Stockholm Observatory

Stockholm Observatory
The 18th-century Stockholm Observatory
Observatory code 050, 052 Edit this on Wikidata
Location Observatorielunden, Vasastan, Stockholm Municipality, Sweden Edit this at Wikidata
Coordinates 59°20′30″N 18°03′17″E / 59.3417°N 18.0547°E / 59.3417; 18.0547Coordinates: 59°20′30″N 18°03′17″E / 59.3417°N 18.0547°E / 59.3417; 18.0547
Commercial telescopes Building Edit this on Wikidata
Location of Stockholm Observatory
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The Stockholm Observatory (Swedish: Stockholms observatorium, 050) is an astronomical observatory and institution in Stockholm, Sweden, founded in the 18th century and today part of Stockholm University. In 1931, the new Stockholm Observatory (Swedish: Saltsjöbaden Observatory, 052), nicknamed "Saltis", was inaugurated on the Karlsbaderberget at Saltsjöbaden, near Stockholm, and operated until 2001.[1]

History

The old observation room used before the top dome was built in the 19th century.

The first observatory was established by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on the initiative of its secretary Per Elvius. Construction, according to designs by the architect Carl Hårleman, begun in 1748 and the building was completed in 1753. It is situated on a hill in a park nowadays named Observatorielunden. The first head of the observatory was Pehr Wilhelm Wargentin. Later heads of the observatory include Hugo Gyldén and Bertil Lindblad. This 18th-century observatory today functions as a museum. 59°20′30″N 18°03′17″E / 59.34167°N 18.05472°E / 59.34167; 18.05472

A newer observatory was built in Saltsjöbaden outside Stockholm and completed in 1931 (the architect this time being Axel Anderberg). 59°16′18″N 18°18′30″E / 59.27167°N 18.30833°E / 59.27167; 18.30833 More recent astronomical observations, however, are almost exclusively being done in observatories outside Sweden and closer to the equator.

The research institute was transferred from the Academy to the university in 1973 and is since 2001 housed in the AlbaNova University Centre.

The young Hjalmar Branting, later the first social democratic prime minister of Sweden, was employed as a mathematics assistant at the Stockholm Observatory 1879–1880 and 1882–1883.

Honors

In August 2000, the asteroid 36614 Saltis was discovered at the Stockholm Observatory. The asteroid was named after the nickname of the observatory's location, Saltsjöbaden, by its discoverer Alexis Brandeker in 2003.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – (36614) Saltis, Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 203. ISBN 978-3-540-34361-5. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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