Bidston Hill Observatory. Postcard of the observatory erected in 1866 at Bidston Hill, on the Wirral Peninsula, near Birkenhead, UK. It was built from

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Bidston Hill Observatory. Postcard of the observatory erected in 1866 at Bidston Hill, on the Wirral Peninsula, near Birkenhead, UK. It was built from sandstone and one of its main functions was to provide a precise daily time measurement and weather forecasts. Such time measurements were usually provided in the form of the dropping of a time ball, but as the observatory was several kilometres from the Port of Liverpool, whose maritime interests it served, the time of 1 o'clock was marked daily with the firing of a cannon. In the background (left) is the Bidston Lighthouse, built in 1873 and in use until 1913.

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Size: 5298px × 3305px
Photo credit: © ROYAL ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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