 Observatory and botanical garden in Strasbourg | |
| Alternative names | OAS |
|---|---|
| Organization | University of Strasbourg |
| Observatory code | 522 |
| Location | Strasbourg, France |
| Coordinates | 48°35′0″N7°46′5″E / 48.58333°N 7.76806°E |
| Altitude | 142 m |
| Established | 1881 |
| Website | astro.u-strasbg.fr |
  Observatory of Strasbourg Location in Strasbourg | |
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The Observatory of Strasbourg is an astronomical observatory in Strasbourg, France.
This observatory is actually Strasbourg's third observatory: the first was built in 1673 on one of the city's surrounding towers (the astronomer Julius Reichelt notably played a role in its establishment), and the second in 1828 on the roof of the buildings of the Academy. [1]
Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871, the city of Strasbourg became part of the German Empire. The University of Strasbourg was refounded in 1872, and a new observatory began construction in 1875, in the Neustadt district. The main instrument was a 50 cm Repsold refractor, which saw first light in 1880 (see Great refractor). At the time this was the largest instrument in the German Empire. In 1881, the ninth General Assembly of the Astronomische Gesellschaft met in Strasbourg to mark the official inauguration. [2] [3]
The observatory site was selected primarily for instruction purposes and political symbolism, rather than the observational qualities. It was a low-lying site that was prone to mists. During the period up until 1914, the staff was too small to work the instruments and so there was little academic research published prior to World War I. The main observations were of comets and variable stars. After 1909, the instruments were also used to observe binary stars and perform photometry of nebulae. [4]
The observatory is currently the home for the Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg, a database for the collection and distribution of astronomical information. This includes SIMBAD, a reference database for astronomical objects, VizieR, an astronomical catalogue service and Aladin, an interactive sky atlas. The modern extension of the building used to house the Planétarium de Strasbourg until 2023, and the opening of a larger and more modern planetarium in the vicinity. The observatory is surrounded by the Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg. In the vaulted basement below the observatory, a university-administered museum is located. Called Crypte aux étoiles ("star crypt"), it displays old telescopes and other antique astronomical devices such as clocks and theodolites.
André-Louis Danjon was a French astronomer who served as director of the Observatory of Strasbourg from 1930 to 1945 and of the Paris Observatory from 1945 to 1963. He developed several astronomical instruments to examine the regularity of the rotation of the earth and among his discoveries was an acceleration of the rotation of the Earth during periods of intense solar activity occurring in 11-year cycles correlated with an increase in earthquakes. The Danjon scale is used for measuring the intensity of lunar eclipses. He noted an increase in the number of dark lunar eclipses with solar activity which is termed as the Danjon effect.
Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf was a German astronomer and a pioneer in the field of astrophotography. He was the chairman of astronomy at the University of Heidelberg and director of the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory from 1902 until his death in 1932.
Alfred Schmitt was a French astronomer. Schmitt worked at Algiers Observatory in the 1930s and 1940s and at the Royal Observatory in Uccle, Belgium in the 1950s. From 1955 to 1958 he was also director of the Quito Observatory in Ecuador. He extensively studied minor planets and comets and is credited with having discovered four asteroids.
The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, officially named the Central Astronomical Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences at Pulkovo, is the principal astronomical observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It is located 19 km south of Saint Petersburg on Pulkovo Heights 75 metres (246 ft) above sea level. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. It was formerly known as the Imperial Observatory at Pulkowo.
Armagh Observatory is an astronomical research institute in Armagh, Northern Ireland. Around 25 astronomers are based at the observatory, studying stellar astrophysics, the Sun, Solar System astronomy and Earth's climate.
Marseille Observatory is an astronomical observatory located in Marseille, France, with a history that goes back to the early 18th century. In its 1877 incarnation, it was the discovery site of a group of galaxies known as Stephan's Quintet, discovered by its director Édouard Stephan. Marseille Observatory is now run as a joint research unit by Aix-Marseille University and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
In astronomy, Durchmusterung or Bonner Durchmusterung (BD) is an astrometric star catalogue of the whole sky, published by the Bonn Observatory in Germany from 1859 to 1863, with an extension published in Bonn in 1886. The name comes from Durchmusterung, a German word used for a systematic survey of objects or data. The term has sometimes been used for other astronomical surveys, including not only stars, but also the search for other celestial objects. Special tasks include celestial scanning in electromagnetic wavelengths shorter or longer than visible light waves.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium has been situated in the Uccle municipality of Brussels since 1890.
The National Observatory of Athens is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest research foundation in Greece. The Observatory was the first scientific research institute built after Greece became independent in 1829, and one of the oldest research institutes in Southern Europe. It was built around the same period as the United States Naval Observatory.
The Archenhold Observatory was named in honour of Friedrich Simon Archenhold, is an observatory in Berlin-Treptow. It houses the Großer Refraktor, which is the longest pointable telescope in the world. It is also called Die Himmelskanone.
The Astronomische Gesellschaft is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society.
The Carinthian Astronomical Association Is the second great astronomical association in Austria. The CAA owns two observatories and one planetarium. One observatory is located near Klagenfurt, on the Kreuzbergl, the other on the Gerlitze, near Villach. The planetarium is situated a Klagenfurt near Minimundus.
The Mannheim Observatory was a tower observatory built between 1772 and 1774 in Mannheim, Germany, which remained in operation until 1880. The observatory was transferred to Karlsruhe and finally in 1898, was established on the Königstuhl near Heidelberg where today's successor institution the State Observatory Heidelberg-Königstuhl is located.
Observatory Robert A. Naef is an astronomical observatory located at Épendes, Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland at 7.13938 degrees east of Greenwich and 46.76236 degrees north latitude. Its parallax constants are : ρ sin φ' = 0.68632 and ρ cos φ' = +0.72501.
The Kuffner observatory is one of two telescope-equipped public astronomical observatories situated in Austria's capital, Vienna. It is situated in the West of the city's Ottakring district, on the slope of the Gallitzinberg at 302 m altitude. Originally a private research institution, it was converted into an educational astronomy facility after World War II as buildings and city lights had encroached to a degree that severely hampered scientific nightsky observations. Today the main tasks of the observatory consist in public education on astronomy, operating and preserving the historical equipment, and minor projects in scientific astronomy.
Østervold Observatory is a former astronomical observatory in Copenhagen, Denmark owned and operated by the University of Copenhagen. It opened in 1861 as a replacement for the university's old observatory at Rundetårn.
Julius Bauschinger was a German astronomer.
Carlos Jaschek was a German-born Argentine astrophysicist who spent time in the United States, lived in Switzerland, settled in France, became a French citizen and worked to make astronomical data accessible to all nations. As the second Director of a new center in Strasbourg, France, designed to be a computerized repository for data about the stars, he was part of its early team who were determined, clearsighted decision-makers when its resources were limited.
The Observatory of the rue Serpente was an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Société Astronomique de France in the historic Latin Quarter of Paris. It operated between 1890 until 1968, when it was transferred to a new location at the nearby Astronomy Tower of the Sorbonne.
Arago telescope is a 38 cm aperture refracting telescope at Paris Observatory, installed in 1857. Francois Arago ordered this telescope from the telescope making firm Lebreours in 1839, and after a protracted development was completed by 1855. The name Lunette Arago is a modern name for the telescope, and other large refractor of Paris observatory, is the one at Meudon. It has gone by a variety of names having to do with various aspects of the telescope, such as its aperture, or location on the East tower of the Paris observatory, or its equatorial mount made by Brunner. In one journal report it was called the 'east equatorial' for example, in another instance '38 cm refractor'. In French language it has been called the La lunette équatoriale de 38 cm de l'Observatoire de Paris.
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