LONDON

Britain's Royal Greenwich Observatory (RGO) may – at least in spirit – be returning to the Thames-side site on which it was established more than 300 years ago, following the government's decision to close its current site in Cambridge and merge its research-related activities with those of the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh (see Nature 388, 105-106; 1997).

The observatory's present managers are drawing up a business plan under which the RGO's expertise in telescope design and technical support would be retained in a single non-profit organization. This would remain at Cambridge, and offer a telescope design consultancy service with Liverpool John Moores University, which provides telescope-manufacturing facilities.

The two institutions are already involved in designing and manufacturing a 2-metre telescope for India, and are keen to extend their collaboration on a commercial scale.

At the same time, the National Maritime Museum, which runs the museum on the site of the original observatory in Greenwich in southeast London, is keen to use the name to boost its highly regarded public education programme in the history of astronomy. The old observatory receives 400,000 visitors a year, and many astronomy enquiries from members of the public, who still think that Greenwich houses an active observatory.

Paul Murdin, head of astronomy at the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and a member of the board of trustees of the maritime museum, says the two proposals could be linked under a single umbrella, with the RGO's scientific and technical expertise remaining in Cambridge, and the expanded public education activities run from Greenwich.

Jasper Wall, the RGO's director, says he is not against such an idea, but would want to ensure that a prominent link with the maritime museum does not overshadow the RGO's research. “The RGO is not a museum, and has never been one,” he says.

One project being considered by the maritime museum is the building of a 2-metre telescope in Hawaii. This could be used via satellite by computer terminals in schools in the United Kingdom, or in the Greenwich museum. The 12-hour time difference would mean that the Hawaiian night sky could be seen in daylight hours in Britain.

PPARC is at present responsible for managing both royal observatories. Ken Pounds, professor of astronomy at the University of Leicester and PPARC's chief executive, says that a decision will be made next year.