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Magnetic observatories have been running in India for more than 180 years. Three of the oldest observatories, namely Madras Observatory (1822–1881), Shimla Observatory (1841–1845), and Trivandrum Observatory (1841–1871) participated in the international collaboration venture involving simultaneous magnetic measurements at 50 observatories all over the globe organized by the Göttingen Magnetic Union 1836–1841. The Colaba Observatory (Geographic latitude 18°53′36″ N; longitude 72°48′54″ E) was started in 1823 by the East India Company. Initially it was undertaking mainly meteorological observations to support the function of the Bombay Harbor. The first regular magnetic field observations from Colaba were started in the year 1841. In view of the proposed introduction of electric trams running on direct current in Bombay city in the year 1900, the then Director Dr. Nanabhai A.F. Moos could envisage its deleterious effect on the accuracy of magnetic measurements at Colaba Observatory. He...

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© 2007 Springer-Verlag

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Lakhina, G., Alex, S. (2007). Observatories in India. In: Gubbins, D., Herrero-Bervera, E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4423-6_238

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