Upon Sweet's retirement in 1982, the Department of Astronomy was merged into the Department of Natural Philosophy, and John Campbell Brown was appointed to a new Chair of Astrophysics while the Regius Chair remained vacant.
In 1982, following Sweet's retirement, the Department of Astronomy was combined with the Department of Natural Philosophy, and John Campbell Brown took on a new Chair in Astrophysics. The Regius Chair went unoccupied.