Naval Observatory Pola
The marine observatory Pola was founded by Austria-Hungary in the early 19th century ; soon a weather station was also connected. In contrast to other marine observatories , it had a clear focus on astronomy.
The astronomical coordinates of the observatory were determined around 1900 too
- 44 ° 51 '48.6 "(north, ¹)
- 0h 55m 23.07s (east of Greenwich; longitude approx. 13 ° 50 ').
Istria and its largest city, Pola (now Pula), became part of Austria-Hungary after the end of the Republic of Venice in 1797 , and the monarchy's naval port was established here . In addition to the ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy , parts of the German Navy were stationed here later and until 1918 . After the end of the First World War , the Austro-Hungarian navy and the observatory were handed over to the newly founded Yugoslavia on October 31, 1918 .
The observatory was equipped with meridian instruments , a clock system, a few refractors and associated auxiliary equipment and had, among other things, the task of keeping an accurate time service and weather observations. Organizationally, the naval observatory was linked to the Office for Hydrography .
Its most famous scientist was the Moravian naval officer Johann Palisa (1848–1925), who discovered the first 29 of his 123 asteroids here from 1874 to 1880 . In 1880 he went to the Vienna University Observatory as an observer , where he continued his work, organized systematic orbit determinations in the solar system and published the Palisa-Wolf-Sky Atlas .
Most of the observatory building was destroyed in World War II. Only a domed building still exists today, it is run as a museum by Croatia .
See also:
¹) Source: Heidelberger Astronomisches Jahrbuch
Coordinates: 44 ° 51 ′ 56 " N , 13 ° 50 ′ 46.5" E