Schiehallion, ‘Weighing’ the World and Contour Lines 

ianbhs

Our next meeting takes place in Breadalbane Community Campus at 7.30pm on Friday 19th November.  The speaker will be Dr Liz Auty, East Schiehallion Property Manager for the John Muir Trust,  on the subject:  “Schiehallion:  The attraction of mountains, ‘weighing the world’ and contour lines”.  Doors open at 7pm and the talk will start at 7.30pm.  

Dr Liz Auty will discuss Maskelyne’s 1774 expedition to Schiehallion, the people, the experiment and the mountain and her work as property manager for the John Muir Trust.

Schiehallion from the Braes of Foss

The Schiehallion experiment was set up to determine the mass and mean density of the Earth. The experiment involved measuring the tiny deflection of a pendulum due to the gravitational attraction of a nearby mountain. Schiehallion was considered the ideal location after a search for candidate mountains, thanks to its isolation and almost symmetrical shape.

Maskelyne’s south observatory site on the side of Schiehallion

The Campus management have provided guidance regarding the Covid-related procedures that will have to be followed on the night:

  • Face coverings must be worn when moving around within the building but can be removed once seated;
  • Hand sanitiser should be used on entering and leaving the building and when moving to a different location;
  • The Hall will be as well ventilated as possible ;
  • Unfortunately we will not be able to serve any refreshments.  ;
  • We are required to keep a register of all attendees as we will be responsible for any contact tracing in the event of a positive case.  (Lesley Whitwood is the BHS Covid Officer).