Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
up a flier at the observatory. As these shows can sell out, consider calling ahead to order
tickets. Most shows are family-oriented, with early shows intended for young children.
Information:
Tel. 020/8858-4422,
www.rmg.co.uk
.
Self-Guided Tour:
Entering the complex, you're directed either to the observat-
ory entrance or the Weller Astronomy Galleries. Since the observatory is more interesting,
do that first (but note that the Weller Galleries won't let you in after 16:30).
• After purchasing your ticket, enter the courtyard.
Running through the middle of this space is The Line—the
prime meridian.
Visitors
wait patiently to have their photographs taken as they straddle the line in front of the
monument, with one foot in each hemisphere. While watching all this fuss over a little
line, consider that—unlike the equator—the placement of the prime meridian is totally ar-
bitrary. It could well have been at my house, in Timbuktu, or just a few feet over—as, for
a time, it was (the trough along the building's roofline shows where one astronomer had
placed it).
