The Zimmerwald Observatory (german: Observatorium Zimmerwald) is an
astronomical observatory owned and operated by the AIUB, the Astronomical Institute of the
University of Bern. Built in 1956, it is located at
Zimmerwald, 10 kilometers south of
Bern, Switzerland.
Numerous
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma, and sometimes also a Comet ta ...
s and
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the Solar System#Inner solar system, inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic o ...
s have been discovered by
Paul Wild (1925–2014) at Zimmerwald Observatory, most notably comet
81P/Wild, which was visited by NASA's
Stardust space probe in 2004. The
main belt asteroid
1775 Zimmerwald
1775 Zimmerwald, provisional designation , is a stony Eunomian asteroid and slow rotator from the middle region of the asteroid belt, approximately 10 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 13 May 1969, by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild at Zim ...
has been named after the location of the observatory.
The 1-meter aperture ZIMLAT telescope was inaugurated in 1997.
See also
*
List of largest optical reflecting telescopes
*
Swiss Space Office
References
External links
Zimmerwald Observatory
Astronomical observatories in Switzerland
Space Situational Awareness Programme
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