|
Coats Observatory, Paisley
Coats Observatory is Scotland's oldest public observatory. It is currently closed for refurbishment as part of a 4-year long £42m transformation of the observatory and museum buildings. Located in Oakshaw Street West, Paisley, Renfrewshire, the observatory has been operational since 1 October 1883 and continues to function to this day, offering visitors the opportunity to view the night sky through the powerful telescopes housed within the building. The observatory is currently closed for redevelopment and is due to reopen in 2023. History Foundation of Coats Observatory The idea to create an observatory in Paisley came from the annual general meeting of the Paisley Philosophical Institution (PPI) held in 1880. The PPI was founded on 13 October 1808, having its origins among the educated and professional gentlemen of the burgh, such as ministers, doctors, lawyers and bankers. These 'noble pioneers of philosophy' ardner, P5banded together with a view to improving themselves ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Public Observatory
A public observatory is an astronomical observatory mainly dedicated to public and educational purposes. It is often supported by a municipality, a school or an astronomical society. The primary purpose of public observatories is to offer extensive programs for public education in astronomy. A second purpose may be to serve as a center for local hobby astronomers, or for interested astro-tourists. Some sites also are engaged in special research programs, e.g. on meteors or asteroids. Public observatories are equipped with several optical telescope An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electro ...s that are housed within a dome or similar structure to protect the instruments from the elements. The domes have a slit in the roof that can be opened during observing and closed when ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cape Observatory
South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) is the national centre for optical and infrared astronomy in South Africa. It was established in 1972. The observatory is run by the National Research Foundation of South Africa. The facility's function is to conduct research in astronomy and astrophysics. The primary telescopes are located in Sutherland, which is from Observatory, Cape Town, where the headquarters is located. The SAAO has links worldwide for scientific and technological collaboration. Instrumental contributions from the South African Astronomical Observatory include the development of a spherical aberration corrector and the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT). The Noon Gun on Cape Town's Signal Hill is fired remotely by a time signal from the Observatory. History The history of the SAAO began when the Royal Observatory at the Cape of Good Hope was founded in 1820, the first scientific institution in Africa. Construction of the main buildings was complet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alt-Az Telescope By Troughton & Simms
An altazimuth mount or alt-azimuth mount is a simple two-axis mount for supporting and rotating an instrument about two perpendicular axes – one vertical and the other horizontal. Rotation about the vertical axis varies the azimuth (compass bearing) of the pointing direction of the instrument. Rotation about the horizontal axis varies the altitude angle (angle of elevation) of the pointing direction. These mounts are used, for example, with telescopes, cameras, radio antennas, heliostat mirrors, solar panels, and guns and similar weapons. Several names are given to this kind of mount, including altitude-azimuth, azimuth-elevation and various abbreviations thereof. A gun turret is essentially an alt-azimuth mount for a gun, and a standard camera tripod is an alt-azimuth mount as well. Astronomical telescope altazimuth mounts When used as an astronomical telescope mount, the biggest advantage of an alt-azimuth mount is the simplicity of its mechanical design. The primary disadv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Planetarium
A planetarium ( planetariums or ''planetaria'') is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is the large dome-shaped projection screen onto which scenes of stars, planets, and other celestial objects can be made to appear and move realistically to simulate their motion. The projection can be created in various ways, such as a star ball, slide projector, video, fulldome projector systems, and lasers. Typical systems can be set to simulate the sky at any point in time, past or present, and often to depict the night sky as it would appear from any point of latitude on Earth. Planetaria range in size from the 37 meter dome in St. Petersburg, Russia (called “Planetarium No 1”) to three-meter inflatable portable domes where attendees sit on the floor. The largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere is the Jennifer Chalsty Plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equatorial Mount
An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, the polar axis, parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras. The advantage of an equatorial mount lies in its ability to allow the instrument attached to it to stay fixed on any celestial object with diurnal motion by driving one axis at a constant speed. Such an arrangement is called a sidereal or clock drive. Equatorial mounts achieve this by aligning their rotational axis with the Earth, a process known as polar alignment. Astronomical telescope mounts In astronomical telescope mounts, the equatorial axis (the '' right ascension'') is paired with a second perpendicular axis of motion (known as the '' declination''). The equatorial axis of the mount is often equipped with a motorized "''clock drive''", that rotates that axis one revolution every 23 hours and 56 minutes in exact sync with the appar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coats Observatory Telescopes
{{disambig ...
Coats may refer to: People * Coats (surname) Places * Coats, Kansas, US * Coats, North Carolina, US *Coats Island, Nunavut, Canada *Coats Land, region of Antarctica Other uses * Coat (clothing), an outer garment *Coats' disease, a human eye disorder *Coats Mission, British military mission 1941–42 * Coats Group, a multinational sewing and needlecraft supplies manufacturer *Coats Steam Car, American automobile manufactured 1922–23 * Stewart-Coats, American automobile manufactured only in 1922 *Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service, a sub-component of the Canadian Forces Reserves See also *Coat (other) * Coates (other) *Cotes (other) Cotes may refer to: Placename * Cotes, Cumbria, a village in England * Cotes, Leicestershire, a village in England * Cotes, Staffordshire, a village in England; see List of United Kingdom locations: Cos-Cou * Cotes, Valencia, a municipality in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp. 155–157. and developed in detail in 1893.Dooley 2004, p. A.187. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word ''zeppelin'' came to be commonly used to refer to all rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and as scouts, resulting in over 500 deaths in bombing raids in Britain. The defeat of Germany in 1918 temporarily slowed the airship business. Although DELAG establish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretary Of State For Scotland
The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office holder works alongside the other Scotland Office#Ministers, Scotland Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, shadow secretary of state for Scotland. The incumbent is Alister Jack, following his appointment by Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July 2019 and who was reappointed by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. History Prior to devolution (before 1999) The post was first created after the Acts of Union 1707 created the Kingdom of Great Britain from the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. It was abolished in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lord Balfour Of Burleigh
Lord Balfour of Burleigh, in the County of Kinross, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1607 for Sir Michael Balfour. He was succeeded by his daughter, Margaret, his only child. She married Robert Arnot, who assumed the surname of Balfour and sat as Lord Balfour of Burleigh in the Scottish Parliament in right of his wife. Their son, the third Lord, fought with the Covenanters at the Battle of Drumclog. His grandson, the fifth Lord, was tried and convicted of the murder of schoolmaster Henry Stenhouse at Inverkeithing in 1709. He was sentenced to death in 1710 but escaped to freedom by dressing in his sister's clothes. He was primarily known as Master of Burleigh, the title for the heir to the peerage, as he never took his seat in Parliament when his father died in 1713. He took part in the Jacobite rebellion in 1715 and was attainted for his role. He died childless in 1757. The lordship had been created by charter, a copy of which exists only in the fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
