Mykolaiv Observatory

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mykolaiv Observatory 2012
The observatory at the end of the 19th century

The Mykolaiv Observatory is an observatory in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, and one of the oldest observatories in Eastern Europe. It was founded in 1821 as an observatory for the Imperial Russian Navy .

Founding history

In 1816 Alexei Samuilowitsch Greig became admiral, commander of the Black Sea Fleet and governor of Nikolayev and Sevastopol . He had a passion for astronomy . When he came to Nikolayev, he built his private observatory at home. He was aware that the fleet could not carry out its tasks without astronomical support. With the help of astronomy it was possible to determine the exact time and thus the exact geographic location. This was important for mapping, but also for determining the position of the ships. Therefore Greig decided to build an observatory. This enabled naval officers to undergo further training in nautical sciences, in sea orientation, hydrography and topology. With the support of the Naval Minister Marquis de Traversay , the Russian Tsar Alexander I granted permission to build the observatory. The foundation stone was laid in May 1821. In 1912 the observatory became part of the Pulkowo observatory . In 1935 she became part of the network of scientific institutes of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR . In 1992 it became an independent research institute of Ukraine . Today it reports to the State Committee for Science, Innovation and Information. The observatory was proposed as a World Heritage Site by Ukraine.

Astronomers

From 1821 to 1871, Karl Friedrich Knorre was the observatory's first astronomer. In order to equip the observatory with the most modern instruments, he traveled from 1825 to 1827 to the most respected observatories and watchmakers in Europe. He visited important astronomers such as Friedrich Georg Wilhelm Struve , Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel , Johann Franz Encke , Heinrich Christian Schumacher and François Arago , with whom he sometimes corresponded for life. One of the most important achievements was published in the fifth sheet of the star map by the Berlin Academy of Sciences. The very precise observations that Karl Knorre recorded in this map made it possible to discover small planets, such as (5) Astraea . Another achievement of Knorre was an optimization of the sextant. He also put together a scientific library with over 8,500 titles.

Between 1872 and 1903 Iwan J. Kortazzi was head of the observatory. Kortazzi determined the position of over 6,000 equatorial stars. He recorded the rotation time of Jupiter and examined the movement of the red spot.

Foundation equipment

One of the special features was an absolutely precise artificial horizon, which consisted of a sliding basin filled with mercury . The observations could be made both directly and indirectly via the artificial horizon in order to reduce observation errors.

1878 (ordered in 1873) Johann Adolf Repsold Refraktor focus 13 feet 23 cm (4.2 m)

Web links

Commons : Mykolayiv Astronomical Observatory  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 46 ° 58 ′ 17 ″  N , 31 ° 58 ′ 22 ″  E