EXPO observatory Melle
Coordinates: 52 ° 15 ′ 45 ″ N , 8 ° 20 ′ 12 ″ E
On the occasion of the Expo 2000 a second public observatory was built in Melle -Oberholsten . Due to the rural location in Lower Saxony's Wiehen Mountains and the associated low light pollution , the location offers very good observation conditions. The building is 190 m above sea level . The initiative for this goes back to a group of amateur astronomers , the “Astronomical Society Bochum / Melle”, which also took over the planning, construction and construction of the telescope with sponsors from the Melle area. Construction of the domed building began in 1996. The mount and the main mirror were placed in the dome in March 2000. The observatory was opened on June 3, 2000. Since then, public tours have been offered regularly.
The observatory's Newtonian telescope has a primary mirror 1.12 m in diameter and a focal length of 4.4 m. This makes it the world's largest Newtonian telescope that is used for public observations. The computer-controlled fork mount is located 10 m above the ground.