Trivandrum Observatory

{{Short description|Observatory in India}}

{{coord|8.508497|N|76.958318|E|display=title}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

{{Use Indian English|date=December 2019}}

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The Trivandrum Observatory or Thiruvananthapuram Astronomical Observatory is a scientific and astronomical observation station that was established by the Raja of Travancore Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma in 1836–37.{{Cite journal |last=Jayakrishnan |first=R. |date=May 2023 |title=Rejuvenation of an ancient observatory in southern India |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-01956-4 |journal=Nature Astronomy |language=en |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=506–508 |doi=10.1038/s41550-023-01956-4 |issn=2397-3366}} Dr. Raja Rama Varma Rohani Thirunal was an established astronomer and member of the British and Canadian Astronomical Societies and a cousin of Raja Swathi Thirunal. He was also the Raja of Mavelikara Palace, a branch of the Travancore Royal family. The Raja wrote to the British Resident, Colonel James Stuart Fraser, an amateur scientist proposing the establishment of an astronomical observatory. This led to John Caldecott who earlier ran a small personal observatory at Alappuzha being appointed as the royal astronomer.{{Cite web |last=Nair |first=Aparna |date=2024-04-23 |title=Raja of ragas: Swathi Thirunal's legacy reverberates |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2024/Apr/23/raja-of-ragas-swathi-thirunals-legacy-reverberates |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}} The observatory was located on the highest point in the city and opposite the palace and was considered important as the magnetic equator at that time passed through Thiruvananthapuram. The observatory was designed by Lieutenant W. H. Horsley of the Madras Engineers.{{cite journal| title=Description of an observatory lately established at Trevandrum, by his Highness the Rajah of Travancore| author=Caldecott, John|pages=56–60|journal=Madras Journal of Literature and Science| volume=6| year=1837|url= https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/46507274}} The British resident William Cullen initially considered the observatory as a bad use of money but the Raja and Caldecott were united in support of it.{{cite journal|doi=10.1017/S0007087416000340|title=Travancore's magnetic crusade: Geomagnetism and the geography of scientific production in a princely state|journal=The British Journal for the History of Science| volume=49|issue=3|pages=325|year=2016|last1=Ratcliff|first1=Jessica}}

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Caldecott also began taking meteorological measurements from July 1837 and expanded to another building in 1842 that housed a Dollond equatorial circle. A Travancore Almanac was published in 1838. Caldecott travelled to Europe in 1839 to obtain additional instruments and during this period the observatory was headed by Reverend Sperschneider. Caldecott died in 1849 and from January 1852 it was headed by John Allan Broun.{{cite journal|doi=10.1038/012163a0|title=Observations of Magnetic Declination made at Trevandrum and Agustia Malley in the Observatories of his Highness the Maharajah of Travancore, G.C.S.I., in the Years 1852 to 1869| journal=Nature|volume=12|issue=296|pages=163|year=1875|last1=Stewart|first1=B|bibcode=1875Natur..12..163S|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1429217/files/article.pdf}} Broun was also interested in altitudinal variation in the magnetic field and he had a second station established on the peak of Agasthyamalai ("Agastier Malley" or "Agustia Malley").{{Cite journal |last=Jayakrishnan |first=R. |date=2023 |title=History of an observatory on the Agasthiyar hill top |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s43539-023-00070-8 |journal=Indian Journal of History of Science |language=en |volume=58 |issue=1 |pages=40–47 |doi=10.1007/s43539-023-00070-8 |issn=0019-5235}} Broun and his assistants including J. Kochukunju (Cochoocoonjoo) and E. Kochiravi (Cocheravey) Pillai and several "computers" helped publish the Thiruvananthapuram Magnetic Observations in 1874.

The original observatory was demolished for constructing a water tank and a new observatory was built nearby. The new observatory has a telescope mounted above it and is open to visitors.{{Cite journal |last=Jayakrishnan |first=R. |date=2023-05-19 |title=Rejuvenation of an ancient observatory in southern India |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-023-01956-4 |journal=Nature Astronomy |language=en |volume=7 |issue=5 |pages=506–508 |doi=10.1038/s41550-023-01956-4 |issn=2397-3366}}