Poetry inspired by space and the Royal Observatory

Space – Royal Observatory Greenwich Poetry Book is a beautiful poetry anthology celebrating the 350th anniversary of Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Numerous poets were inspired by the history and work of the Observatory to put pen to paper and muse on subjects as wide ranging as the light of stars, the craters of the Moon, ‘seagulls’ in space and the discovery of Halley’s comet.

In addition to new commissions, classic poems from the likes of William Blake, W.B. Yeats and William Wordsworth show how our preoccupation with the stars and sky has endured for centuries.

Here, for all to enjoy, are some of our favourite poems from the book.

Winter sunlight in Greenwich Park, with the buildings of the Royal Observatory visible on the hill

The Old Royal Observatory, Greenwich

By Roger Stevens

You need time to see

All there is to see

At the Old Royal Observatory

In the octagonal room

The long pendulum of time

Swings slowly

And on a cool New Year’s Eve

You find yourself

Standing on the frost-flecked slopes

Of Observatory Hill

Watching for the second

Which every year escapes

But the new-fangled atomic clock

Loses only one second

Every billion years

And you find yourself wondering

How can we live

With such a gaping margin of error?

An illustration showing astronomers at work in the Octagon Room of the Royal Observatory. One is looking through a telescope pointed out of the high window on the right hand side

Diary Entry, Greenwich –
10 August 1675

By Matt Abbott

Tonight, my friends,

I sit beneath the stars.

And tomorrow,

and for as many as I can fathom.

I plot and chart this wondrous abyss

that leaves oceans as puddles.

Tonight, I observe

this compelling moon:

it takes residence

in my retinas.

Tonight, I begin the translation

of that which transcends existence.

I shall be sure to make myself comfy

on a voyage

that appears to be

infinite.

Photo of a spiral galaxy diagonal from our perspective, with a bright yellow core and blue arms

Photo by Guillermo Ferla on Unsplash

What Astronomers Know (or Think) in 2025

By Philip Waddell

They know that the universe is very cold

And, nearly, they think, fourteen billion years old.

They think a Big Bang was space’s derivation

And space is expanding through cosmic inflation.

They think that dark energy makes space expand

And think that dark matter they will understand.

And galaxies may, they think, number in trillions

With stars and with planets that number in billions.

Some think that, in time, we’ll find we’re not alone

So, SETI is seeking to solve this unknown.

Celestial ideas are picking up pace

But, still, there’s so much to deduce about space

And more will be known but I’m sure there will be

Questions unanswered for all eternity.

Historic photo of woman standing in front of Shephard Clock in front of observatory wall, with Flamsteed House in the background

The Lady Computers

(1890–1895)

By Lucy Coats

That’s what their bosses called them,

those fresh-faced mathematicians

with galaxies in their gaze;

Edith and Isabella,

Harriet and young Alice,

spinning webs of figures round

stars, with the delicate touch

of celestial watchmakers

trapping slow, refracted time.

Files now lost in some black hole,

these astrographic pioneers,

these foragers of vital facts,

are long-forgotten relics

of days when women’s work just

didn’t matter quite enough.

I have used some of Isabella Clemes’ own words in this poem,

taken from her 1891 article in The Churchman.

The Great Equatorial Telescope dome of the Royal Observatory Greenwich, lit up at night with a full moon in the sky above

What If There Were No Moon?

By Rebecca Elson

There would be no months

A still sea

No spring tides

No bright nights

Occultations of the stars

No face

No moon songs

Terror of eclipse

No place to stand

And watch the Earth rise.

Space: Royal Observatory Greenwich Poetry Book

A stellar collection of poems about space celebrating the 350th anniversary of Royal Observatory Greenwich.

The perfect gift for stargazers young and old, this beautiful poetry collection is illustrated with photographs from the Royal Observatory Greenwich collection.

Buy now

Selected poems from Space: Royal Observatory Greenwich Poetry Book, chosen by Gaby Morgan. Published by Macmillan in association with Royal Museums Greenwich, 2025.

‘The Old Royal Observatory, Greenwich’, Roger Stevens, reproduced with kind permission of the author; ‘Diary entry, Greenwich – 10th August 1675’ © Matt Abbott. Reproduced with kind permission of the author; ‘What Astronomers Know (Or Think) in 2025’ © Philip Waddell. Reproduced with kind permission of the author; ‘The Lady Computers’ © Lucy Coats, 2025. Reproduced with kind permission of the author; ‘What if There Were No Moon?’ from A Responsibility to Awe by Rebecca Elson (Carcanet, 2018) © Reproduced with permission from the publisher.

Header image by Graham Holtshausen on Unsplash