Going to the edge of the pit, I found it occupied by a group of about half a dozen men--Henderson, Ogilvy, and a tall, fair-haired man that I afterwards learned was Stent, the
Astronomer Royal, with several workmen wielding spades and pickaxes.
The
Astronomer Royal has fixed the Greenwich time at twelve past six.
Pa was, at first, in the stirred depths of his conscience, so far from sure of being safe yet, that he made out majestic matrons lurking in ambush among the harmless trees of Greenwich Park, and seemed to see a stately countenance tied up in a well-known pocket- handkerchief glooming down at him from a window of the Observatory, where the Familiars of the
Astronomer Royal nightly outwatch the winking stars.
Speakers will include Scotland's
Astronomer Royal and the chief executive of a Scottish satellite company - and there will be a call for a radical new approach to speed up space exploration.
The eminent astronomer is a professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge and
Astronomer Royal for the U.K.
There was also a reading by
Astronomer Royal Martin Reese and eulogies by one of Hawking's children and a former student.
It appeared in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions as part of an investigation by England's
Astronomer Royal, Nevil Maskelyne, titled "An Account of an Appearance of Light, like a Star, Seen in the dark Part of the Moon, on Friday the 7th of March, 1794." Here Maskelyne writes that soon after he learned about Wilkins, his own relation Sir George Booth and his wife paid him a visit at the Royal Observatory grounds in Greenwich.
Backers include
Astronomer Royal Martin Rees, Queen guitarist Dr Brian May, biologist Richard Dawkins and British astronaut Helen Sharman.
Other big name scientists, including the
Astronomer Royal, Lord Rees, are also involved in the endeavour which dwarfs previous underfunded and piece-meal attempts to eavesdrop on alien civilisations.
Britain's "Beagle 2″ spacecraft, once dubbed "a heroic failure" by the nation's
Astronomer Royal, was re-branded "a great success" on Friday for being found on Mars 11 years after going missing.
Cameron will be awarded the prize, consisting of a certificate and monetary award, on Saturday, December 13 in London at an event attended by Sir Martin Rees, the
Astronomer Royal.