Peter Harrison Planetarium, Greenwich

Posted by Hoshisato (Ealing, United Kingdom) on 19 October 2009 in Architecture and Portfolio.

Like the Louvre Pyramid, I like it when old and new clash in architecture. Behind the Greenwich observatory, in the same grounds, is the Peter Harrison Planetarium where they have erected a bronze cone with the following characteristics:
* The north side of the cone is aligned with the point in the sky perpendicular to the Greenwich local horizon (zenith)
* The sloping southern side points towards the north celestial pole (Pole star). The angle of the slope is 51º28'44", equal to the latitude of the Royal Observatory
* The top of the cone is sliced at an angle parallel to the celestial equator
* The planetarium is aligned with the local meridian (north-south line)

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