Editing Time ball

{{Short description|Time-signalling device}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2018}}
[[File:Royal_observatory_greenwich.jpg|thumb|right|240px|[[Royal Observatory, Greenwich]], London. Installed in 1833, a time ball sits atop the Octagon Room]]

A '''time ball''' or '''timeball''' is a time-signalling device. It consists of a large, painted wooden or metal ball that is dropped at a predetermined time, principally to enable navigators aboard ships offshore to verify the setting of their [[marine chronometer]]s. Accurate timekeeping is essential to the determination of [[longitude]] at sea.<ref name=nyseaport />

Although time balls have since been replaced by electronic [[time signal]]s, some time balls have remained operational as historical [[tourist attraction]]s.

==History==
The fall of a ball was in antiquity a way to show to people the time. Ancient Greek clocks had this system in the main square of a city, as in the city of [[Gaza City|Gaza]] in the post-Alexander era, and as described by [[Procopius]] in his book on Edifices.
Time ball stations set their clocks according to transit observations of the positions of the sun and stars. Originally they either had to be stationed at the [[observatory]], or had to keep a very accurate clock at the station which was set manually to observatory time. Following the introduction of the electric [[Telegraphy|telegraph]] around 1850, time balls could be located at a distance from their source of [[Local mean time|mean time]] and operated remotely.<ref name=nyseaport />

[[File:Boston Time-Ball.jpg|thumb|left|275px|The Boston Time Ball (1881)]]

The first modern time ball was erected at [[Portsmouth]], England, in 1829 by its inventor [[Robert Wauchope (Royal Navy officer)|Robert Wauchope]], a captain in the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name=AUB>{{Cite book |last=Aubin |first=David |title=The Heavens on Earth: Observatories and Astronomy in Nineteenth-Century Science and Culture |publisher=Duke University Press |year=2010 |location=Durham, N.C. |page=164 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9EKzLQL3RQEC&q=Robert+Wauchope+time+ball&pg=PA164 |isbn=978-0-8223-4640-1}}</ref> Others followed in the major ports of the United Kingdom (including [[Liverpool]]) and around the maritime world.<ref name=AUB/> One was installed in 1833 at the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Greenwich Observatory]] in London by the [[Astronomer Royal]], [[John Pond]], originally to enable tall ships in the Thames to set their marine chronometers,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory/attractions/greenwich-time-ball|title=Greenwich Time Ball|publisher=Royal Museums Greenwich}}</ref><ref name=nyseaport /> and the time ball has dropped at 1 p.m. every day since then.<ref name=greenwich>{{cite web |url=https://greenwichmeantime.com/articles/history/timeball/|title=Time ball |date=2019 |website=Greenwich2000 |publisher=Greenwich Mean Time|access-date=12 December 2019}}</ref> Wauchope submitted his scheme to American and French ambassadors when they visited England.<ref name=AUB/> The [[United States Naval Observatory]] was established in Washington, D.C., and the first American time ball went into service in 1845.<ref name=AUB/>

Time balls were usually dropped at 1 p.m. (although in the United States they were dropped at noon). They were raised half way about 5 minutes earlier to alert the ships, then with 2–3 minutes to go they were raised the whole way. The time was recorded when the ball began descending, not when it reached the bottom.<ref name=greenwich />
With the commencement of [[Time signal|radio time signals]] (in Britain from 1924), time balls gradually became obsolete and many were demolished in the 1920s.<ref name="Gdańsk">{{cite web |url=http://latarnia.gda.pl/en/index.php?go=kula,czasu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120213162503/http://latarnia.gda.pl/en/index.php?go=kula,czasu |archive-date=13 February 2012 |title=The Gdańsk Nowy Port Lighthouse and Time Ball |accessdate=4 January 2009}}</ref>

A contemporary version of the concept has been used since 31 December 1907 at [[New York City]]'s [[Times Square]] as part of its [[New Year's Eve]] celebrations; at 11:59&nbsp;p.m., a [[Times Square Ball|lit ball]] descends from a pole on the roof of [[One Times Square]] over the course of 60 seconds, reaching its conclusion at 12:00&nbsp;a.m. The spectacle—which has given rise to many [[List_of_objects_dropped_on_New_Year's_Eve|similar events]]—was inspired by an organizer having seen the time ball on the [[Western Union Telegraph Building|Western Union Building]] in operation.<ref>{{cite news|first=Robert D. |last=McFadden |title='88 Countdown: 3, 2, 1, Leap Second, 0 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1DC1139F93AA15751C1A961948260 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=31 December 1987 |accessdate=2 January 2009 }}</ref><ref name="Green">{{cite news
|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/31/new.year.us/?iref=mpstoryview
|title=NYC ball drop goes 'green' on 100th anniversary
|publisher=CNN
|date=31 December 2007
|accessdate=2007-12-31}}</ref>

==Around the world==
Over sixty time balls remain standing, though many are no longer operational.  Existing time balls include:

===Australia===
[[File:Sydney Observatory with time ball.jpg|thumb|[[Sydney Observatory]] with time ball]]

* [[The Old Windmill, Brisbane]], Queensland
* [[Fremantle, Western Australia]]
* [[Sydney Observatory]], New South Wales
* [[Newcastle Customs House]], New South Wales
* [[Semaphore, South Australia|Semaphore]], [[South Australia]]
* [[Williamstown Lighthouse]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]
* Geelong Telegraph Station, [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]]

===Canada===
* [[Citadelle of Quebec]], [[Quebec City]] no longer true.
Clearly seen from the river and aligned on the meridian for observation purposes, Building 20, also known as the Ball House, is the former observatory and time ball tower. 

===New Zealand===
[[Image:Timeball station.jpg|thumb|right|The time ball at [[Lyttelton, New Zealand|Port Lyttelton]], New Zealand, started signalling [[Greenwich Mean Time]] to ships in the harbour beginning in 1876. The [[Lyttelton Timeball Station]] was destroyed by an earthquake in 2011 but was rebuilt and reopened in 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2756733-lyttelton_timeball_station_christchurch-i?action=describe |title=Lyttelton Timeball Station, Christchurch |publisher=Yahoo! Travel |access-date=27 May 2007 |archive-date=10 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310000827/http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2756733-lyttelton_timeball_station_christchurch-i?action=describe |url-status=dead }}</ref> ]]

In March 1864 New Zealand's first time ball was established at Wellington. This was followed by Port Chalmers in June 1867, Wanganui in October 1874, Lyttelton in December 1876 and Timaru in 1888. Attempts were made by some people in Auckland to establish time balls there from 1864 onwards, but these were not recognized by the authorities until a permanent time ball was mounted on the [[Auckland Ferry Terminal|Ferry Building]] in August 1901.

* Port Chalmers
:Established by the Otago Provincial Council on top of [[Observation Point]] in [[Port Chalmers]] in June 1867 the [[Port Chalmers time ball |time ball]] service initially operated at 1 pm on all days of the week except Sundays. The service was discontinued in October 1877, but following concerns raised by 11 shipmasters the service resumed in April 1882 as a weekly service. In 1910 the time keeping service was discontinued but the ball however continued to be used until 1931 as a warning device. It was removed in 1970 but a replacement was restored to service in 2020.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last= Kinns |first= Roger |date= 2017 |title= The Principal Time Balls of New Zealand |journal= Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage |volume= 20 |issue= 1 |pages= 69–94|doi= 10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2017.01.05 |bibcode= 2017JAHH...20...69K |s2cid= 209901718 }}</ref> 

* Lyttelton
:Established in December 1876 the [[Lyttelton Timeball Station]] in [[Lyttelton, New Zealand]], was operational until it was damaged in the [[2010 Canterbury earthquake]]. Further severe damage occurred in the February [[2011 Christchurch earthquake]],<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12578016 | work=BBC News | title=New Zealand quake: The epicentre town | date=25 February 2011}}</ref> and a decision was made in March 2011 to dismantle the building, a danger to the public,<ref name=dismantle>{{cite web|first=Charlie|last=Gates|title=Timeball Station to be demolished |publisher=[[stuff.co.nz]] |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/4731937/Timeball-Station-to-be-demolished|date=4 March 2010|accessdate=15 June 2011}}</ref> but the tower collapsed during the [[June 2011 Christchurch earthquake|major aftershock]] that hit the Lyttelton area on 13 June 2011.<ref name=tower_collapse>{{cite news|first=Marc|last=Greenhill|title=Workmen unscathed as Timeball Station collapses|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/5139273/Workmen-unscathed-as-Timeball-Station-collapsesc_id=1502981&objectid=10731994|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024150950/http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/5139273/Workmen-unscathed-as-Timeball-Station-collapsesc_id%3D1502981%26objectid%3D10731994|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 October 2012|accessdate=15 June 2011|publisher=stuff.co.nz|date=14 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>  In November 2012, a large financial donation <ref name="Donor fronts to save Lyttelton Timeball Station">{{cite web|last=Greenhill|first=Marc|title=Donor fronts to save Lyttelton Timeball Station|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/christchurch-earthquake/8005801/Donor-fronts-to-save-Lyttelton-Timeball-Station|work=Stuff|accessdate=2012-11-28|publisher=stuff.co.nz|date=28 November 2012}}</ref> was made available to contribute towards rebuilding the tower, a project the community considered. On 25 May 2013, it was announced that the tower and ball would be restored, and that funds were to be sought from the community to rebuild the rest of the station. The station was officially reopened on 2 November 2018.<ref name="Landmark Inc helps save Lyttelton Timeball with...">{{cite web|last=Lee|first=Francesca|title=Million dollar donation to rebuild Lyttelton Timeball|url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/hills-and-harbour/8717525/Million-dollar-donation-to-rebuild-Lyttelton-Timeball|work=Stuff|accessdate=2013-05-25|publisher=stuff.co.nz|date=25 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="Radio New Zealand : News : Christchurch Earthquake : $1m donation to rebuild timeball:">{{cite web|title=$1m donation to rebuild timeball|url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/canterbury-earthquake/136033/$1m-donation-to-rebuild-timeball|work=Radio New Zealand|accessdate=2013-05-25|publisher=radionz.co.nz|date=25 May 2013}}</ref>

* Wellington
:The Wellington time ball service started in March 1864.<ref name=":0"/> It received its time information from the [[Dominion Observatory, Wellington|Dominion Observatory]] which was also communicated to the Lyttelton time ball service.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Kinns|first=Roger|date=2017|title=The Time Light Signals of New Zealand: Yet Another Way of Communicating Time in the Pre-Wireless Area|journal=Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage |volume= 20 |issue=2|pages= 211–222|doi=10.3724/SP.J.1440-2807.2017.02.06 |s2cid=217198680 }}</ref> [[Dunedin]] used local observatory facilities.<ref name=":0" /> 

:Wellington had two time ball sites – the time ball was erected at the first site by mid-January 1864 on top of the Custom House building on the Wellington waterfront <ref>{{Cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18640114.2.15|title= Wellington (from our own correspondent)|date= 11 January 1864|work= Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |access-date= 20 December 2018}}</ref> and later relocated in 1888 to the J Shed Woolstore on top of the [[Hydraulic accumulator|accumulator tower]].<ref name=":0" /> This building and the time ball burnt down on 9 March 1909.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19090310.2.58|title= A Big Blaze |date= 10 March 1909|work=The Dominion|access-date= 19 December 2018}}</ref>
[[File:2012;2-5-6726; Shed J Accumulator Tower Showing Time Ball c. 1900.jpg|thumb|J Shed, Wellington Woolstore, showing the Time Ball at its second site {{Circa|1900}}]]
:Instead of replacing the Wellington time ball after the second site burnt down, time light signals were introduced at the [[Dominion Observatory, Wellington|Dominion Observatory]]. The earliest record of this was 22 February 1912.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM19120222.2.83|title=Ships and Shipping |date= 22 February 1912|work= New Zealand Times|access-date=2018-12-19}}</ref> They were in use until 1937 when wireless signals took over as the new way to keep time.<ref name=":1" />
[[File:Wellington Dominion Observatory by W F Tibbutt 1913.jpg|thumb|The Time Light arrangement at [[Dominion Observatory, Wellington|Dominion Observatory]] in Wellington {{Circa|1913}}]]

===Poland===
* [[Gdańsk]], Poland (The time ball was installed in 1876, moved to the Danzig (now Gdańsk) lighthouse in 1894, and removed in 1929. In 2008 it was reconstructed from original plans)<ref name="Gdańsk" />

===South Africa===
* [[Victoria & Alfred Waterfront]], [[Cape Town]]

===Spain===
* The [[Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada]] in [[San Fernando, Cádiz]] continues to activate its time ball every day at 13:00 ([[ROA Time]]). After better timekeeping at sea made it obsolete, it was disabled, but it was reactivated in the late 20th century.<ref name="AI">{{cite news |last1=Atienza |first1=Antonio |title=La bajada de la bola del Observatorio se escucha por martinete |url=https://andaluciainformacion.es/san-fernando/763972/la-bajada-de-la-bola-del-observatorio-se-escucha-por-martinete/ |accessdate=11 November 2020 |work=Andalucía Información |date=2018-06-30 |language=es}}</ref>
* The [[Royal House of the Post Office]] in [[Puerta del Sol]], [[Madrid]], operated a time ball for Madrid. Nowadays it is only used to mark the imminent start of the bell strikes that mark the New Year at midnight. The main Spanish TV networks broadcast the event, allowing spectators to eat the traditional [[Twelve Grapes]].

===United Kingdom===
* Timeball Tower, [[Deal Timeball|Deal, Kent]], England. Operates hourly and has recently been refurbished. 
* [[Margate]] Clock Tower, Kent, England
* [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich]], England
* [[Time Ball Buildings, Leeds]], England
* [[Guildhall, Kingston upon Hull]], England.  The only maritime timepiece on a municipal building. It dates back to 1918 and is the highest in the UK.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hull Guildhall's Time Ball set to rise and fall once again |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/localnews/2645425-Hull/0 |website=BBC News |publisher=BBC |accessdate=19 October 2018 |quote=The ball is one of just a few nationally and is the only maritime timepiece on a municipal building.  It dates back to 1918 and is the highest in the UK. |archive-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128042257/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/localnews/2645425-Hull/0 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Clock Tower, Brighton]], East Sussex, England. (originally operated hourly, but was later stopped as it was too noisy)<ref name="HG480947">{{cite web|title=Heritage Gateway Listed Buildings Online — Clock Tower and Attached Railings, North Street (north side), Brighton, Brighton and Hove, East Sussex|url=https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=1380624&resourceID=5|accessdate=2 June 2010|publisher=Heritage Gateway ([[English Heritage]], Institute of Historic Building Conservation and [[ALGAO|ALGAO:England]])|year=2006|work=Heritage Gateway website}}</ref>
* [[Nelson Monument, Edinburgh|Nelson's Monument]] on [[Calton Hill]], [[Edinburgh]], Scotland
* [[Flat Iron Building (Prescot)|Flat Iron Building]] in [[Prescot]], [[Merseyside]]. Added during restoration of the building, the timeball dates from the 1800s but is controlled by a newly-built mechanism.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rugg |first1=Aaliyah |title=Building 'people from across the world will visit' after revamp |url=https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/merseyside-building-people-across-world-27134604 |access-date=20 June 2023 |work=Liverpool Echo |date=18 June 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

===United States===
* [[United States Naval Observatory]], Washington D.C.
* [[Titanic Memorial (New York City)|Titanic Memorial]], [[New York City]]<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-titanic-memorial-in-new-york-cit/137185187/ 1913: Titanic Memorial Lighthouse Commemorates Victims of Ocean Tragedy"], ''[[Newsday]]'', August 24, 2005. Accessed December 21, 2023, via [[Newspapers.com]]. "From 1913 until 1967 a black 'time ball' at the top activated by a telegraphic signal from the National Observatory in Washington DC dropped at noon every day signaling the time to ships in the harbor."</ref><ref name=nyseaport>{{cite web |url=https://southstreetseaportmuseum.org/time-balls/ |title=Time Balls |location=New York |publisher=South Street Seaport Museum |first=Martina |last=Caruso |date=October 31, 2024 |access-date=2024-11-02}}</ref>
* [[Plymouth Light]], [[Gurnet Point]], [[Plymouth, Massachusetts]]

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" widths="200px" heights="225px">
File:Nelson Monument.jpg|[[Nelson Monument, Edinburgh|The Nelson Monument]], [[Edinburgh]], UK
File:US Naval Observatory (Washington, District of Columbia).jpg|[[United States Naval Observatory]], [[Washington, D.C.]], US
File:Deal Timeball Tower.jpg|[[Deal Timeball]], [[Deal, Kent|Deal]], UK
File:Nowy Port Gdansk-kula czasu latarnia.png|[[Gdańsk]], Poland
File:Time ball on Navigationsskolan Gbg.jpg|[[Gothenburg]], Sweden
File:Guildhall Timeball, Kingston upon Hull, Jun23.jpg|[[Guildhall, Kingston upon Hull|Guildhall]], [[Kingston upon Hull]], UK
File:Madrid - Puerta del Sol 01.JPG|[[Royal House of the Post Office]], Madrid, Spain
File:MARGATE CLOCK TOWER AND TIME BALL.jpg|Clock tower, Margate, Kent, UK
File:Brighton_Clock_Tower.jpg|[[Clock Tower, Brighton|Clock tower]], [[Brighton]], UK
File:Time-ball tower, Cape Town.jpg|Time ball, [[Cape Town]], South Africa
File:Fort_Gellibrand.jpg|Time ball, [[Williamstown Lighthouse]], [[Victoria (Australia)|Victoria]], Australia
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Blackhead Point]], in Hong Kong, where a time ball was operated from 1908 to 1933
* [[History of longitude]]
* [[Shepherd Gate Clock]]
* [[Time signal]]
* [[Weather ball]]
* [[Greenwich Mean Time]] (GMT)
* [[Times Square Ball]]
* [[List of objects dropped on New Year's Eve]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Time balls}}
*{{Cite book |contribution=List of Timeballs |title=Index to the House Documents, Otherwise Publ. as Executive Documents |publisher=U.S. Congress |year=1876–1877 |pages=305–308 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JJ8FAAAAQAAJ&q=%22time+ball%22&pg=PA305 }} List of time balls worldwide in 1876.
*[http://www.leuchtturm-welt.net/HTML/TIMEBPK/TIMEBALL.HTM Time ball/cannon hobbyist]
*[http://www.1oclockgun.org.uk/ Time ball and cannon Association]

[[Category:Navigational equipment]]
[[Category:Horology]]
[[Category:Time balls| ]]