Allgäu public observatory Ottobeuren
The Allgäuer Volkssternwarte Ottobeuren eV (AVSO) is the oldest and largest observatory in Central Swabia and the Allgäu in the south .
The observatory is located around one kilometer southwest of Ottobeuren . The observatory association was founded in 1966. In 1969 the original observatory building was put into operation. In 1973, the observatory was awarded the Nicolaus Copernicus Medal for its collaboration with the German Youth Hostel Association as a nature study site.
Extensions
In 1987 and 1988 the observatory was expanded considerably due to the large increase in visitor numbers. There was also a large lecture room and a new domed building with a 30 cm telescope. In 1996 the observatory received a 60 cm reflector telescope which, due to its size, is not mounted equatorially but azimuthally . In 2003, the co-founder of the Heinrich Forth observatory was awarded the Richard Schirrmann Medal of the German Youth Hostel Association. Today the observatory has an average of between 3500 and 4000 visitors per year and offers an extensive program of lectures for all age groups. With the groundbreaking on September 24, 2016, the observatory building was further expanded and renovated. Another building was built to the north, which is provided with an observation platform. In addition, a foyer with toilets and a technical room was added to the existing building. With a 2-year construction period, the usable area of the observatory was doubled.
Instruments
The Volkssternwarte Ottobeuren has a 60 cm reflector telescope on an azimuthal mount, which is used as the main instrument.
Technical specifications:
- 60 cm Cassegrain telescope with Nasmyth focus
- azimuthal fork mount - integrated computer control and a derotator for astrophotography.
- Focal length f = 7200 mm, focal ratio 1:12
- Optics from Carl Zeiss Jena
- 15 cm refractor from Lichtenknecker Optics, focal length 1500 mm - a 0.5A H-alpha solar filter from DayStar for solar observation
- Coronado Solarmax 90 II BF 30 - H-alpha solar telescope
In 2007 the telescope was completely modernized and brought up to date with the latest technology. Today it is possible to operate rotation-free astrophotography despite the azimuthal mount.
Second instrument (photographic) in the dome building:
- 406 mm Schmidt-Cassegrain system ( Meade LX-200)
- Focal length 4064 mm - 5 ″ starfire refractor (focal length 1030 mm)
- Alt-7-AD mount with computer control (German mount)
- Autoguider MGEN II from Lacerta
Various devices such as a 16 "Lightbridge Dobsonian and 20x100 binoculars are also available to the club.
Lecture room
In addition to the observation instruments, a fully equipped lecture room is available. It is possible there to project celestial events onto the screen via video transmission.
public relation
The observatory is open to the public every Friday from 7.30 p.m. An irregularly appearing club magazine "Astro-Amateur" is the club's print medium. For large groups, extra special tours can be arranged at the office.
Web links
Coordinates: 47 ° 55 ′ 43.8 ″ N , 10 ° 17 ′ 13.5 ″ E