Ursa Astronomical Association () is the largest

astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

association in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

. Ursa was founded on 2 November 1921. Founding members include a renowned Finnish

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 ...

Yrjö Väisälä Yrjö Väisälä (; 6 September 1891 – 21 July 1971) was a Finnish astronomer and physicist. His main contributions were in the field of optics. He was also active in geodetics, astronomy and optical metrology. He had an affectionate ni ...

. In 1926 Ursa established the

Ursa Observatory The Ursa Observatory (, ) is an astronomical observatory located in the Kaivopuisto park in Helsinki, Finland. The Ursa Astronomical Association observatory, designed by architect Martti Välikangas (1893–1973), was completed in 1926. See als ...

Kaivopuisto Kaivopuisto (), nicknamed ''Kaivari'' in Finnish or ''Brunsan'' in Swedish, is one of the oldest and best known parks in central Helsinki, Finland, and also a neighbourhood of about 500 inhabitants where the park is located. Geography To the sou ...

district of

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

. In 2007 the Tähtikallio Observatory & Education Center was established in

Artjärvi Artjärvi (; ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with the town of Orimattila on January 1, 2011. The municipality was located in the Päijänne Tavastia region. It had a population of 1,412 (31 October 2010) and covered a ...

, its current equipment includes an Astrofox 36" Folded Newtonian Open tube telescope, an Alluna 16" Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, a Meade 16" LX200GPS Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, a

Sky-Watcher Sky-Watcher is a commercial distribution company established in 1999 by the Synta Technology Corporation of Taiwan (Synta Taiwan). It markets telescopes and astronomy equipment, such as mounts and eyepieces, aimed at the amateur astronomy mar ...

ED 120mm

refractor telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

fitted with a Baader AstroSolar

Solar Filter An astronomical filter is a telescope accessory consisting of an optical filter used by amateur astronomers to improve the details and contrast of celestial objects, either for viewing or for photography. Research astronomers, on the other ha ...

and a piggybacked Coronado SolarMax 40 H-Alpha telescope. Ursa's primary functions include advancing

amateur astronomy Amateur astronomy is a hobby where participants enjoy observing or imaging celestial objects in the sky using the Naked eye, unaided eye, binoculars, or telescopes. Even though scientific research may not be their primary goal, some amateur astr ...

and astronomical education. They have published a magazine ''

Tähdet ja avaruus ''Tähdet ja avaruus'' () is a Finnish science magazine which publishes recent developments, news and interviews in astronomy, space technology, cosmology and amateur astronomy. It is the largest circulation astronomy magazine in northern Europe. ...

'' since 1971 and have provided awards to exceptional members of amateur astronomy for significant astronomical observations since 1988. Anyone can join Ursa for an annual fee.

Sections

The organization has thirteen sections specialized in different aspects of amateur astronomy (and meteorology): * Solar section * Halo section * Instrument section * Atmospheric optical phenomena section * Clubs and organization * Lunar, planetary and cometary section * Mathematics and information technology section * Meteor section *

Storm chasing Storm chasing is broadly defined as the deliberate pursuit of any severe weather phenomenon, regardless of motive, but most commonly for curiosity, adventure, scientific investigation, or for news or media coverage. A person who chases stor ...

section *

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 ...

and

occultation An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks f ...

section *

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

section * Deep sky section * Satellite section In addition, Ursa has two loosely organized hobby groups: * Variable stars * Observation conditions

References

External links

English section of Ursa website
{{Authority control Organizations established in 1921 Amateur astronomy organizations Scientific organisations based in Finland

Sections

See also

References

External links