Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium
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The Norman Lockyer Observatory and Planetarium is situated near a south facing cliff on the Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site, one mile east of the coastal town of Sidmouth in East Devon, England
This facility, twelve miles from Exeter and ten miles from the M5 motorway, is both a planetarium and a public access optical observatory. It maintains some of the nation's most historic instruments, in addition to providing modern telescopes with computer enhanced imaging, and enjoys a relatively dark night sky with a southerly aspect across the sea.
Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer, the founding editor (1869) of the science journal Nature, built the observatory as a private venture in 1912 following the closure of the South Kensington Observatory, of which he was a principal and where he researched solar activity and meteorology. The Lockyer observatory subsequently came under the control of the University of Exeter between 1946 and 1987 and was transferred to East Devon District Council in 1988. A new 150 seat lecture/conference centre was added in 2005.
The significance of the research history at the Lockyer Observatory lies primarily in the analysis of star spectra: its historic instruments are associated with Lockyer's pioneering work on star temperatures which led to theories of stellar evolution and the foundation of the science of astrophysics.
Spectral analysis in astronomy requires a clear sky without light pollution over the whole optical spectrum. The Lockyer Observatory enjoys a relatively "clean" sky to the east and south across the sea. The atmosphere is usually free of chemical and light pollution and, as the sea has a uniform temperature, the air is also free of rising currents that can distort optical images.
The Observatory also operates an Amateur Radio station (Call sign GB2NLO) and weather satellite station. It cooperates with undergraduate courses of Exeter, Plymouth and the Open Universities, and is available to any university for development projects.
The facility is not funded by national or local government agencies nor does it receive ongoing grants from any organisation. The Norman Lockyer Observatory Society, a registered charity with the principal activities of promoting the public understanding of science and technology and supporting science education in schools and universities, has no endowments and must earn enough to maintain the instruments and pursue its charitable aims. In this respect it is similar to most astronomical societies in Britain but is perhaps unique among comparable larger observatories in Britain.
Other public facilities which provide both a planetarium and a working optical observatory in Britain include the Greenwich Royal Observatory, the Edinburgh Royal Observatory, South Tyneside College Planetarium and Observatory, Jodrell Bank Observatory, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, the Mills Observatory [1] (Dundee) and the refurbished telescope at the Herstmonceux Observatory Science Centre [2].
