Davidschlag observatory

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The Davidschlag observatory is an Upper Austrian private observatory that is also active in research . It is located about 30 km north of Linz in the municipality of Kirchschlag bei Linz and has the IAU code 540. The observatory was built in 1978 by two members of the Linz Astronomical Community , the amateur astronomers Erich Meyer and Erwin Obermair . The observation site at about 820 m above sea level shows hardly any light pollution despite its relative proximity to the state capital , which is partly due to the topography.

Foundation and instruments

The two founders, who were joined by the computer specialist Herbert Raab , specialized right from the start in the observation of small planets and comets as well as the recovery of such "lost" small bodies. Over time, around a dozen new asteroids have been discovered. In international recognition of these successes, two asteroids were named after the founders of the observatory. Newer measurement techniques are used to observe earth orbit cruisers .

Until 1983 the 4.5 meter dome housed a short focal length Newtonian telescope with a 30 cm aperture, which served as a kind of astrograph . The observation station was then equipped with a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope from the Belgian company Lichtenknecker (30 cm, f / 5.2). In October 1999, a computer-controlled deltagraph reflector with an aperture of 60 cm and a focal length of 2 meters was installed, which is carried by a fork mount according to Rudolf Pressberger . The asteroid and comet locations are evaluated using the Astrometrica CCD software from H. Raab.

Discoveries

Erich Meyer discovered 21 asteroids in Davidschlag since 1996, as well as another 8 together with Erwin Obermair and Herbert Raab. Until 2005 he was involved in 6 other asteroid discoveries, which were awarded by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to the Davidschlag observatory.

Erwin Obermaier succeeded in discovering 7 asteroids. Three more were awarded to the Davidschlag observatory by the IAU.

Precise position determinations of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 , which were carried out in 1993 at the Davidschlag observatory, made a significant contribution to predicting the subsequent impact of this comet on the planet Jupiter .

See also

Individual evidence

  1. a b Minor Planet Discoverers
  2. a b Minor Planet Discoveries - website of the Davidschlag observatory ( memento of the original from January 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.astrometrica.at
  3. IAUC 5800: Periodic Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 (1993e) , accessed 2015.

Web links

Coordinates: 48 ° 26 ′ 33 ″  N , 14 ° 16 ′ 31 ″  E