state in the Union. Time was also "sold" to the railroads and was used in conjunction with Railroad chronometers to schedule American rail transport. Early in the 20th century, the Arlington Time Signal broadcast this service to wireless receivers.

The names National Observatory and Naval Observatory were both used for 10 years, until a ruling was passed to use only the term Navy Observatory. Former President John Quincy Adams had intended for it to be called the National Observatory. John Quincy Adams spent many nights at the observatory with Maury, watching and charting the stars, because it had always been one of Adams' hobbies to study the stars - another reason he passed the bill for the creation of a national observatory just before his leaving presidential office.

In November 1913, the Paris Observatory, using the Eiffel Tower as an antenna, exchanged sustained wireless (radio) signals with the United States Naval Observatory, using an antenna in Arlington, Virginia to determine the exact difference of longitude between the two institutions.[1]

Today, as in the past, the modern United States Naval Observatory continues to be a major authority in the areas of time-keeping and celestial observation. In collaboration with the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, it determines the timing and astronomical data required for accurate navigation and fundamental astronomy, and distributes this information in the Astronomical Almanac. Perhaps it is best known to the general public for its highly accurate ensemble of atomic clocks and its year 2000 Timeball replacement.

Since 1974, Number One Observatory Circle, a house situated in the grounds of the observatory (formerly the residence of its superintendent, and later the home of the Chief of Naval Operations), has been the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.

As of October 2007, the aerial view of the site is pixelated in Google Earth and Google Maps, while aerial views of the rest of Washington can be seen in high resolution. As of December 2006, the competing Yahoo Maps did not censor this location.

Time service

The U.S. Naval Observatory's time service can be accessed by telephone or via the internet. The phone number is (719) 567-6742 in Colorado Springs, or (202) 762-1401 in Washington, DC. On the internet, USNO time service is available at [1]

See also

References

1. ^ "Paris Time By Wireless," New York Times, Nov 22, 1913, pg 1.
  • Sky and Ocean Joined – The U.S. Naval Observatory 1830-2000 by Steven J. Dick (2003) ISBN 0-521-81599-1

External links

Science (from the Latin scientia, 'knowledge'), in the broadest sense, refers to any systematic knowledge or practice.[1] Examples of the broader use included political science and computer science, which are not incorrectly named, but rather named according to
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Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
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Northwest (NW or N.W.) D.C. is the northwestern quadrant of the city, located north of the National Mall and west of North Capitol Street. It is the largest of the four quadrants of the city (NW, NE, SW and SE), and it includes the central business district, the Federal Triangle,
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Washington, D.C.

Flag
Seal
Nickname: DC, The District
Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All)
Location of Washington, D.C.
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observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. Astrology, astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed.
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Light pollution is excess or obtrusive light created by humans. Among other effects, it disrupts ecosystems, can cause adverse health effects, obscures the stars for city dwellers, interferes with astronomical observatories, and wastes energy.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1800s  1810s  1820s  - 1830s -  1840s  1850s  1860s
1827 1828 1829 - 1830 - 1831 1832 1833

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
1839 1840 1841 - 1842 - 1843 1844 1845

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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James Melville Gilliss (born September 6, 1811 in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. - died February 9 1865 in Washington, D.C.) was an astronomer, United States Navy officer and founder of the United States Naval Observatory.
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United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. The U.S. Navy currently has over 340,000 personnel on active duty and nearly 128,000 in the Navy Reserve.
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A marine chronometer is a timekeeper precise enough to be used as a portable time standard, used to determine longitude by means of celestial navigation.

The term chronometer is also used to describe watches tested and certified to meet certain precision standards.
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Calibration refers to the process of determining the relation between the output (or response) of a measuring instrument and the value of the input quantity or attribute, a measurement standard.
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The term transit or astronomical transit has two meanings in astronomy:
  • A transit is the astronomical event that occurs when one celestial body appears to move across the face of another celestial body, as seen by an observer at some particular vantage

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STAR is an acronym for:

Organizations:
  • Society for Telescopy, Astronomy, and Radio, a non-profit astronomy club in New Jersey
  • Special Tasks and Rescue or Special Tactics and Response, synonyms for SWAT

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meridian is an imaginary great circle on the celestial sphere. It passes through the north point on the horizon, through the celestial pole, up to the zenith, through the south point on the horizon, and through the nadir, and is perpendicular to the local horizon.
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Foggy Bottom is one of Washington, D.C.'s oldest 19th century neighborhoods, thought to have been named because, as a low-lying area, fog (widespread in the swamps of early Washington) tended to concentrate there.
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John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the name by which it is known, (or, as named on the building itself, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts but, locally called the The Kennedy Center
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1890 1891 1892 - 1893 - 1894 1895 1896

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Massachusetts Avenue, abbreviated Mass. Ave., is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C. Appearing in Pierre L'Enfant's original plan, it is the longest thoroughfare in the capital, crossing three of its four quadrants.
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Circular may refer to:
  • Circle, or something in the shape of a circle
  • Flyer (pamphlet), a single page leaflet advertising a nightclub, event, service, or other activity
  • Circular reasoning, also known as Begging the question.

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Matthew Fontaine Maury (January 14, 1806 – February 1, 1873), USN - American astronomer, astrophysicist, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, educator.
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Vulcanization refers to a specific curing process of rubber involving high heat and the addition of sulfur. It is a chemical process in which polymer molecules are linked to other polymer molecules by atomic bridges composed of sulfur atoms.
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time ball is a large painted wooden or metal ball that drops at a predetermined time, principally to enable sailors to check their marine chronometers. Accurate timekeeping is one way of enabling mariners to determine their longitude at sea.
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Charles Goodyear, as illustrated in an 1891 Scientific American article]]

Charles Spencer Goodyear (December 29, 1800 - July 1, 1860) was the first American to vulcanize rubber, a process which he discovered in 1839 and patented on June 15, 1844.
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Telegraphy (from the Greek words (τηλη) = far and (γραφειν) = write) is the long-distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally by changing something that could
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Railroad chronometers (railroader's watches) are specialized timepieces that once were crucial for safe and correct operation of trains in the United States and Canada. A system called Timetable and Train Order, which relied on highly accurate timekeeping, was used to ensure that
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wireless is normally used to refer to any type of electrical or electronic operation which is accomplished without the use of a "hard wired" connection. Wireless communication is the transfer of information
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John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was a diplomat, politician, and the sixth President of the United States (March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829). His party affiliations were Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and
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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1880s  1890s  1900s  - 1910s -  1920s  1930s  1940s
1910 1911 1912 - 1913 - 1914 1915 1916

Year 1913 (MCMXIII
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Paris Observatory (in French, Observatoire de Paris or Observatoire de Paris-Meudon) is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world.
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