Observatory's star treatment

Published on Friday 4 December 2009 09:47

IT IS an Edinburgh landmark that has been used as a home for observing the heavens for more than a century.

But now the city's Royal Observatory is about to go under wraps – and when it emerges it will have a colourful new look.

A major programme of work has been unveiled to ensure it can continue to be a home for leading astronomers and scientists for another 100 years.

The Science and Technology Facilitates Council of the UK Astronomy Technology Centre is preparing a major programme of repairs to the Blackford Hill site.

The work will focus on restoring the two historic copper domes that sit atop the observatory building.

The Grade A listed Observatory building is 115 years old.

Minor repairs have been made over the years, but it was felt that a major programme of work was now required to ensure that the domes could continue to be a landmark on the Edinburgh skyline, and also to stand up to the rigours of the Scottish weather for the next 100 years.

The plans will see repairs made to both the copper cladding and the stonework of the building. The two familiar domes will be completely covered for most of 2010, to provide weather protection during the work.

The copper on the domes will be replaced like-for-like, retaining as much as possible of the original material. But it is expected that a significant proportion will have to be replaced.

The new material will be unweathered copper, which will take several years to acquire the familiar green colour of the existing domes, and so the refurbishment will be very evident initially.

Plans are in place to get work started on the repairs in January, with the job expected to be finished by August 2010.

Steve Burgess, Green councillor for Southside/Newington, which includes Blackford, said: "The Observatory is an important institution and landmark within south Edinburgh, and I very much welcome the major programme of repairs to ensure the future of the Observatory is secure."

The Royal Observatory Edinburgh site is part of the UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council, and is occupied and managed by the UK Astronomy Technology Centre which shares the site with the University of Edinburgh's Institute for Astronomy.

Scientists at the observatory recently celebrated the success of an astronomical camera, partly developed at the centre, which has taken pictures of astronomical events 36 million light years away.

Dr Horst Meyerdierks, president of the Astronomical Society of Edinburgh, also welcomed the work.

"While the domes themselves are not used for observations, the building is the centre of a great deal of work, and if this work will ensure that we can continue there for a long time then it should be welcomed," he said.

The Royal Observatory of Edinburgh visitor centre, which occupies part of the building, will be closed to the public for the duration of the works, except for the Winter Talks which will continue to be held in the lecture theatre. An additional programme of public and school events will be held around the city instead.

Research offices, a library and the historical collections also kept in the building will be unaffected by the work.