The Kvistaberg Station or Kvistaberg Observatory (;
obs. code:
049) was a Swedish
astronomical observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed.
Th ...
and a station of the
Uppsala Astronomical Observatory, which both belong to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
Initially fou ...
. It is located between the Swedish cities of
Uppsala
Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Loc ...
and
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, at almost equal distance. Since 2009, the domes and telescopes of the Kvistaberg Observatory are part of a museum.
The observatory established a 1-meter
Schmidt telescope
Schmidt may refer to:
* Schmidt (surname), including list of people and fictional characters with the surname
* Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer
* Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater
* Schmidt (Martian c ...
in 1963, which is a large size for this type of telescope designed to give a wide field of view.
History
The observatory was the result of a donation in 1944 from Nils Tamm, an artist who had studied astronomy in his youth under
Nils Christoffer Dunér and
Östen Bergstrand in Uppsala and remained an avid amateur astronomer throughout his life.
Through the work of professor
Ã…ke Wallenquist and professor
Gunnar Malmquist at the observatory in Uppsala, the new observatory was fitted out with a large
Schmidt telescope
Schmidt may refer to:
* Schmidt (surname), including list of people and fictional characters with the surname
* Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer
* Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater
* Schmidt (Martian c ...
(100/135/300 cm) in 1963. Wallenquist became the first director of the observatory (1948–1970) and was succeeded by
Tarmo Oja (1970–1999) and later
Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist (1999–2007). The asteroid
3331 Kvistaberg, was named for the astronomical observatory, where hundreds of
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
s had been discovered with the Schmidt telescope between 1975 and 2005.
Around 2004, Uppsala University decided to discontinue active research at the observatory. The property was sold to the municipality of Upplands-Bro, where Kvistaberg is situated. The domes and telescopes are now part of a museum, which was inaugurated in 2009.
Gallery
File:Kvistaberg tamm obs.jpg, The Kvistaberg Station in 1919
See also
*
2744 Birgitta, asteroid
*
5080 Oja, asteroid
*
Uppsala-DLR Asteroid Survey
References
External links
Kvistaberg Observatory- official website
Pictures from the inauguration of the museum{dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Uppsala University
Minor-planet discovering observatories
Astronomical observatories in Sweden
Buildings and structures in Stockholm County
Upplands-Bro Municipality