The title Astronomer Royal is an honour awarded to a renowned scientist working in the field of astronomy.
There are two officers, the senior being the title Astronomer Royal, which dates from 22 June 1675, and the second the post of Astronomer Royal for Scotland, which dates from 1834.
The position of Astronomer Royal is nowadays largely honorary, though he remains available to advise the Sovereign on astronomical and related scientific matters.
The appointment is made by the Sovereign upon the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Astronomer Royal receives a stipend of £100 a year and is a member of the Royal Household.
Although no specific duties are attached to the office, the Astronomer Royal is expected to be available for consultation on scientific matters for as long as the holder remains a professional astronomer.
The post dates back to the seventeenth century, when astronomy had many practical applications in navigation. The first Astronomer Royal was the self-taught John Flamsteed.
In 1675 Charles II issued a warrant to pay Flamsteed a salary of £100 a year.
Charles instructed him "to apply himself with the most exact care and diligence to the rectifying of 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 of the art of navigation."
A second warrant in the same year provided for a small observatory within the park at Greenwich. This established the Royal Greenwich Observatory still in operation today.
In 1720 George I appointed Edmund Halley as Flamsteed's successor, establishing him as 'Our Astronomical Observator in Our Observatory at Greenwich'. The first Royal visit to the Observatory was by Queen Caroline in 1727.
Since 1972, however, the offices of Astronomer Royal and Director of the Royal Observatory Greenwich have been separate.
Astronomers Royal have been responsible for some notable developments in their field.
John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal, was responsible for one of the earliest recorded sightings of the planet Uranus, which he mistook for a star. He also increased the accuracy of existing stellar catalogues, greatly aiding navigation.
Edmund Halley, another Astronomer Royal, is famous for predicting the return of the comet now known as Halley's Comet.
Astronomers Royal
John Flamsteed (1675-1720)
Edmund Halley (1720-1742)
James Bradley (1742-62)
Nathaniel Bliss (1762-4)
Nevil Maskelyne (1765-1811)
John Pond (1811-35)
Sir George Biddel Airy (1835-81)
Sir William Henry Mahoney Christie ( 1881-1910)
Sir Frank Watson Dyson (1910-33)
Sir Harold Spencer Jones ( 1933-55)
Sir Richard van der Riet Wooley (1956-71)
Sir Martin Ryle (1972- 82)
Sir Francis Graham Smith (1982-90)
Professor Arnold W. Wolfendale (1990-1995)
Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow (1995-present)
SUGGESTED LINKS
Royal Observatory, Greenwich
