The Astronomy Tower of the Sorbonne is a tower at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sor ...

's Paris campus built to house an

astronomical observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. H ...

for its students. The structure was erected during the reconstruction of the Sorbonne, between 1885 and 1901.Clouet, B. & Dumont, M. "L'observatoire de la Société Astronomique de France."
''L'Astronomie'', Vol. 95, p. 475 - 484. The tower is 39 meters high, has an upper and lower dome, and includes several rooms. The upper dome houses the

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

, and the lower dome contains an optics workshop for amateurs to make mirrors (previously, a

meridian circle The meridian circle is an instrument for timing of the passage of stars across the local meridian, an event known as a culmination, while at the same time measuring their angular distance from the nadir. These are special purpose telescopes moun ...

was installed in that space). The tower is operated by the

Société astronomique de France The Société astronomique de France (SAF; ), the French astronomical society, is a non-profit association in the public interest organized under French law ( Association loi de 1901). Founded by astronomer Camille Flammarion in 1887, its purpose ...

and is available for tours and amateur observations.

Telescopes

The observatory originally had an

equatorial mount An equatorial mount is a mount for instruments that compensates for Earth's rotation by having one rotational axis, the polar axis, parallel to the Earth's axis of rotation. This type of mount is used for astronomical telescopes and cameras. The ...

telescope of 241 mm diameter and a 3,755 mm focal length constructed by the R. Mailhat company. The instrument was transferred to the

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (french: Observatoire de Paris ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centers in the world. Its histo ...

in 1909.P. Véron, ''Dictionnaire des astronomes français 1850-1950'' (online), pp 100, 111, consulted 23 March 2018.
/ref> In 1980, an equatorial mount

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses an ...

of 153 mm diameter and 2,300 mm focal length was installed in the upper dome. The telescope is owned by the

. It was built in 1935 and was originally installed in the Observatory of the rue Serpente on top of the society’s former headquarters at 28, rue Serpente,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. File:Paris 75005 Rue Saint-Jacques La Sorbonne facade 01a.jpg, Astronomy Tower seen from rue Saint Jacques File:Tour Observatoire Sorbonne Paris 3.jpg, Close-up of the upper dome File:Sorbonne Observatory Lower Dome.jpg, Lower dome housing the optics workshop

References

{{Portal bar, France, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science Astronomical observatories in France 1885 establishments in France Astronomy in France

Telescopes

See also

References