To a navigator, time and distance are tightly linked. Earth turns 360 degrees on its axis every 24 hours. This means that a person standing on the equator travels east one degree of longitude, ...

The historic Royal Observatory was founded in 1675 by King Charles II of England, with the goal of improving navigation at sea and reducing shipwrecks by mapping the locations of stars. The ...

For 300 years, the Royal Observatory at Greenwich Park in London was the center of the scientific world, in some cases literally—the Prime Meridian, the line of 0 degrees longitude dividing the ...

The Royal Observatory in Greenwich is to become a working observatory again, six decades after light and air pollution forced astronomers out of the capital. After hosting stargazers for nearly three ...

An iconic observatory in south east London is marking its 350th anniversary this year. First established by King Charles II and designed by Christopher Wren, The Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park ...

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. This story was originally published by Slate and appears here as part of the Climate ...