The Magnetic Observatory Buildings at the Royal Observatory, Cape
Abstract
During the 1830s there arose a strong international movement, promoted by Carl Friedrich Gauss and Alexander von Humboldt, to characterise the earth's magnetic field. By 1839 the Royal Society in London, driven by Edward Sabine, had organised a "Magnetic Crusade" - the establishment of a series of magnetic and meteorological observatories around the British Empire, including New Zealand, Australia, St Helena and the Cape. This article outlines the history of the latter installation, its buildings and what became of them.
- Publication:
-
Monthly Notes of the Astronomical Society of South Africa
- Pub Date:
- October 2015
- Bibcode:
- 2015MNSSA..74..204G