Time Ball
What time does the time-ball drop at Greenwich?
In 1833 a red "Time Ball" was installed on the roof
of the Royal Observatory Greenwich
At Greenwich the bright orange time-ball on the observatory
roof drops at 1pm every day. It has done this every day since 1833.
1pm was originally chosen to enable the astronomers to undertake telescopic observations
at noon. The tradition is maintained today for the benefit of tourists. NB In summer it drops at 13:00 (1pm) BST or
12:00 (Noon) GMT.
In Washington DC, USA the time-ball was installed in 1845 and
dropped every day at noon. It was discontinued and has been reinstated
for the millennium.
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