This photograph shows the City Observatory at the top of Calton Hill, Edinburgh, Scotland - the home of our Astronomical Society of Edinburgh. The picture was taken from the top of the Nelson Monument, which stands nearby.

Various monuments can be seen which are either contained by or form part of the walls of this complex (a guide to the observatory's history can be found on the ASE's website). The oldest building is Observatory House which dates back to 1776 and can be seen at the left of the picture. It is one of the few surviving buildings designed by James Craig (1744-1795), planner of Edinburgh's New Town. In the centre of the precinct is the City Observatory itself, built in the classical style in 1818 by William Playfair. The dome of this building houses the Society's 6 inch Cooke Refractor. At the right of the picture is the green City Dome, where meetings of the ASE are held on the first Friday of every month. Finally, at the bottom right of the picture is the Playfair Monument designed by William Playfair in 1825-26 and dedicated to his uncle, the mathematician Prof. John Playfair.