The Royal Observatory of Belgium (; ; ) has been situated in the

Uccle Uccle (French language, French, ) or Ukkel (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the southern part of the region, it ...

municipality of

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

since 1890. It is part of the institutions of the

Belgian Federal Science Policy Office The Federal Public Planning Service Science Policy (; ; ) or Belgian Science Policy Office, Federal Science Policy, known by the acronym BELSPO, is the federal government body responsible for research policy in Belgium. It designs and implements ...

(BELSPO). The Royal Observatory was first established in

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode ( French, ) or Sint-Joost-ten-Node ( Dutch, ), often simply called Saint-Josse in French or Sint-Joost in Dutch, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part o ...

in 1826 by King

William I of the Netherlands William I (Willem Frederik; 24 August 1772 – 12 December 1843) was King of the Netherlands and List of monarchs of Luxembourg, Grand Duke of Luxembourg from 1815 until his abdication in 1840. Born as the son of William V, Prince of Orange, ...

under the impulse of the astronomer and mathematician

Adolphe Quetelet Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet FRSF or FRSE (; 22 February 1796 – 17 February 1874) was a Belgian- French astronomer, mathematician, statistician and sociologist who founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential ...

. It was home to a diameter aperture

Zeiss Zeiss or Zeiß may refer to: People *Carl Zeiss (1816–1888), German optician and entrepreneur *Emil Zeiß (1833–1910), German Protestant minister and painter * Juan Pablo Zeiss (born 1989), Argentine rugby union player * Mary Zeiss Sta ...

reflector in the first half of the 20th century, one of the largest telescopes in the world at the time. It now owns a variety of other astronomical instruments, such as

astrograph An astrograph (or astrographic camera) is a telescope designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography. Astrographs are mostly used in wide-field astronomical surveys of the sky and for detection of objects such as asteroids, meteors, an ...

s, as well as a range of

seismograph A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground displacement and shaking such as caused by quakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The out ...

equipment (for detecting

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

s). Its main activities are reference systems and

geodynamics Geodynamics is a subfield of geophysics dealing with dynamics of the Earth. It applies physics, chemistry and mathematics to the understanding of how mantle convection leads to plate tectonics and geologic phenomena such as seafloor spreading, ...

astrometry Astrometry is a branch of astronomy that involves precise measurements of the positions and movements of stars and other Astronomical object, celestial bodies. It provides the kinematics and physical origin of the Solar System and this galaxy, th ...

and dynamics of celestial bodies,

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline, James Keeler, said, astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the ...

, and

Solar physics Solar physics is the branch of astrophysics that specializes in the study of the Sun. It intersects with many disciplines of pure physics and astrophysics. Because the Sun is uniquely situated for close-range observing (other stars cannot be re ...

. The asteroid 1276 Ucclia is named in honour of the city and the observatory and 16908 Groeselenberg is named for the hill the observatory is located on.

History

19th century

first petitioned the government of the

United Kingdom of the Netherlands The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed from 1815 to 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories t ...

to establish an astronomical observatory in Brussels in 1823. King

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

granted his request in 1826 and construction started in 1827 in

. Meteorological observations started early, but delivery and installation of astronomical equipment proceeded slowly. Quetelet was appointed astronomer in 1828. During the

Belgian Revolution The Belgian Revolution (, ) was a conflict which led to the secession of the southern provinces (mainly the former Southern Netherlands) from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands and the establishment of an independent Kingdom of Belgium. The ...

, fighting took place in and around the observatory. Quetelet kept his position under the new government and started scientific observations. By 1834, buildings and instruments were finally completed. Adolpe Quetelet was succeeded by his son Ernest upon his death in 1874. In 1876,

Jean-Charles Houzeau Jean-Charles Houzeau de Lehaie (October 7, 1820 – July 12, 1888) was a Belgian astronomer and journalist. A French speaker, he moved to New Orleans after getting in trouble for his politics in Belgium. In the U.S. he continued his journalisti ...

became the new director. He called on

François van Rysselberghe François van Rysselberghe (24 August 1846 – 3 February 1893) was a Belgian scientist who was the forerunner or the inventor of numerous devices in the fields of meteorology and telephony. He invented, in particular, a system allowing several t ...

to attach him to the weather forecast service the same year. On 26 September 1876, the Observatory published the first Meteorological Bulletin in its history. Immediately after he became director, Houzeau started planning a move to

. He managed to obtain better funding, enlarged the scientific staff and completely renewed the instruments. The first Belgian astronomical expedition was sent to

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

to observe the

transit of Venus A transit of Venus takes place when Venus passes directly between the Sun and the Earth (or any other superior planet), becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. During a transit, Venus is visible as ...

in 1882. He tried to separate the meteorological and astronomical departments, but this was refused by the government. In 1883 construction of a new observatory in Uccle started, but Houzeau's resignation in 1883 delayed the move which was only completed in 1890–1891.

20th century

Georges Lecointe was appointed as director in 1900, succeeding F. Folie and A. Lancaster. Under his leadership, seismological measurements started in 1901 and the first weather balloons were launched in 1906. Belgium participated in the

Carte du Ciel The Carte du Ciel (; literally, 'Map of the Sky') and the Astrographic Catalogue (or Astrographic Chart) were two distinct but connected components of a massive international astronomical project, initiated in the late 19th century, to catalogue ...

and the Astrographic Catalogue; observations lasted until 1964. In 1913 the meteorological department finally became an independent entity, the

Royal Meteorological Institute The Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (French: ''Institut Royal Météorologique de Belgique'' or IRM; Dutch: ''Koninklijk Meteorologisch Instituut van België'' or KMI) is a Belgian federal institute engaged in scientific research in the ...

. After

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the

Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams (CBAT) is an official international clearing house for information relating to transient astronomical events. The CBAT collects and distributes information on comets, natural satellites, novae, mete ...

was located in Uccle from 1920 to 1922 while it was headed by Lecointe. Illness forced Lecointe to resign in 1925 and he was succeeded by Paul Stroobant. Since 1981, the ''Sunspot Index Data center'', the World data center for the ''

Sunspot Sunspots are temporary spots on the Sun's surface that are darker than the surrounding area. They are one of the most recognizable Solar phenomena and despite the fact that they are mostly visible in the solar photosphere they usually aff ...

Index'' is harbored at the observatory. The

Brussels Planetarium The Brussels Planetarium (; ) of the Royal Observatory of Belgium is a planetarium located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Laeken (northern part of the City of Brussels). It was established during the Brussels International Exposition of 1935 ...

is located on the Heysel/Heizel Plateau in

Laeken (French language, French, ) or (Dutch language, Dutch, ) is a residential suburb in the north-western part of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. It belongs to the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality of the ...

(northern part of the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels is the largest List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the ...

). King

Baudouin Baudouin () is a French masculine given name and surname, related to Baldwin. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Baudouin of Belgium (1930–1993), King of the Belgians from 1951–1993 * Prince Baudouin of Belgium (1869–1891), ...

was an amateur

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

and took a keen interest in the Royal Observatory. After his death, a statue in his honour was raised outside the entrance.

Instruments

''Examples only'' In 1914: *38 cm (15-inch) Cooke-Merz refractor *15 cm (6-inch) Cooke-Steinhell refractor *15 cm (6-inch) Repsold refractor with micrometer *

astrograph As of 1981: * Askania

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 ...

(19 cm) * Danjon

Astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...

* 45-cm aperture Cooke-Zeiss refractor on equatorial mount * 38-cm aperture refractor * Triple refractor (By Zeiss) * 25, 10, and 15 cm aperture refractors (these are telescopes with a lens) * 20 cm Zeiss Double

Astrograph An astrograph (or astrographic camera) is a telescope designed for the sole purpose of astrophotography. Astrographs are mostly used in wide-field astronomical surveys of the sky and for detection of objects such as asteroids, meteors, an ...

The Observatory also had a 100 cm aperture Zeiss reflector.

List of discovered minor planets

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1834 establishments in Belgium Astronomical observatories in Belgium Research institutes in Belgium Buildings and structures in Brussels Minor-planet discovering observatories Organisations based in Belgium with royal patronage Organisations based in Brussels Uccle William I of the Netherlands