The Observatory of Strasbourg is an 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 ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

This observatory is actually Strasbourg's third observatory: the first was built in 1673 on one of the city's surrounding towers (the astronomer Julius Reichelt notably played a role in its establishment), and the second in 1828 on the roof of the buildings of the Academy. Following the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

of 1870–1871, the city of Strasbourg became part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

. The

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

was refounded in 1872, and a new observatory began construction in 1875, in the Neustadt district. The main instrument was a 50 cm Repsold refractor, which saw first light in 1880 (see

Great refractor Great refractor refers to a large telescope with a lens, usually the largest refractor at an observatory with an equatorial mount. The preeminence and success of this style in observational astronomy defines an era in modern telescopy in the 19t ...

). At the time this was the largest instrument in the German Empire. In 1881, the ninth General Assembly of the

Astronomische Gesellschaft __NOTOC__ The ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' is an astronomical society established in 1863 in Heidelberg, the second oldest astronomical society after the Royal Astronomical Society. History In 1882, the ''Astronomische Gesellschaft'' founded t ...

met in Strasbourg to mark the official inauguration. $Refracting telescope of the Strasbourg observatory$ The observatory site was selected primarily for instruction purposes and political symbolism, rather than the observational qualities. It was a low-lying site that was prone to mists. During the period up until 1914, the staff was too small to work the instruments and so there was little academic research published prior to

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 main observations were of

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

s and

variable star A variable star is a star whose brightness as seen from Earth (its apparent magnitude) changes systematically with time. This variation may be caused by a change in emitted light or by something partly blocking the light, so variable stars are ...

s. After 1909, the instruments were also used to observe

binary star A binary star or binary star system is a system of two stars that are gravitationally bound to and in orbit around each other. Binary stars in the night sky that are seen as a single object to the naked eye are often resolved as separate stars us ...

s and perform photometry of

nebula A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...

e. The observatory is currently the home for the

Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentric ...

, a database for the collection and distribution of astronomical information. This includes

SIMBAD SIMBAD (the Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) is an astronomy, astronomical database of objects beyond the Solar System. It is maintained by the Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), Fr ...

, a reference database for astronomical objects,

VizieR A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

, an

astronomical catalogue An astronomical catalogue is a list or tabulation of astronomical objects, typically grouped together because they share a common type, Galaxy morphological classification, morphology, origin, means of detection, or method of discovery. The olde ...

service and Aladin, an interactive sky atlas. The modern extension of the building used to house the ''Planétarium de Strasbourg'' until 2023, and the opening of a larger and more modern

planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...

in the vicinity. The observatory is surrounded by the

Jardin botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg The Jardin Botanique de l'Université de Strasbourg (3.5 hectares), also known as the Jardin botanique de Strasbourg and the Jardin botanique de l'Université Louis Pasteur, is a botanical garden and arboretum located at 28 rue Goethe, Strasbourg ...

. In the vaulted basement below the observatory, a university-administered museum is located. Called ''Crypte aux étoiles'' ("star

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

"), it displays old telescopes and other antique astronomical devices such as clocks and

theodolite A theodolite () is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying, but it is also used extensively for building and ...

Notable astronomers

* Agnès Acker *

Julius Bauschinger Julius Bauschinger (January 28, 1860 – January 21, 1934) was a German astronomer. Biography Julius Bauschinger was born in Fürth, the son of the physicist Johann Bauschinger. He studied at the Universities of Munich and Berlin, graduating u ...

Adolf Berberich Adolf Joseph Berberich (16 November 1861 – 27 April 1920) was a German astronomer best known for his work on calculating the orbits of minor planets and double stars. The minor planet 776 Berbericia was named in his honour. Early life Adolf ...

André Danjon André — sometimes transliterated as Andre — is the French and Portuguese form of the name Andrew and is now also used in the English-speaking world. It used in France, Quebec, Canada and other French-speaking countries, as well in Portugal, ...

* William Lewis Elkin *

Ernest Esclangon Ernest Benjamin Esclangon (17 March 1876 – 28 January 1954) was a French astronomer and mathematician. Born in Mison, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in 1895 he started to study mathematics at the École Normale Supérieure, graduating in 1898. Loo ...

Ernst Hartwig Carl Ernst Albrecht Hartwig (14 January 1851 in Frankfurt – 3 May 1923 in Bamberg) was a German astronomer. On 20 August 1885, Hartwig discovered a new star, SN 1885A (S Andromedae), in the Andromeda Galaxy, which was the first supernova ...

Carlos Jaschek Carlos Jaschek (March 2, 1926 – April 12, 1999) was a Germany, German-born Argentina, Argentine astrophysicist who spent time in the United States, lived in Switzerland, settled in France, became a French citizenPierre Lacroute *

Otto Tetens 450px , Otto Tetens (right) with Mataafa in Mulinuu, Samoa 1904 Otto Tetens (26 September 1865, Rendsburg, Kingdom of Prussia – 15 February 1945, Teplitz-Schönau) was a German natural scientist with an astronomy background. Life Tetens was ...

* Friedrich Winnecke *

Carl Wilhelm Wirtz Carl Wilhelm Wirtz (24 August 1876 in Krefeld – 18 February 1939 in Hamburg) was an astronomer who studied astronomy at Bonn University (1895-1898) obtaining his doctorate there after which he spent his time between the Kiel Observatory in G ...

* Walter Wislicenus * Rodrigo Ibata

References

External links

*
Official website of the ObservatoryOfficial website of the Planetarium

Publications of Strasbourg Observatory
digitalized on

Paris Observatory The Paris Observatory (, ), a research institution of the Paris Sciences et Lettres University, is the foremost astronomical observatory of France, and one of the largest astronomical centres in the world. Its historic building is on the Left Ban ...

digital library {{Authority control University of Strasbourg Astronomical observatories in France Buildings and structures in Strasbourg Planetaria in France 1875 establishments in Germany Museums in Strasbourg Science museums in France Hermann Eggert buildings

History

Notable astronomers

See also

References

External links