Iso-Heikkilä Observatory ( fi, Iso-Heikkilän tähtitorni, sv, Storheikkilä observatorium) is an
amateur
An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
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. His ...
used by a local amateur astronomical association,
Turun Ursa ry in the
Iso-Heikkilä district of
Turku,
Finland.
Referred to as Turku Observatory () by the
Minor Planet Center
The Minor Planet Center (MPC) is the official body for observing and reporting on minor planets under the auspices of the International Astronomical Union (IAU). Founded in 1947, it operates at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory.
Function
...
, it was previously operated by the
University of Turku from 1937 to 1972, and is the observatory where several Finnish
discoverers of minor planets made their observations.
History
The observatory was originally owned by the department of astronomy of the
University of Turku. It was built in 1935 and 1936, and technically designed by physics and astronomy professor
Yrjö Väisälä. Väisälä's research team discovered a total of 807
minor planets and 7
comets at the observatory. Väisälä also contributed significantly to research in the areas of
optics and
surveying
Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
.
As the city expanded and a steel factory was built under a kilometer away from the observatory, the astronomy department of the university moved to
Tuorla Observatory in the 1950s.
In the 1960s, an apartment building area was built in Iso-Heikkilä, preventing any observations of low-sky objects in all directions except north. Iso-Heikkilä remained in the use of students for some time, until the university gave up its ownership completely in 1972. The observatory building and the site are now owned by the city of Turku.
The observatory is currently operated by Turun Ursa ry, an astronomical association founded by Yrjö Väisälä in 1928. The association arranged in Väisälä's time and continues to arrange stargazing events for the general public at the observatory. The members use the observatory, as well as the
Kevola Observatory, for amateur astronomical observations.
Instruments and facilities
The observatory has two 6-meter domes in the East-West direction. The main instruments of the association are located in the western dome: the 15 and 13 centimeter
telescopes made by Yrjö Väisälä and a 19 cm
Schmidt-Väisälä camera. In the past, the dome has housed a 50 centimeter wide-angle camera which is nowadays located in the
Kevola Observatory – it was the telescope used to discover the aforementioned minor planets and comets.
Standard baseline
In the forest further away from the observatory, about to the northeast, is a concrete pillar used by Yrjö Väisälä in the 1940s in his
baseline measurements. The
Väisälä comparator Väisälä may refer to:
* Vaisala, Samoa, a village in the island of Savai'i
* Vilho Väisälä (1889–1969), Finnish meteorologist and physicist
** Vaisala, a company founded by Vilho Väisälä
* Yrjö Väisälä (1891–1971), Finnish astronom ...
has been used in important baseline measurements around the world.
Another pillar that remains today is located to the southwest from the previous one, in a forest across the railway.
See also
*
List of astronomical observatories
References
External links
Turun Ursa amateur astronomers association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iso-Heikkila Observatory
Astronomical observatories in Finland
Buildings and structures in Turku
Astronomy-optics society