{"id":43632,"date":"2025-08-01T17:11:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T16:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=43632"},"modified":"2025-08-01T17:11:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T16:11:17","slug":"ihbc-features-heritage-from-the-global-doorstep-royal-museums-greenwich-landmark-capital-project-first-light-to-transform-royal-observatory-home-of-gmt-pri","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/?p=43632","title":{"rendered":"IHBC features \u2018Heritage from the Global doorstep\u2019: Royal Museums Greenwich: Landmark capital project \u2018First Light\u2019 to transform Royal Observatory, home of GMT & Prime Meridian"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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image for illustration: Royal Observatory<\/a>, South Building, Greenwich by\u00a0Chris Morgan, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/a>, via Wikimedia Commons<\/sub><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Royal Museums Greenwich is \u2018Transforming the Royal Observatory\u2026\u2019, embarking on a landmark capital project known as \u2018First Light\u2019 to make science and astronomy accessible to all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Royal Museums Greenwich writes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For 350 years Royal Observatory Greenwich has been a place where people come together to explore the universe.  Generations of astronomers spent countless nights looking up at the night sky, mapping the stars and measuring time. Their efforts gave us the Prime Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), helping us find our place in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the story doesn\u2019t end there. Today almost one million people from the UK and around the world visit the Royal Observatory every year. It\u2019s home to historic buildings and cutting-edge astronomy, precious instruments and London\u2019s only Planetarium. A day out at the Observatory is a trip through time, a voyage round the globe and a journey into space \u2013 all rolled into one.  It’s time to discover the next exciting chapter in the Royal Observatory’s history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Light: bringing the wonders of the universe to Greenwich<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are embarking on a landmark capital project to transform the Royal Observatory and make science and astronomy accessible to all. The project, known as First Light, will bring the story of this historic site to life, and give everyone the chance to experience the wonders of space and time for themselves. Inspiring galleries and displays, innovative architecture, sensitive conservation and improved access will all help unlock the Observatory’s full potential. The First Light project is named after the moment a telescope is first used to view and record the night\u2019s sky. A telescope\u2019s \u2018first light\u2019 is anticipated throughout its construction and is hopeful of future scientific discoveries.  This is your chance to be part of the Royal Observatory’s story. Help protect a unique heritage site, and get ready to see the universe in a whole new light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Light project is set to begin in autumn 2025, with all work due to be complete by spring 2028. During construction there will be some phased closures, beginning with the south side of the site. The Peter Harrison Planetarium and the building it is in will be closed from Monday 8 September 2025. Visitors will still be able to access the majority of the Royal Observatory site, including Prime Meridian Line, Meridian Observatory and the galleries within the historic Flamsteed House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will provide as much notice as possible to our visitors about any future closures, and our astronomy teams are already working on plans to take their expertise and events out to the National Maritime Museum and the wider community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more….<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

image for illustration: Royal Observatory, South Building, Greenwich by\u00a0Chris Morgan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons The Royal Museums Greenwich is \u2018Transforming the Royal Observatory\u2026\u2019, embarking on a landmark capital project known as \u2018First Light\u2019 to make science and astronomy … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6,18,36,23,29,215,22],"class_list":["post-43632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ihbc-newsblog","tag-building","tag-conservation","tag-culture","tag-expertise","tag-heritage","tag-science","tag-skills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43632"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43632\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43635,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43632\/revisions\/43635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsblogs.ihbc.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}