Great observations

Kielder observatory is situated on Black Fell, just outside Kielder village Photograph: Charles Barclay

There were more than 200 entries in the competition to design Kielder observatory. The winners were Charles Barclay Architects Photograph: Charles Barclay

The UK's most famous observatory is in Greenwich. Commissioned in 1675 by Charles II, the facility was designed by Sir Christopher Wren with Robert Hooke Photograph: Jeremy Horner

Built from stone in the 1720s, Jaipur observatory in India boasts 14 major devices and is used, among other things, to announce the beginning of the monsoon season Photograph: Travel Ink

The huge radio telescope dishes of the Very Large Array (VLA), situated on the plains of San Agustin 50 miles west of Socorro, New Mexico Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer

WM Keck observatory in Hawaii. The twin domes of this station sit atop a volcano Photograph: Roger Ressmeyer

Parkes observatory in Australia. The telescope, affectionately known as 'The Dish', is one of the largest radio telescopes in the southern hemisphere, and was used by NASA during the Apollo moon missions Photograph: Ian Waldie/Getty