Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid

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Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid

The Madrid observatory (Spanish: Observatorio Astronómico de Madrid ) is one of the most historically important observatories in Spain. Its founder was King Charles IV. The classicist building by Juan de Villanueva from 1790 is crowned by an antique round temple . It is located in the center of the capital - on a hill in Retiro Park , but has long been unsuitable for observation. Its astronomical coordinates are 40 ° 24 '30 "north and 0h 14m 45.1s west of Greenwich. The observatory was still a network point for geodetic longitude determination in 1933, but was replaced by newer stations in later measurement campaigns .

Equatorial telescope from 1912

Today it houses a museum and a library. Important collections of precision clocks and instruments for various astronomical and meteorological measurements as well as a polished bronze mirror by Wilhelm Herschel are on display. In addition, a Foucault pendulum in the central gallery shows the daily rotation of the earth. The building houses the great Howard Grubb Equatorial Telescope from 1912. The library, one of the oldest and most extensive in the field of astronomy, deserves special attention.

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Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′ 39.6 "  N , 3 ° 40 ′ 40.8"  W.