ABSTRACT

Daylight Time and standardization of time in general have long been the purview of the U.S. Naval Observatory. On December 6, 1830 SECNAV John Branch issued an order to LT Louis M. Goldsborough instructing him to establish a “Depot of Charts and Instruments” for the proper care, repair, and rating of all navigational instruments in the Navy’s inventory. Armed with a $330 annual budget and borrowed instruments, he began making timing observations to calibrate chronometers in 1831.

Over the course of the following 15 years the Depot gradually evolved into the U.S. Naval Observatory. Since 1845 it has grown, not only in the size of its staff and instruments, but in the scope of its mission and its stature as a scientific institution. Today the United States Naval Observatory is considered to be the world’s foremost authority on time-scales, celestial reference frames, and fundamental astrometry. This talk will discuss the history and issues about Daylight Time.

About the Speaker:

GEOFF CHESTER is the Public Affairs Officer for the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. As such he serves as the spokesperson for the Observatory and its complex mission, relating the institution’s work to the general public as well as government and military leaders. Prior to joining the Observatory in 1997 he worked for 19 years at the Smithsonian Institution's Albert Einstein Planetarium in positions that ranged from Special Effects Technician to Staff Astronomer. He holds a B.S. in Physics from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has written numerous articles for magazines such as “Astronomy”, “Sky & Telescope”, and “Star Date”, and has served as a consultant for Time-Life Books, the National Geographic Society, Addison-Wesley Publishers, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Geoff is an active member of the Northern Virginia Astronomy Club, one of the largest amateur astronomy associations in the country, the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, the Historical Astronomy Division of the AAS, and the International Dark-Sky Association.