Stamps celebrate Royal Observatory Greenwich's 350th anniversary
A set of 10 stamps to mark the history and achievements of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, has been released by Royal Mail.They include four images of telescopes, one of a clock, and one of the original observatory building, Flamsteed House.A further four special stamps show marine timekeepers, as pioneered by clockmaker John Harrison.The Royal Observatory was founded by King Charles II in 1675 and is described by Royal Museums Greenwich as Britain's oldest purpose-built scientific institution.
The observatory was founded to provide better star charts to help navigation for global trade.Its Astronomers Royal - the first of whom was John Flamsteed - observed the stars and developed new instruments such as the Airy Transit Circle and Great Equatorial Telescope.Royal Navy surveyors plotted their longitude from Greenwich using chronometers based on horologist Harrison's timekeepers, and the widespread use by ships worldwide of charts based on the Greenwich meridian led to the international recognition of Greenwich as the prime meridian of the world in 1884.The stamps are available to pre-order from Thursday and go on general sale from 12 June.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Rare white starling spotted by Chatteris bird watchers
Bird watchers have been baffled by the appearance of a rare white bird in their town. People in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, have been on the lookout for what is believed to be a starling with leucism - a type of genetic mutation which affects pigment in birds' spotting it in her back garden, Claire Roby, 32, said the starling was "so beautiful I couldn't even describe it".But members of the Cambridgeshire Bird Club have debated if the bird was leucistic or had albinism, a condition characterized by a lack of melanin pigment resulting in white or pale plumage. Ms Roby, who moved to the UK from South Africa in 2022, said: "I wasn't sure what it was."It was just a pure white bird amongst all the others. "I've watched these birds every day for the last three years and that is the first time I have seen it. "I am an avid bird watcher so the fact this is the first time I have seen it - and I always have my eye in the sky - it's quite incredible." Dr Vince Lee, from the Cambridgeshire Bird Club, believed the bird was leucistic rather than albino, but said it was difficult to tell from the photos."Albinos have pink eyes and tend not to survive long because the lack of pigment in the eye causes them to lose eyesight. It is much rarer in wild birds. "The leucistic trait is caused by an inherited lack of pigment cells - melanin being the same chemical that gives humans brown skin tones." He said research suggested about one in in 30,000 birds had either leucism or who spotted it shared their sightings on Facebook, with some claiming to have seen more than one of the rare birds in the town. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Northampton careers event 'opens eyes' of thousands of pupils
A university said a large-scale career event for thousands of schoolchildren had helped "open their eyes to opportunities".The University of Northampton said almost 3,300 pupils from 68 different schools attended its STEAM Northants event at Waterside Campus had activities, workshops and interactive shows to inspire students from Year 6 to Year 13 in science, technology, engineering, arts and Mycawka, widening access manager at the University of Northampton, said she was "so excited to inspire the next generation of learners for our county." "This is about opportunities in Northamptonshire and beyond," she added."There's so much choice [of career paths] for young people that it can be a bit overwhelming. We want young people to find a job they're passionate about." Major activities and events included an immersive virtual and augmented reality experience zone covering topics as wide-ranging as space, oceans and reefs, dinosaurs and were also able to experience African drumming and learn about the science of circus and acrobatic skills, with the event funded by Uni Connect, from the Office for Students and Widening Access. One of the children who attended, Uros, said he felt the event would make him "more prepared for the future" as he pursued a career as an electrical engineer. Another child, Leron, who hoped to become a data scientist, said it was good to "experience some new things to understand what would be best for me in the future." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
Parents of kids with rare gene disorder raise money for treatment
The parents of two children who have an incurable genetic disorder have raised £70,000 with a nine-hour walk across 2020, Mel Dixon, 46, and her husband Charlie, 47, from East Sheen, south-west London, received the "heartbreaking news" two of their three children – Tom, 15, and Rosie, 10 – carry a mutation of the DHDDS couple were told there were only 59 confirmed cases worldwide – although there are 80 documented now – and there was no treatment or cure, leaving them "devastated".The neurodegenerative condition causes seizures, tremors and neuro-developmental delays and, of Tom and Rosie's particular gene mutation, Mel said there were only seven cases confirmed worldwide. To fund research into treatments and therapies, on 8 June, the couple organised a charity "warrior walk", which saw 130 people take to the Thames Path in London, walking 40km, 20km or said their nine-hour walk was challenging and "emotional", but it was "amazing" to see everyone come and Charlie, who also have a 13-year-old son, Harry, organised several events through their charity, Cure DHDDS, including a 50km walk in July 2023 and a 950-mile tandem bike ride in August said: "[The donations] mean everything because, without them, we can't fund the research and, without the research, we're not going to get treatments – it's that simple."Tom and Rosie were late with milestones such as walking and speaking, and both were diagnosed with mild learning difficulties and dyspraxia, which affects their co-ordination, while at primary underwent whole genome sequencing testing, which can detect changes in a person's genetic make-up, and the DHDDS gene mutation was discovered."They've got one 'spelling mistake' [a mutation] in a very important part of their DNA," Mel said. At the time of their children's diagnosis, the couple were told there was no treatment available and the condition was neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and treatment, symptoms such as psychosis, Parkinsonism and cognitive decline can take hold of many DHDDS patients."The geneticists told us it's up to us as parents to fund and drive the search for a cure," Mel said."They both have so much joy to give the world and are more than worth every bit of this fight."Mel and her husband believe the vitamin biotin has helped to reduce the children's tremors, meaning drinking from a cup is now "more manageable" for them. With their charity, Mel and Charlie are working toward a £1.5m fundraising goal to support drug repurposing research and gene therapy development."The huge thing for us is being able to have hope," Mel said."Not having hope, it almost feels like you're giving up on the kids and you're not giving them the possibilities of a better future."Every advancement that's been able to happen in science is because someone's refused to accept the limitations that are there currently."
