Abbe was appointed professor of physics and mathematics at Jena in 1870 and, in 1878, he was appointed director of the astronomical observatory at Jena and of the meteorological observatory at Jena.
Abbe ay hihirangin propesor ng pisika at matematika at Jena sa 1870 at, sa 1878, siya ay hihirangin ng mga direktor ng astronomya obserbatoryo sa Jena at ng meteorolohiko obserbatoryo at Jena.