University observatory

University observatories have the primary task of training students in astronomy and often also in related fields of study. In most cases they are also research institutes and as such are assigned to an astronomical institute or a natural science faculty .

historical development

Observatories in the current sense did not emerge until a few decades after the invention of the telescope (1609), mostly on top floors or built-on towers . They were either small private observatories of scientists or part of the physical cabinets of the nobility, as they often emerged from the late 17th century. As a university institution , it did not exist until around 1720.

The only exception is the Leiden Sterrewacht , founded in 1633 , which is the oldest university observatory in the world. Early foundations - albeit not for universities - are also the Paris observatory of the academy in 1666 , the Royal Greenwich Observatory in 1675 (which served the practical requirements of nautical and navigation ) and the first Berlin observatory from 1711 (for Protestant calendar reform).

The famous universities of Northern Italy such as Bologna (founded in 1088), Padua (1222), Pisa (1343) or Florence (1364) did not have their own observation stations until the 18th century. Typical of this is the history of the historic La Specola observatory in Bologna.

Bologna academy observatory

When Copernicus studied here from 1497, he did mention joint observations of the moon with the experienced astronomer Dominicus Maria Novara , but not a special observatory. It was the same when Giovanni Domenico Cassini accepted the call to Bologna in 1650. For his ecliptic and time measurements with the sun, he created his famous 67 m long, still existing meridian in the Basilica of San Petronio . It was not until 1665 that he was able to determine the orbits of Jupiter's moons with a long-focal telescope . In 1669 he was poached to Paris to head the new Royal Observatory. As a result, astronomy in Bologna lost its importance - until the initiative of the noble Luigi Ferdinando Marsili (1658-1730). He made his instruments available to interested young researchers and had an observatory built at the palace, the Specola Marsiliana , where observations were carried out until 1709.

When Marsili wanted to relocate his station, the Bologna Senate offered him the construction of an observatory tower , a library , a laboratory and the assumption of professorial salaries. 1712 was with the participation of Pope Clement XI. signed the contract to found an academy (Istituto delle Scienze di Bologna) at Palazzo Poggi. The tower was started by Giuseppe Torri in 1713, but was not completed until 1726 because of his death. As was customary at the time, the main instrument was a large wall quadrant . With it, the latitude could be determined to only 0.8 ". The star parallaxes (for the proof of Copernicus' world system) turned out to be too small, but Manfredi was able to confirm the annual aberration of 20" found by Bradley . His successor Zanotti was able to carry out the precision measurements for his star catalog from 1750 with English instruments by Jonathan Sisson .

University observatories in Central Europe

Although the universities in the German-speaking area were founded later (with the exception of Prague 1348 and Vienna 1365), the observatories can be found here earlier. After the above Paris observatory of 1666 - which, however, did not belong to the university - followed

1733 the Vienna University Observatory with its first building on the roof of the college building,

1745 the University Observatory Graz

1750 the first Göttingen observatory (only 13 years after the university was founded)

1752 the first observatory in Tübingen , also the zero point of the national survey of Württemberg

In 1773 the Mannheim observatory had its own observatory tower for the first time.

In Italy and England, however, were founded

1759 Turin, Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino (Pino Torinese)
1764 Milan, Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera by Roger Joseph Boscovich SJ
1773 Oxford, Radcliffe Observatory .

Wave of founding around 1800

Many important observatories in Central and Northern Europe were founded between 1790 and 1830, which v. a. related to the successes of celestial mechanics (planetary orbits, comets, discovery of new asteroids, double star research, star catalogs), as well as the invention of color-pure, larger telescopes ( achromatic lenses ). This was the beginning of this wave of founding

1785 the Gotha observatory (but more of a state observatory ), from where Franz Xaver von Zach founded the " Himmelspolizey " to search for planets,

1788 the Halle observatory , the oldest of the Univ. Hall erected structure

1790 the Leipzig observatory , whereupon

from 1800 almost all major universities followed, z. B. Hamburg 1811, Munich 1816, the observatories in Bonn and Düsseldorf . Astronomically and geodetically very important were u. a. the new Baltic German observatories - Königsberg and Dorpat and - triggered by the successes in Dorpat - the Russian main observatory Pulkowo near St. Petersburg .

Almost all observatories built before 1850 were built on the upper floor or on the roof of the respective building, which meant that there was not always sufficient stability for large instruments . Later, people started to build their own low-vibration buildings with deep-seated pillars several meters wide for the telescopes, which were mechanically isolated from the rest of the building.

Founding around 1900

A second series of founding can be determined before and around the turn of the century, which is mainly related to the development of astrophysics , measurement technology and the construction of so-called giant telescopes . The new building of the University Observatory in Vienna (1870–75) was a start, followed by the establishment of a number of academy institutes v. a. in Central Europe, of which the Astrophysical Institute Potsdam is particularly noteworthy due to its specialization. Important observatories of this time are also the observatories in Nice , Jena and the Vienna Kuffner observatory . On the part of the universities, other large new buildings followed, such as in Zurich (ETH), Bonn, Heidelberg and other German and Western European university cities. The Belgrade observatory should also be mentioned here. a. thanks to their domes, ideally meteorologically distributed in the park, for several meridian instruments .

Many large observatories in the USA were also built during this time - such as the Yerkes Observatory, the Lick and the Lowell Observatory , although the majority were not financed by universities but by sponsors or foundations. However, one of the few major US institutes that has been part of a college from the start is the Harvard College Observatory .

Todays situation

As a result of industrialization, not only has air pollution increased, but also light pollution due to the expansion of cities and their street lighting . Since around 1960, almost all research observatories have either moved to regions with cleaner air, have set up branch offices or complete the necessary observation time at the European Southern Observatory and other large observatories such as in Chile , Hawaii or at space telescopes .

The importance of the classic university observatories is reduced to the academic training of students and staff, partly also to astrometry (where the air turbulence is more important than the haze) and to special tasks such as meteor cameras . Some observatories have also been converted into museums, others into public observatories . Overall, astronomical research has by no means decreased, but increased significantly, because observing astronomy has switched to new fields of work, automatic observation stations and expanded spectral ranges (radio astronomy, infrared, UV, X-ray).