User:Mnbkv6/Astronomer Royal

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 * Set up a good structure for the page. There is currently no structure at all and the page is all jumbled up.
 * Add more info about what the Astronomer Royals did and why it was important for astronomy at that time and in modern times.
 * Get more sources from the library.
 * Dive deeper and do a more complete addition about computers at the royal observatory.

Introduction[edit]
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 was director of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich from the establishment of the post in 1675 until 1972. The astronomer royal became an honorary title in 1972 without executive responsibilities, and a separate post of director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory was created to manage the institution.

History of the Astronomer Royal[edit]
The post was created by King Charles II in 1675, at the same time as he founded the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. He appointed John Flamsteed, instructing him "forthwith to apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying the tables of the motions of the heavens, and the places of the fixed stars, so as to find out the so-much desired longitude of places, for the perfecting the art of navigation."

The origin of the title Astronomer Royal is unknown. Although Flamsteed is widely considered the first Astronomer Royal was never appointed with the title and only referred to in the Warrant to Ordinance as "Our Astronomical Observer". Similar language was used to appoint all the Astronomer Royals until 1881 with William Christie's appointment. The term Astronomer Royal did not become commonly used until the late 18th Century while the Royal Warrants still used "Our Astronomical Observer"

Astronomers Royal are responsible for many different discoveries and theories. They had several assistants who aided in their research at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The most important position was the computers or people that would do all the math computations behind the astronomers' observations. Many of these computers were women and they were often left out of articles and books leaving them out of most common history sources.

The astronomer royal today receives a stipend of 100 GBP per year and is a member of the royal household, under the general authority of the Lord Chamberlain. After the separation of the two offices, the position of astronomer royal has been largely honorary, although the holder remains available to advise the Sovereign on astronomical and related scientific matters, and the office is of great prestige.

There was formerly a royal astronomer of Ireland, a post that seemingly ended with Irish independence.

References to the Astronomer Royal in Popular Culture[edit]
The astronomer royal is mentioned in H. G. Wells' novel The War of the Worlds and in George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. He also makes an appearance in the lyrics of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance and plays an important role in Fred Hoyle's novel The Black Cloud.

References[edit]

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 * 3) ^ F Baily, "An Account of the Rev. John Flamsteed", reprinted in vol. 28, at p. 293. "The Museum of foreign literature, science and art", R Walsh et al., publ. E Litell, 1836.
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 * 10) ^ p. 175, Penguin edition
 * 11) ^ "The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan". The Gilbert and Sullivan Archive.

Things I'm adding to the article:
Astronomers Royal are responsible for many different discoveries and theories. They had several assistants who aided in their research at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The most important position was that of the computers or people who would perform all the mathematical computations behind the astronomers' observations. Many of these computers were women, but they were often left out of articles and books, thus leaving them out of most common historical sources.

Discoveries By Astronomers Royal

John Flamsteed is responsible for a few important discoveries including proving his theory of annual stellar parallax and the discovery of Uranus, even though he thought it was a star. In 1694, he gathered evidence of the stellar parallax and became the first person to prove that the Earth rotates around the sun. However, his most significant contribution to the Royal Observatory and later to the Astronomers Royal was his high standard of work.

Another notable Astronomer Royal was Sir George Biddell Airy. While still in college at Trinity College, Cambridge, he noticed he was having trouble reading with his left eye. Eventually, his condition would be classified as an astigmatism, but at the time, there was no cure that worked for everyone. After consulting with others who had the same condition, he specially crafted a lens to refract the light rays and correct the astigmatism. With experience working with lenses, he spent a significant amount of his time as the Astronomer Royal improving the measuring instruments in the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Using these improved instruments, he meticulously double-checked measurements and discoveries made by past astronomers.

Response to Peer Review

 * They liked the way we are changing the format of the article so it is clearer and easier to follow
 * Said we need to add more to the introduction section to explain what the astronomer royals do/did and why it is important
 * Wants us to add more about important discoveries made by the astronomers
 * They said we had a good even tone
 * We need to check some of the other sources put in by others, they said one didn't work great
 * We need to add more in about the history of the position and some of the important things that they discovered and put it in its own separate location.