University observatory Vienna
| University observatory Vienna | |
|---|---|
 |
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| founding | 1879/1883 (opened, before that downtown 1733/1755) |
| IAU code | 045 |
| Type | Observatory |
| height | 250 m above sea level A. |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 13 '55 " N , 16 ° 20' 1.4" E |
| place | Vienna 18 |
| operator | University of Vienna - Institute for Astrophysics |
| Website | astro.univie.ac.at |
The Vienna University Observatory is one of the two observatories operated by the Institute for Astrophysics at the University of Vienna . It is located in the observatory park on the Türkenschanze , a wide hill on the north-western outskirts of Vienna in the 18th district of Währing . The other is the Leopold Figl Observatory on the Schöpfl in the Vienna Woods.
From its founding in 1755 as the Caesareo-Regium Viennense observatory by Maria Theresa to the move to its current location, which began in 1874, the Vienna University Observatory was located in the city center on the roof of the Old University (Dr.-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz, today the Academy of Sciences) ). This observatory was the first university observatory in the German-speaking area .
When it reopened on the outskirts in 1883, the observatory had what was then the largest lens telescope , and the building itself is still the largest structurally enclosed observatory in the world. The observatory is also the reference point for Austria (formerly Hungary) and part of the world longitude network in 1933 and 1957.
The old observatory ( IAU code 545) as well as the university observatory ( IAU 045) have been declared Outstanding Astronomical Heritage by the International Astronomical Union .
history
The history of astronomy in the city of Vienna goes back to the 14th century. After the University of Vienna was founded in 1365, lectures “On Heaven and Earth” were held there from 1391 to 1882. In the 15th century, Johannes von Gmunden , Georg von Peuerbach and his pupil Regiomontanus taught and researched in Vienna. At the beginning of the 18th century, the court mathematician Johann Jakob Marinoni set up an astronomical tower on the roof of his Viennese house, in which he observed mainly with instruments he had made himself.
First university observatory
| Former Jesuit observatory | |
|---|---|
| Consist | 1733-1773 |
| Type | Astronomical tower |
| height | 190 m above sea level A. |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 12 '30.6 " N , 16 ° 22' 41.9" E |
| place | Vienna 1st |
| operator | Jesuit College Vienna |
| Old university observatory | |
|---|---|
 University observatory in the large auditorium and Jesuit church (after 1833) |
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| Consist | 1755-1883 |
| IAU code | 545 |
| Type | Observatory |
| height | 197 m above sea level A. |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 12 '32.2 " N , 16 ° 22' 37.4" E |
| place | Vienna 1st |
| operator | University of Vienna |
The Jesuits , entrusted with the management of the university since 1551, had set up the Museum mathematicum as early as 1714 , with optical, astronomical, geodetic, geometric equipment and a collection of earth and celestial globes. Father Joseph Franz (1704–1776) was active here . At Marinoni's suggestion, he also built his own observatory on the roof of the college building in 1733. It was the first permanent observatory in Vienna. In 1734 Franz was appointed professor of mathematics, experimental physics and astronomy. Joseph Liesganig (1719–1799) was his successor from 1756–1773.
At the suggestion of Johann Joseph von Trautson , Empress Maria Theresia also founded an observatory for the university in 1755. The first director of the university observatory was the 35-year-old Jesuit priest Maximilian Hell (1720–1792), a student of Franz who led the construction.
In 1773 the Jesuit college was closed and the buildings were integrated into the university. The observatory holdings are likely to have been transferred to the holdings of the university observatory.
(Right, along the old Dominican square, today Postgasse, left by the former Jesuit monastery and Stoeckl building and observatory tower Dominican church ; Bernardo Bellotto vlg Canaletto, 1760).
The New Aula (at Ignaz-Seipel-Platz with the observatory on top, on the right the Jesuit Church ; Canaletto, 1758/61)
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Building history
The Jesuit astronomical observation tower, built on the observatory wing of the college (today at the corner of Bäckerstraße / Postgasse), was an eight-story, 45 m high, double tower with an open and a covered platform. Only the lower floors of this system are preserved.
On the roofs of the New Aula next to the Jesuit Church (today the seat of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at Dr.-Ignaz-Seipel-Platz ), an observatory was also built between 1753 and 1754, which started operations in 1756. The attached observatory building was a narrow four-story wooden structure.
The location in the middle of Vienna's inner city turned out to be increasingly unfavorable. The astronomical observations and, in particular, precise position determinations were severely restricted by vibrations, air turbulence and pollution (caused by rising, warm air and soot) as well as increasing light pollution from street lighting. Hell's successor Joseph Johann von Littrow therefore suggested the construction of a new building from 1800.
Since the project was not approved, a renovation took place in 1825, in which the existing observatory was completely redesigned. Older telescopes were replaced and the existing structure had to give way to a new one. A large observation room for moving instruments and a room for fixed devices were set up, and two towers with moving domed roofs were erected. Observation rooms for meridian telescopes were created on a roof terrace ; the associated adjustment points were the meridian columns on Wienerberg . Another observation tower was built in 1883.
The parts of the observatory that have been preserved are part of the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Center of Vienna and the listed building complex of the Old University .
Instruments of the first observatory
The first university observatory was initially equipped with Marinoni equipment. In the course of time, new instruments were purchased, especially during the renovation in 1825–1831.
The main instrument was an excellent refractor with a 16 cm aperture manufactured by Josef Fraunhofer in 1825. In addition, two further telescopes from Fraunhofer were used, a "midday tube" to determine the local midday ( meridian passage of the sun), a short focal length refractor ( comet finder ) and a universal instrument from Reichenbach. A height circle with a diameter of 24 ″ , a portable equatorial , an altitude and azimuth circle and a 10 ″ mirror sextant from Troughton were used to determine star locations. There was also a Katersches reversion pendulum , a centering machine for aligning the telescopes and two dynameters from Ramsden and Carry to determine the magnification of the telescopes. To measure time, five astronomical pendulum clocks from Molyneux, Graham, Auch and Geist as well as a gold-framed chronometer from Arnold were used.
The instruments of the first observatory are partly exhibited in the museum of today's institute in the Sternwartepark (Vienna XVIII), partly in the observatory museum.
First research and observations
Under the leadership of Hell, the university observatory gained international recognition. He wrote a work in 37 volumes, the Ephemerides astronomicae ad meridianum Vindobonensem , in which the ephemeris for the years 1757 to 1792 were published. Many position measurements of stars , planets and Jupiter's moons were also made here. Liesganig and Hell observed the passage of Venus from 1761 at the university observatory and that from 1769 Liesganig in Vienna and Hell in Vardø (Norway). From the observations of these two transits of Venus, Hell calculated the distance between the sun and earth to be 152 million kilometers (modern value 149.6 million kilometers).
Further activities of the observatory consisted of geographical- astronomical longitude determinations that were still difficult at the time . These go back in particular to Liesganig at the Jesuit observatory, who in 1757 had determined the height of Vienna's pole with its 10-foot zenith sector , and in 1761–1769 on behalf of Empress Maria Theresa determined the Vienna meridian and the Hungarian reference meridian. For this reason, the Vienna observatory became the length reference point of the Austrian Empire for the Josephinian land survey and the Franziscean land survey . These agendas have been transferred to the Federal Office for Metrology and Surveying (BEV), whose predecessor, the Topographische Anstalt founded in 1806 , was primarily concerned with surveying tasks on the basis of the astronomical and geodetic principles created at the observatory .
Precise astronomical time determinations were also part of the program. The exact time of noon was sent to the tower keeper of St. Stephen's Cathedral , and from 1822 the observatory took over the regulation of the Vienna tower clocks by sending (presumably optical) time signals . These tasks are also carried out by the BEV today.
The observatory was also a meteorological observation station, where weather data was recorded. The measurement data of the Jesuits seemed to have been lost, but could be found again in 1768/1769 in the Ephemerides Astronomicae anni 1793 . The series of meteorological observations at the Vienna observatory has been published since 1775 . The data were later published daily in the Wiener Zeitung until this task was taken over by the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) founded in 1851 (the series of observatories was published until 1855). The time series closed from 1775 together with the data from 1760 from Kremsmünster forms an important basis for the HISTALP time series.
The new university observatory
Building history
In 1842 Littrow's son Karl Ludwig von Littrow took over the post of director and tried again to push through a new building. In 1846 he submitted plans to the responsible authorities, which were again rejected. With the support of influential personalities, Littrow was given the opportunity in 1850 to present a detailed concept for a new building. In it, he called for a vibration-free, dust-free location surrounded by vegetation on a hill. A ridge near the Wiener Linienwall was suitable . When the existing construction ban on the Linienwall and its outer works was lifted in 1858, Littrow received approval for a new building on the Türkenschanze in the same year.
When the new building of the university's main building was planned in 1867, there were considerations to erect an observatory on the roof of the building. Since the project was not realized, however, Littrow was given the task of founding an observatory that would take on a leading role in the Danube monarchy of that time . After study trips to observatories in Germany , England and the USA , the new Berlin observatory, also designed in the shape of a cross, was finally taken as a model.
A 5.5 hectare site on the old Türkenschanze in the then still independent municipality of Währing was chosen as the location . The planning of the building, which should also serve representative purposes, was entrusted to Fellner & Helmer , which had become known for the construction of theater and concert halls. From 1874 to 1879 construction work was carried out on the observatory, which was built in the shape of a cross. The center of the building is the 14 m main dome, surrounded by three other, smaller domes at the end of the north, west and east wing. The south wing housed the living and working rooms of the astronomers. With a length of 101 m and a width of 73 m, it is still the largest structurally enclosed observatory building in the world. Littrow could not see the completion as he died in 1877. The complete move of the Institute for Astronomy was not completed until 1882. The opening ceremony took place on June 5, 1883 in the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph I instead.
In 1926 there were reports of the intention to relocate the Vienna University Observatory to Neumarkt in Styria , since observation in the orbit of a large city was very difficult. In addition, the relocation would give the universities in Graz and Innsbruck the opportunity to use a modern observatory.
At the beginning of the 1970s, when a new building for the zoological institute of the University of Vienna with an area of around 6000 m² was planned, a conflict arose over the observatory park . In a referendum on May 26, 1973, the citizens of Vienna decided against this development in the park.
In 2015, a long-term renovation of all exterior facades of the building was completed. A large part of the interior of the building has been barrier-free since 2017.
The entire facility is under monument protection ( Vienna University Observatory with auxiliary buildings ) .
Instruments of the new observatory
In the main dome is the large refractor with a 68 cm aperture and 10.5 m focal length . It was made by the Irish company Grubb in 1878. At the time of its construction, this instrument was the largest refractor in the world and was only surpassed in size by the Leviathan reflecting telescope , the Great Melbourne Telescope and the 83 cm telescope of the Observatoire de Toulouse . Leviathan was no longer used at this time, the Great Melbourne Telescope could not perform as expected with its metal mirror , and the telescope in Toulouse had a defective mount , so that the Great Refractor was the most powerful telescope of the time. As early as 1885, two years after the opening of the university observatory, an even larger refractor with a 76 cm aperture was put into service at the Pulkowo Observatory , with which the Vienna refractor also lost its status as the largest lens telescope. However, the instrument is still one of the ten largest refractors ever built.
A short focal length refractor (comet finder) from Maerz with 16.2 cm aperture and 1.5 m focal length was originally used in the north dome. The device was later replaced by a 40 cm reflector telescope from Bernhard Schmidt . A modern Cassegrain telescope with an 80 cm aperture and a 6.64 m focal length has been located there since 2002 .
A refractor with a 30 cm aperture and 5.2 m focal length from the company Clark from Boston is set up in the west dome . The telescope was the second main instrument when the observatory was commissioned. The 15 cm Fraunhofer refractor of the old observatory was initially installed in the east dome. Today there is a 20 cm refractor from Starke & Kammerer , which was brought here from its location at the Technical University of Vienna in 1928 .
In the connecting tracts between the main building and the west and east dome the installation of passage instruments was planned. While a meridian circle and a passage instrument were installed in the western meridian hall, the meridian circle intended for the eastern wing was never realized. Today, office and library rooms are located in these parts of the building.
In the western part of the observatory is an outbuilding in which a Coudé telescope with a 38 cm aperture and 25 m focal length was set up at the time. The device and the building were donated by Albert Freiherr von Rothschild in 1885 . In the outside area there is also a modern zenith telescope - the pillar of which also served as a reference point for the second world longitude determination (around 1960) and the Vienna geoid study - as well as a historical double refractor . The latter is an astrograph by Steinheil with 33 cm aperture and 3.3 m focal length with a guide scope of 25 cm aperture (also with 3.3 m focal length). This device was also donated by Baron Rothschild.
Research and Discoveries
The first director of the new university observatory was Edmund Weiss , professor of astronomy since 1869 and significantly involved in the planning of the observatory. Weiss was able to recruit Johann Palisa from the Pola marine observatory, the most successful discoverer of asteroids at the time . Palisa was supposed to find 94 more asteroids (123 in total) in Vienna between 1881 and 1923 and to ensure orbit determinations coordinated with Heidelberg . In addition, more than 70 "nebulae" were discovered, most of which were later identified as galaxies . Rudolph Spitaler made the majority of these discoveries between 1890 and 1892 with the large refractor. In addition, Spitaler found a periodic comet in 1890 , which is now known as 113P / Spitaler.
After Weiss, Joseph von Hepperger took over the management of the observatory in 1909. As a result of the First World War and the poor economic situation in the post-war years, Hepperger had only very limited financial resources. His successor, Kasimir Graff from Hamburg , was able to implement some improvements to the observatory equipment, such as the installation of a large lifting platform , which made it easier to observe the large refractor. Graff himself was, among other things, a specialist in planetary observation , but was forced to retire for political reasons during the period of the Third Reich (1938 to 1945). Bruno Thüring took over the post from 1940 to 1945 . After Graff's second term in office, he was followed by the professorships Josef Hopmann (a well-known double star and moon researcher) and the astrophysicist Joseph Meurers , who were also appointed from Germany , while theoretical astronomy was taught by Konradin Ferrari d'Occhieppo until the 1980s .
In the 20th century, the work of astronomers increasingly shifted from the classical fields of astronomy (time determination and astrometry ) to astrophysics . Objectified observation methods such as astrophotography and photometry have displaced visual observation. At the same time, the observation conditions worsened, as the city of Vienna had expanded far beyond the site of the observatory originally built on the outskirts of the city. The main observer Johann Palisa wrote as early as 1924 " that the Vienna observatory with its large refractor is no longer in the right place today, and that it is time to think about relocating it and take action ". At the time of the Austrian economic crisis this was of course not feasible.
activities
science
In order to avoid light pollution and the poor visibility conditions of a large city, possible locations for a large telescope were geo- and climatologically examined from around 1960 and a sub-peak of the Schöpfl in the western Vienna Woods was chosen. Thanks to sponsorship from Vienna and Lower Austria, the Leopold Figl Observatory was opened as an outstation of the university observatory as early as 1969 . A Ritchey-Chrétien-Cassegrain telescope with a primary mirror diameter of 1.5 m is available to the astronomers as well as a 60 cm mirror telescope in an adjoining building.
A compact 80 cm Cassegrain telescope is used for teaching and research at the Vienna Institute . In reference to ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) , this telescope is also referred to as the “vienna little telescope” (vlt) by the institute's staff. The large 68 cm refractor from 1878 is now used primarily for demonstration purposes.
The Institute for Astrophysics, which is located inside the building, is part of the Faculty of Geography, Geosciences and Astronomy at the University of Vienna . In addition, VSC-3, the Vienna Scientific Cluster, is involved in using High Performance Computing (HPC) for a consortium of Austrian universities.
Today the working groups of the Vienna Institute for Astrophysics conduct research in numerous observational and theoretical areas. The focus is on stellar astrophysics , magnetically active stars, exoplanets , stability and chaos in the solar system , extragalactic research (including galaxies in the early universe), infrared, radio and X-ray astronomy as well as satellite projects (development of software and hardware components for space observatories such as Herschel, ARIEL, SMILE, PLATO, CHEOPS, GAIA, Athena, BRITE; ground station for the MOST satellite). Members of the institute are leading a major national project in connection with the instrumentation of the future Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) of the European Southern Observatory for three instruments, two of which are first-light instruments.
In addition, a monitoring program for light pollution is operated together with the Institute for Astrophysics of the University of Vienna at the Leopold Figl Observatory, the Observatory of the University of Graz ( Lustbühel ), the Upper Austria Light Measurement Network (23 stations), and the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam- Babelsberg and the Institute for Astronomy at Stockholm University .
In addition to research, the Vienna University Observatory also teaches astronomy studies at the University of Vienna.
The library dates back to the 15th century, including 5 books published before 1500, 56 printed before 1600 and around 500 before 1800. Today it belongs to the Vienna University Library .
public relation
Since 1990, a small museum with a display collection has been housed in the south wing of the institute building, in the former director's apartment. This includes, among other things, some of the historical books and astronomical instruments that depict their development up to the present day. There are more showpieces in the observatory park .
The museum, but also the university observatory as a whole, can be visited in the course of public tours. In addition to guided tours, there are also regular events in the university observatory , so the institute is a permanent participant in the Long Night of Research or offers a lecture by scientists every second Friday of the month under the title "Night at the observatory".
The Virtual Museum of the Vienna University Observatory: Highlights from 543 years of astronomical history, part of the Phaidra project of the Vienna University Library, makes a selection of historical objects from the University Observatory's museum accessible online.
Publications
- Meteorological observations at the Vienna Observatory. 1775-1855.
- Annals of the KK observatory in Vienna. 1821-1879.
literature
- Jürgen Hamel , Isolde Müller and Thomas Posch (eds.): The history of the Vienna University Observatory. Shown using their historical instruments and a typescript by Johann Steinmayr. Harri Deutsch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-8171-1865-6 ( Acta Historica Astronomiae 38).
- Peter Müller: Observatories in pictures. Architecture and history of the observatories from their beginnings to around 1950. Springer-Verlag, Berlin et al. 1992, ISBN 3-540-52771-0 .
- Volker Witt: The University Observatory in Vienna. In: Stars and Space. Vol. 45, Issue 2, 2006, ISSN 0039-1263 , pp. 76-80.
Special:
- Franz Kerschbaum, Thomas Posch: The historical book inventory of the University Observatory Vienna. Part 1: 15th to 17th centuries. Peter Lang Publishing Group, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2005, ISBN 3-631-52890-6 .
- Karin Lackner, Isolde Müller, Franz Kerschbaum, Roland Ottensamer, Thomas Posch: The historical book inventory of the Vienna University Observatory. Part 2: 18th century. Peter Lang Publishing Group, Frankfurt am Main et al. 2006, ISBN 3-631-53868-5 .
Web links
Map with all coordinates: OSM | WikiMap
- University observatory website (astro.univie.ac.at)
- Website of the Departmental Library for Astronomy
- Entry on the University Observatory in Vienna in the Austria Forum (in the Heimatlexikon)
- Vienna University Observatory as an interactive 360 ° × 180 ° panorama photo (requires Adobe Flash )
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Observatories in Austria: Vienna. Maria G. Firneis, Hermann Haupt, Peter Holl, In: Austrian Academy of Sciences: austriaca.at, 2005 ff - Map and article on all Vienna observatories.
- ↑ a b c d e f g The Jesuit observatory. In: ops cit. Observatories in Austria. austriaca.at.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h The "old" university observatory. In: ops cit. Observatories in Austria. austriaca.at.
- ↑ Observatories: University observatory . In: City of Vienna: Vienna History Wiki.
- ↑ See also the Jesuit observatory at the Old University and the Academic College. geschichte.univie.ac.at - this picture, with a simple magnifying glass viewer.
- ↑ a b c Ingeborg Auer, Barbara Chimani, P. Amand Kraml, Silke Adler: Very early instrumental measurements in Austria 18 th century climate data in Austria, still unexploited. Poster, Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics. Vienna (2013), ( pdf, zamg.ac.at ).
- ↑ University Observatory Vienna. In: ops cit. Observatories in Austria. austriaca.at.
- ↑ The new observatory of the Vienna University. In: Allgemeine Bauzeitung , 1881. With pictures and plans (on Anno - Austrian Newspapers Online).
- ↑ All sorts: Relocation of the Vienna University Observatory. In: Badener Zeitung , January 12, 1927, p. 5 (online at ANNO ).
- ↑ Johann Palisa on the brightening of the sky over Währing by the ring road lighting (1924)
- ↑ Monitoring program for light pollution. astro.univie.ac.at.
- ↑ Departmental Library for Astronomy. astro.univie.ac.at.
- ^ A b Rare Books Collection at the Vienna University Observatory. astro.univie.ac.at (English).
- ↑ University observatory and observatory museum. In: The collections at the University of Vienna. (bibliothek.univie.ac.at).
- ↑ guided tours. In: astro.univie.ac.at. Retrieved January 22, 2020 .
- ^ "At night at the observatory" - public lecture series. In: sternwartennaechte.univie.ac.at. Retrieved December 2, 2019 .
- ^ Virtual Museum of the University Observatory Vienna. In: bibliothek.univie.ac.at. Retrieved October 8, 2019 .
