Preserving astronomy history: The fight is on to save an iconic Royal Observatory Greenwich site
Near the small town of Herstmonceux in the English county of East Sussex sits the former home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. The Royal Observatory Greenwich was first built in Greenwich, London, in 1675. At this original location, the observatory was set up with the goal of producing star charts and accurate time-keeping devices, to allow the British military and commercial fleets to more effectively navigate during their global travels. Over two centuries later, in 1884, the Royal Observatory Greenwich's extensive star charts made the site a prime choice for defining the world's line of 0˚ longitude, the original marker of which can still be visited at the Greenwich site today.
But the original Royal Observatory Greenwich did not stay at its London location forever. By the 1930s, it was apparent to astronomers that London was no longer a feasible location to conduct astronomical research. Dark and clear skies are needed for these types of observation; and with an expanding London producing ever more smog, air pollution, and light pollution, Greenwich could no longer provide the necessary conditions for this work. Plans were eventually made to relocate the observatory operations, including some of the existing 19th century telescopes, to cleaner skies near the small village of Herstmonceux.
However, this historic site is now at risk. In the summer of 2024, the Observatory Science Centre, the charity acting as custodians of the historic Royal Observatory Greenwich site since 1995, announced that they would be evicted by the landowners before the end of 2026.
Delayed by World War II, the transfer of the Royal Observatory Greenwich took place from 1947 — 1958. Out of sixty candidate sites, an area in East Sussex was chosen in the south–east of England. At the time, the site was far from the light pollution of large towns and cities, and (believe it or not) even had decent weather (compared to the rest of the UK, at least).
Following the move, the Royal Observatory Greenwich was renamed the Royal Greenwich Observatory, and scientific research continued. (Much of the original Royal Observatory Greenwich site in London still remains, and is now a part of the National Maritime Museum). Although the institution was founded to produce star charts, the Royal Observatory Greenwich had since moved onto astrophysical research, using telescopes to better understand the physics of the stars and planets above us.
At the core of the new Herstmonceux site was a group of telescopes called the Equatorial Group. At its peak, 200 people worked on site, in support of the observatory's operations with these telescopes. The Equatorial Group is a group of six telescope domes, making up the primary observatory site. Whereas most telescope domes use a grey or white color, the Equatorial Group telescopes were built of copper, which eventually oxidized into a distinctive green color. This decision was deliberate, to allow the domes to 'camouflage' into the surrounding green hills.
In 1967, the Royal Greenwich Observatory built a new tool — the Isaac Newton Telescope. The Isaac Newton Telescope was housed in its own new huge telescope dome (white this time), offset from the rest of the site. With a 98-inch mirror at its base, this new telescope was the third largest in the world at the time.
However, as the Isaac Newton Telescope began scientific research, it soon became clear that this world-class scientific instrument was very much hindered by the location in which it was built. With the growth of nearby towns over the prior two decades, the site no longer had the level of dark skies it once did. Furthermore, although the south-east of England has some of the best weather in the United Kingdom, frequent cloud cover was still a significant problem — leaving the telescope unusable for much of the year.
With international travel now more feasible, the decision was eventually made to relocate the Isaac Newton Telescope to darker and clearer skies in 1984. It was moved to an observatory site called 'Roque de los Muchachos Observatory', positioned on the top of a volcano on the island of La Palma, in the Canary Islands.
Although it is now joined by a much larger telescope, the Isaac Newton Telescope, originally constructed at the Royal Observatory Greenwich in Herstmonceux, is still used in its new home for scientific research today. Shortly after the move of its main telescope, the rest of the Royal Greenwich Observatory site was abandoned in 1990, with the transition of its remaining staff to a new office in Cambridge.
Following the abandonment of the site in 1990, the site fell into a state of disrepair. The historic telescopes were left to rust in telescope domes forgotten by the outside world. If nobody had stepped in, it's likely the important astronomical heritage of this site would have been lost forever.
Thankfully, this was not the case.
In April 1995, a charity called Science Projects took out a lease of the site from the landowners. (The land was owned by the Canadian Queen's University, who bought the estate for the nearby Herstmonceux castle). Science Projects restored the site with backing from local district and county councils, restored the historic telescopes and Equatorial Group domes using National Heritage Lottery funds in 2004, and earned the site a nationally recognised Grade II* listed status.
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Since then, the former site of the Royal Greenwich Observatory has been home to the now-named Observatory Science Centre, featuring interactive science exhibits, astronomy open evenings, lectures and festivals for all to enjoy. The historic facility now receives over 60,000 visitors per year, ranging from local school students, the general public, and international visitors.
The announcement that Observatory Science Centre at Herstmonceux would be closed has brought outrage to the local East Sussex community, with a public petition to save the observatory garnering over 12,000 signatures. I have my own special relationship with the site, and share the public's frustration at the risk of losing both a key piece of global astronomy heritage, and an asset to the local community.
The landowners, the Canadian Queens University, have released little information publicly since the announcement of the charity's eviction from their land. Their plans for the observatory site, domes and historic telescopes are unclear, but in February 2025 Queen's University at least announced a commitment to uphold the observatory site's legacy. With an uncertain future, we'll have to wait and see what's next for this historic observatory.
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21 Body Horror Wikipedia Pages
Obsessed with the macabre?! Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! Fatal Familial Insomnia — An extremely rare genetic neurological disorder that causes progressive insomnia, leading to total sleep deprivation and death. At the most basic level, FFI affects the part of the brain that controls sleep. People with this rare disorder slowly lose the ability to sleep, and this leads to serious problems like confusion, trouble moving, body changes (like sweating a lot or having a fast heartbeat), and eventually death — usually within a year or two. Currently, there is no cure or treatment. Doctors can test for the gene, but they can only treat the symptoms to keep the person as comfortable as possible. Guatemala Syphilis Experiments — Unethical medical studies conducted by the US government in the 1940s, where researchers intentionally infected prisoners, soldiers, and mental patients in Guatemala with syphilis and gonorrhea without consent. Without the people's knowledge or permission, researchers deliberately infected hundreds of Guatemalan prisoners, soldiers, sex workers, children, and even mental hospital patients with syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases to test if antibiotics like penicillin could prevent or treat them. Many of the people were never treated, and some suffered serious health problems or died. These experiments were kept secret for decades and only became public in 2010, when the U.S. government formally apologized for the abuse and wrongdoing. Unit 731 — Japan's WWII biological and chemical warfare research unit that conducted live human experiments. Unit 731 was a covert biological and chemical warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, based in occupied Manchuria (present-day China). Operating under the guise of epidemic prevention, it conducted brutal human experiments on civilians and prisoners of war, including vivisection, forced infection with deadly diseases, and frostbite testing. These experiments led to the deaths of an estimated 300,000-plus people. After the war, the U.S. granted immunity to many Unit 731 members in exchange for their research data, allowing key figures like Ishii to avoid prosecution. The unit's atrocities remain one of the most horrifying examples of wartime human experimentation. The Monster Study — A 1939 unethical speech experiment that was conducted on orphaned children in Iowa. Some were psychologically abused to induce speech problems. Led by a researcher named Wendell Johnson, this controversial experiment set out to find out if telling kids they had a speech problem could actually make them stutter. They worked with 22 children from an orphanage — some who already stuttered and some who didn't. The researchers told some of the kids with normal speech that they spoke badly and needed to be careful, even though that wasn't true. As a result, some of those kids became shy, nervous, and had trouble speaking, even though they hadn't stuttered before. The experiment caused lasting emotional harm, and it was later called the 'Monster Study' because of how unethical it was. In 2007, a lawsuit filed by former test subjects and estate representatives of those who have since died was settled for $925,000. Radium Girls — A group of young women in the 1910s and 1920s who worked in factories painting watch dials with glowing paint that contained radium, a radioactive element, ultimately leading to their horrifying deaths from radiation. The young women were told the paint was safe and were even encouraged to lick their brushes to get a fine point. Over time, many of them became very sick — losing teeth, suffering from broken bones, and developing terrible jaw problems — because the radium was poisoning them from the inside. When the companies refused to take responsibility, some of the women fought back by taking them to court, winning a settlement in 1928. FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva) — An extremely rare condition where a person's soft tissues — like muscles, tendons, and ligaments — slowly turn into bone over time, essentially turning people into 'living statues.' Because of this condition, parts of the body that are supposed to move and bend can become locked in place by extra bone growing where it shouldn't. Even small injuries, like bumps, can trigger this bone growth. As FOP gets worse, it can become very hard to move, eat, or even breathe because of extra bone forming around the rib cage, restricting expansion of the lungs. There's no known cure yet, and doctors try to help by avoiding anything that might cause flare-ups and by managing symptoms as best they can. Tuskegee Syphilis Study — A racist and unethical 40-year medical experiment carried out by the U.S. government where Black men with syphilis were deliberately left untreated. From 1932 to 1972, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study involved hundreds of poor Black men in Alabama who had syphilis but were never told they had the disease. Instead of treating them, doctors studied how the illness would progress if left untreated — even after penicillin became the standard cure in the 1940s. The men were misled and denied proper care for decades, which caused serious harm and death. The study only ended after a news report exposed it, leading to public outrage and a formal government apology in 1997. Teratoma — A type of tumor that commonly contains teeth, hair, fat, or muscle. They can even contain a liver, lungs, eyes, or even a brain, though it's not as typical. Teratomas are sometimes mistaken for parasitic twins. This type of tumor happens when certain cells that are supposed to develop into any part of the body grow in a confused or mixed-up way. Teratomas can be found in places like the ovaries, testicles, or even the chest or brain. Most are harmless and can be removed with surgery, but some can be cancerous and need more serious treatment. Even though they can sound strange or scary, many teratomas are treatable, especially when found early. MKUltra — A highly secretive human CIA experimentation program that tested mind control techniques, often without subjects' consent. MKUltra began in 1953 and ran through the 1960s. The program consisted of a series of projects that experimented with mind control techniques — often without people's knowledge or consent. They tested drugs like LSD, hypnosis, and other methods on prisoners, hospital patients, and even regular citizens, hoping to learn how to control thoughts or extract secrets. Many people were harmed, and some were permanently affected or died. The project was kept hidden until the 1970s, when it was exposed by journalists and government investigations. Body Integrity Dysphoria — A rare condition where a person feels like a part of their own body — such as a leg, arm, or even their vision or hearing — doesn't belong to them, sometimes giving them a desire to amputate healthy body parts. Even though the body part is healthy, the person might feel very distressed and strongly believe that they would feel better or 'whole' if it were removed or disabled. This condition is not well understood, and it can be very upsetting for those who experience it. Treatment is challenging, and doctors usually try to help through therapy and support, rather than surgery, since the condition is more about how the brain sees the body rather than something physically wrong. Exploding Head Syndrome — A harmless but startling condition where a person hears a sudden loud noise — like a bang, crash, or explosion — just as they're falling asleep or waking up. Even though it sounds real, there's no actual sound and nothing is physically happening when people experience this. It doesn't cause pain, but it can be scary and confusing. Some people also see flashes of light or feel a jolt in their body. Experts aren't sure exactly what causes it, but it may be related to how the brain shuts down for sleep. Lobotomy — A once-popular psychosurgery technique involving destruction of the brain's frontal lobe, often resulting in severe personality changes. Though it's since been discredited, at the time, this brain surgery was used to treat severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and depression. It involved cutting connections in the brain's frontal lobes to reduce symptoms, but often caused serious side effects such as personality changes, cognitive impairment, and emotional dullness. Popularized in the 1930s through to the 1950s — especially by neurologist Walter Freeman's 'ice-pick' method — it was eventually abandoned due to its harmful effects and the rise of psychiatric medications. Resignation Syndrome — A rare and mysterious condition where children, usually refugees, fall into a coma-like state after experiencing extreme stress or trauma — often related to uncertainty about asylum or fear of deportation. Children with this condition will stop talking, eating, walking, and responding to the world around them, as if they've completely shut down. It has mostly been seen in Sweden among children from war-torn countries. Recovery can take months or even years, and often begins once the family's asylum situation becomes more secure. Necrotizing Fasciitis — Also known as 'flesh-eating bacteria,' is a rare but very serious bacterial infection spreads rapidly and is often fatal. Necrotizing fasciitis spreads quickly and destroys the body's soft tissue, especially under the skin. It's sometimes called a "flesh-eating disease," though the bacteria don't actually "eat" flesh — they release toxins that kill tissue. 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This amoeba can enter the body when water goes up the nose — usually during swimming or diving — and then travels to the brain, causing a severe and often fatal infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Symptoms start with headache, fever, and nausea, and quickly progress to confusion, seizures, and coma. It's almost always fatal, but very rare, and you can't get it from drinking water — only from water entering the nose. The Thalidomide Scandal — A major medical disaster in the late 1950s and early 1960s, where a drug called thalidomide was given to pregnant women to treat morning sickness and help with sleep, but actually caused birth defects. At the time, the drug was thought to be safe, but it caused severe birth defects in thousands of babies across the world. Many were born with shortened or missing arms and legs, and some had problems with their ears, eyes, or internal organs. 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Trepanation — The oldest surgical procedure known to man, which was the practice of drilling or cutting a hole into the skull to treat head injuries, relieve pressure, or for spiritual reasons. Evidence shows trepanation (trepanning) was practiced over 7,000 years ago in many ancient cultures. Surprisingly, some people survived multiple procedures. Today, it has evolved into modern craniotomy — a safer, more precise surgery used to treat brain injuries, remove tumors, or relieve pressure, performed with sterile tools and medical imaging. Finally, Biosphere 2 — A sealed greenhouse-like structure built in Arizona in the early 1990s to test whether humans could live in a self-sustaining environment, like a mini Earth, for space travel. Although it sounded cool, people ended up starving and "gasping for breath." Inside, the structure had different ecosystems — like a rainforest, ocean, and desert — and was meant to recycle air, water, and food for eight people living inside for two years. While the idea was exciting, the experiment faced major problems: oxygen levels dropped significantly, food became scarce, and people argued, making it hard to live and work. Obsessed with this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get a weekly post just like this delivered directly to your inbox. It's a scary good time you won't want to miss.
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'Significant evidence' ties air pollution with dementia, study finds
ST. PAUL, Minn., July 24 (UPI) -- British researchers said Thursday they've found "significant evidence" of a long-suspected link between air pollution and dementia after studying data from nearly 30 million people across four continents. The authors of a paper published in The Lancet Planetary Health reviewed data compiled from 32 studies that involved more than 29 million participants, mostly from high-income countries in Europe, North America and Asia, as well as Australia, to "provide more robust overarching conclusions" about the suspected connection. After crunching the numbers from those studies, University of Cambridge researchers said they had identified a "positive and statistically significant association" between dementia and long-term exposure to three types of air pollutants: fine particulate matter with diameters of 2.5 microns or less, nitrogen dioxide, and soot from sources such as vehicle exhaust emissions and burning wood. They also concluded the risks of dementia go up as the levels of exposure increase, especially for the tiny particulate matter, which is so small it can be inhaled deeply into the lungs. For such "PM2.5," every 10 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) of long-term exposure increases an individual's relative risk of dementia by 17%, they found. To put that into perspective, they noted the average roadside measurement for PM2.5 in central London in 2023 was 10 μg/m³. Similarly, for every 10 μg/m³ of long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide, the relative risk of dementia increased by 3%, while the dementia risk jumped by 13% for each 1 μg/m³ of soot exposure. The study, which was funded by the European Union's scientific research arm, also noted that while traffic-related air pollution is common in cities in high-income countries, "marginalized groups" from low- and middle-income nations and communities not included in the analysis tend to have higher exposures to air pollution and are likely at even greater risk. Senior author Dr. Haneen Khreis of Cambridge's MRC Epidemiology Unit said the findings provide "further evidence to support the observation that long-term exposure to outdoor air pollution is a risk factor for the onset of dementia in previously healthy adults." She added that the mounting evidence makes the case for cleaner air even stronger -- not only for the sake of human health but also for the ability of care systems to cope with the exploding numbers of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. The 57 million people already affected worldwide are expected to almost triple to 153 million cases by 2050, and reducing that avalanche of future illness will require "less burning of fossil fuels, a move to renewable clean energy, a move to clean transportation options, such as walking and cycling, and enacting climate change mitigation strategies," Khreis told UPI in emailed comments. "A coordinated effort would be a multisector, systems-level response -- not unlike how we've approached other public health crises." She and her Cambridge colleagues two years ago created an interactive "evidence map" of hundreds of possible urban policy interventions available by geography to reduce traffic-related emissions and air pollution, which they set up as an aid for planners to become aware of options of which they may not have been previously aware. "There are indeed many options available," Khreis said. "But in short, we need a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach that views air pollution mitigation as an upstream intervention for brain health, and so many other outcomes that are now convincingly linked to air pollution. We need political will and courage to address this health hazard." Suspected in brain inflammation Scientists has been seeking to establish a definitive link between air pollution and dementia for a decade, as several previous studies have suggested such a connection. For instance, the British government's Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants reviewed nearly 70 studies in human populations and reported in 2022 that "it is likely that air pollution does contribute" to a decline in mental ability and dementia in older people, although they qualified that more research is needed before recommendations could be issued "with confidence." The 2024 Lancet Commission on dementia prevention, intervention and care, meanwhile, identified air pollution as one of 14 modifiable risk factors for dementia. Most theories about the link center around how air pollution can trigger inflammation in the brain and "excessive oxidative stress," in which the body's ability to combat free radicals with antioxidants is overwhelmed. There is "a wealth of expanding literature that investigates this question," Khreis said, noting that some research indicates the ultrafine particles may be able to bypass the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain directly via the olfactory nerve, thus triggering inflammation. Indirectly, these inhaled pollutants can trigger systemic inflammation and immune responses, such as when they enter the circulatory system and travel to solid organs. The particles can cross into the brain and disrupt microglial function and promote amyloid-β plaque formation, which is associated with dementia, she said. Experts comment Experts and other researchers who have looked at the possible link between air pollution and dementia, but were not connected to the current study, weighed on its findings when contacted by UPI. Dr. Isolde Radford, senior policy manager at the British charitable group Alzheimer's Research U.K., agreed that air pollution "is not just an environmental issue -- it's a serious and growing threat to our brain health. If no one were exposed to air pollution, there would be three fewer cases of dementia for every 100 people who develop it now." She called the current study a "rigorous review [that] adds to mounting evidence that exposure to air pollution -- from traffic fumes to wood burners -- increases the risk of developing dementia," and specifically noted marginalized groups are often exposed to higher levels of pollution, yet remain underrepresented in research. "Future studies must reflect the full diversity of society -- because those most at risk could stand to benefit the most from action," Radford added, calling on the British government to institute a "bold, cross-government approach to health prevention -- one that brings together departments beyond health ... to take coordinated action on the drivers of dementia risk" and move up existing timelines to produce cleaner air. Dr. Hao Chen, a researcher at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital in China and author of a recent study linking atmospheric pollutants with the progression of cardiometabolic disorders and subsequent dementia, called the Cambridge paper an important document. "This is a landmark study that significantly advances our understanding of the link between air pollution and dementia," he told UPI in emailed comments, noting it is "the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis to date, significantly advancing previous reviews by including new pollutants and rigorous bias/certainty assessments." It reinforces the findings of the 2024 Lancet Commission, he said, adding, "The public health implications are profound. The findings suggest that efforts to reduce air pollution -- particularly from traffic and industrial sources -- could play a crucial role in lowering the global burden of dementia. "Investing in cleaner air is not only beneficial for respiratory and cardiovascular health; it is a critical investment in protecting our brain health and cognitive longevity. This research provides a compelling, evidence-based mandate for policymakers worldwide to implement stricter air quality standards as an urgent dementia prevention strategy," Chen said. Victoria Williams, an assistant professor of geriatrics and gerontology, and noted Alzheimer's disease researcher at the University of Wisconsin, said the findings suggest "a moderate level of certainty that outdoor air pollution exposure increases risk for dementia, with the studies included considered to be at minimal risk for bias." Since there is currently no cure for dementia, "prevention is key to reducing its overall incidence in our society," she added. "Thus, minimizing exposure to air pollution does reflect a promising strategy in reducing the overall burden of dementia," and unlike other known risk factors linked to lifestyle choices such as smoking and a poor diet, societal action could make a difference. "Limiting exposure to ambient air pollution is well adept to being addressed at a policy level where reductions can offer broad protective effects to a society as a whole," Williams said.
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European Space Agency Is Building A Hypersonic Spaceplane
The European Space Agency is throwing its weight behind a design effort for a hypersonic spaceplane, with hopes of getting the final idea airborne (and spaceborne) by 2031. The ESA is putting up funding for the Invictus research program, which wants to achieve one of the space industry's most coveted breakthroughs: The ability for a spacecraft to launch horizontally off a runway, like a normal plane, and then land back there all in one piece. There have been several attempts over the decades to build a so-called Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO) vehicle, but thus far, none have succeeded. Invictus (Latin for "invincible") is hoping to solve the engineering puzzle, which would make spaceflight radically cheaper and simpler than it is today. The program is headed by Frazer-Nash Consultancy, with support from Spirit AeroSystems, Cranfield University, and a few smaller companies. Critically, the project has hired a bunch of staff from Reaction Engines Ltd, a British company that had been working on spaceplane engines for decades before going bankrupt last year. Reaction's core innovation was pre-cooling technology, which it always said was the key to unlocking hypersonic and orbital travel. While the company itself didn't live long enough to find out, with the ESA's money, Invictus is going to try to find out for sure. Read more: These Cars Are Police Magnets Pre-Cooling Air Before It Hits The Engine Going to space is expensive. You need a big rocket that launches vertically, which requires a launch pad and launch tower. Rockets are usually multi-stage, and most (if not all) of those stages are discarded during the flight. SpaceX is developing ways to make those stages fly home for later reuse, but it's still a massively complex endeavor. Spaceplanes are a much simpler and theoretically cheaper idea — just take off and land like a plane! — but the trick is building cost-effective engines that can power both air and space flight. Ordinary jet engines need oxygen to burn, which they pull out of the air. But to reach the speeds needed to break orbit, hypersonic speeds of Mach 5+, the sheer heat of air friction hitting the engine would actually melt it. Pretty bad! Reaction's purpose in life was more or less to figure out a way to get the air temperature down before it hit the engine, a process called pre-cooling. With that system installed, even traditional jet engines should, theoretically, be able to reach speeds over 15,000 mph, enough to get anywhere in the world in just a few hours. Then, if the craft goes up past the atmosphere and into space, the engines would switch over to onboard oxygen tanks. If it all works, it should be able to ferry cargo to space for radically less than current systems and to other places on Earth at much faster speed. The Spaceplane Race The ESA, it should be clear, is only putting €7 million of its money into Invictus, which won't exactly build a working plane. This investment is to see if the Invictus team can come up with a workable design within 12 months. If not, well, game over again. If they can, however, then humanity has an exciting future ahead of it. Meanwhile, there are a number of other projects around the world trying to get their own spaceplanes off the ground. Startup company Sierra Space has been working on its Dream Chaser design since 2015, which is getting close to being able to fly to the ISS. China has flown the Shenlong a few times since 2023. The U.S. Space Force has been flying the remotely operated X-37B since 2010, a program that just got a $1 billion from the Big Beautiful Bill. All of these are experimental and not in any kind of active use just yet. If any of them get ready for showtime, then the days of the massive rocket on a launchpad may be numbered. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
