Feuerstein observatory
The Feuerstein observatory is located on the Long Mile , a region of Upper Franconia about 35 km north of Nuremberg . It is located on the mountain between the town of Ebermannstadt and the Eggolsheim market at 499.5 m above sea level and 500 m south of the Feuerstein Castle airfield .
In addition to scientific observation of the sky, the public observatory is also open to interested visitors, especially amateur astronomers and schoolchildren, to familiarize them with the history and recent findings in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics in popular scientific events .
history
In 1999 about 20 astronomical friends from the region founded the observatory. Since buildings and instruments were added almost every year, there are currently around ten optical telescopes , a small radio telescope and all kinds of technical accessories available to astronomers and visitors. In recent years this offer has been used by around 2000 visitors annually. In 2006 the construction of a building with a lecture room and living area for employees and the observatory manager began. Another building for an astrograph and a small solar tower telescope is planned. In 2010 a planetary hiking trail was opened with the observatory as its center. The path and the models are laid out on a scale of 1: 3,000,000,000. Lifting weights at the planetary stations illustrate the different gravitational accelerations .
activities
The main tasks of the observatory are:
- The photometric, photoelectric investigation and exploration of variable stars , comets , meteors , meteor streams , the sun and other extraterrestrial objects
- The development and manufacture of scientific devices and instruments for sky observation and evaluation of the observation results
- Construction of satellite components and their space testing; z. B. the camera in the Rexus III project in April 2006
- Public relations work in the form of (nightly) sky tours and lectures, youth work
- Initiator of the eNet e. V., whose goal is the expansion of sufficient broadband access to the Internet in rural areas. The observatory itself uses such access via WLAN radio.
Instruments
- Reflector telescopes with an opening width of up to 36 cm . A 63 cm device is under construction
- Telescopes with an opening width of up to 17 cm
- H-alpha solar telescope with an opening width of 4 cm
- Radio telescope with 3 m diameter of the parabolic antenna
- 35mm and CCD cameras
Web links
Coordinates: 49 ° 47 '25 " N , 11 ° 7' 59" E