# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Observatory

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​OBSERVATORY. Up to a comparatively recent date an “observatory” was a place exclusively devoted to the taking of astronomical observations, although frequently a rough account of the weather was kept. When the progress of terrestrial magnetism and meteorology began to make regular observations necessary, the duty of taking these was often thrown on astronomical observatories, although in some cases separate institutions were created for the purpose. In this article the astronomical observatories will be chiefly considered.
Up to about 300 B.C. it can scarcely be said that an observatory existed anywhere, as the crude observations of the heavens then taken were only made by individuals and at intervals, employing the simplest possible apparatus. Thus, according to Strabo, ​ Eudoxus had an observatory at Cnidus. But, when philosophical speculation had exhausted its resources, and an accumulation of facts was found to be necessary before the knowledge of the construction of the universe could advance farther, the first observatory was founded at Alexandria, and continued in activity for about four hundred years, or until the middle or end of the 2nd century of the Christian era. Hipparchus of Rhodes, the founder of modern astronomy, by repeating observations made at Alexandria, discovered the precession of the equinoxes, and investigated with considerable success the motions of the sun, moon and planets. His work was continued by more or less distinguished astronomers, until Ptolemy (in the 2nd century A.D.) gave the astronomy of Alexandria its final development. When science again began to be cultivated after the dark ages which followed, we find several observatories founded by Arabian princes; first one at Damascus, next one at Bagdad built by the caliph Al-Mamun early in the 9th century, then one on the Mokattam near Cairo, built for Ibn Yunis by the caliph Hakim (about 1000 A.D.), where the Hakimite tables of the sun, moon and planets were constructed. The Mongol khans followed the example; thus arose the splendid observatory at Maragha in the north-west of Persia, founded about A.D. 1260 by Hulagu Khan, where Nasir Uddin constructed the Ilohkhanic tables; and in the 15th century the observatory at Samarkand was founded by Ulugh Beg, and served not only in the construction of new planetary tables but also in the formation of a new catalogue of stars.
With the commencement of scientific studies in Europe in the 15th century the necessity of astronomical observations became at once felt, as they afforded the only hope of improving the theory of the motions of the celestial bodies. Although astronomy was taught in all universities, the taking of observations was for two hundred years left to private individuals. The first observatory in Europe was erected at Nuremberg in 1472 by a wealthy citizen, Bernhard Walther, who for some years enjoyed the co-operation of the celebrated astronomer Regiomontanus. At this observatory, where the work was continued till the founder's death in 1504, many new methods of observing were invented, so that the revival of practical astronomy may be dated from its foundation. The two celebrated observatories of the 16th century, Tycho Brahe’s on the Danish island of Hven (in activity from 1576 to 1597) and that of Landgrave William IV. at Cassel (1561–1597), made a complete revolution in the art of observing. Tycho Brahe may claim the honour of having been the first to see the necessity of carrying on for a number of years an extensive and carefully-planned series of observations with various instruments, worked by himself and a staff of assistants. In this respect his observatory (Uraniburgum) resembles our modern larger institutions more closely than do many observatories of much more recent date. The mighty impulse which Tycho Brahe gave to practical astronomy at last installed this science at the universities, among which those of Leiden and Copenhagen were the first to found observatories. We still find a large private observatory in the middle of the 17th century, that of Johannes Hevelius at Danzig, but the foundation of the royal observatories at Paris and Greenwich and of numerous university observatories shows how rapidly the importance of observations had become recognized by governments and public bodies, and it is not until within the last hundred and thirty years that the development of various new branches of astronomy has enabled private observers to compete with public institutions.
The instruments employed in observatories have of course changed considerably during the last two hundred years. When the first royal observatories were founded, the principal instruments were the mural quadrant for measuring meridian zenith distances of stars, and the sextant for measuring distances of stars inter se, with a view of determining their difference of right ascension by a simple calculation. These instruments were introduced by Tycho Brahe, but were subsequently much improved by the addition of telescopes and micrometers. When the law of gravitation was discovered it became necessary to test the correctness of the theoretical conclusions drawn from it as to the motions within the solar system, and this necessarily added to the importance of observations. By degrees, as theory progressed, it made greater demands for the accuracy of observations, and accordingly the instruments had to be improved. The transit instrument superseded the sextant and offered the advantage of furnishing the difference of right ascension directly; the clocks and chronometers were greatly improved; and lastly astronomers began early in the 19th century to treat their instruments, not as faultless apparatuses but as imperfect ones, Whose errors of construction had to be detected, studied and taken into account before the results of observations could be used to test the theory. That century also witnessed the combination of the transit instrument and the mural quadrant or circle in one instrument—the transit or meridian circle.
While the necessity of following the sun, moon and planets as regularly as possible increased the daily work of observatories, other branches of astronomy were opened and demanded other observations. Hitherto observations of the “fixed stars” had been supposed to be of little importance beyond fixing points of comparison for observations of the movable bodies. But when many of the fixed stars were found to be endowed with “proper motion,” it became necessary to include them among the objects of constant attention, and in their turn the hitherto totally neglected telescopic stars had to be observed with precision, when they were required as comparison stars for comets or minor planets. Thus the field of work for meridian instruments became very considerably enlarged.
In addition to this, the increase of optical power of telescopes revealed hitherto unknown objects—double stars and nebulae—and brought the study of the physical constitution of the heavenly bodies within the range of observatory work. Researches connected with these matters were, however, for a number of years chiefly left to amateur observers, and it is only since about 1830 that many public observatories have taken up this kind of work. The application of spectrum analysis, photometry, &c., in astronomy has still more increased the number and variety of observations to be made, while the use of photography in work of precision has completely revolutionized many branches of practical astronomy. It has now become necessary for most observatories to devote themselves to one or two special fields of work.
It would be difficult to arrange the existing observatories into classes either according to the work pursued in them or their organization, as the work in many cases at different times has been directed to different objects, while the organization depends mostly on national and local circumstances. As already alluded to above, one of the principal characteristics of the larger observatories of the present day is the distribution of the work among a number of assistants under the general superintendence of a director. This applies principally to the great observatories, where the sun, moon, planets and a limited number of fixed stars are without interruption being observed, but even among these institutions hardly two are conducted on the same principles. Thus in Greenwich the instruments and observations are all treated according to strict rules laid down by the astronomer-royal, while in Washington or Pulkowa each astronomer has to a certain extent his choice as to the treatment of the instrument and arrangement of the observations. The same is the case with the smaller institutions, in most of which these arrangements vary very much with change of personnel.
The way in which the results of observations are published depends principally on the size of the institutions. The larger observatories issue their “annals” or “observations” as separate periodically-published Volumes, while the smaller ones chiefly depend on scientific journals to lay their results before the public, naturally less fully as to details.
Subjoined is a catalogue of public and private observatories still in activity in 1910 or in existence within the past hundred years. (4$^𝑚$＝1° of long.)
(Abbreviations: ap., aperture; equat., equatorial; obs., observatory or observations; o.g., object-glass; phot., photographic; refl., ​ reflector; refr., refractor; s.g., silvered glass; vis., visual; univ., university. Where the names of two makers are given, the first is responsible for the optical, the second for the mechanical part of the instrument.)
Great Britain and Ireland
A. Public Observatories.
Greenwich, royal obs., lat. +51° 28′ 38·4″. Founded in 1675 for the promotion of astronomy and navigation. The obs. have therefore from the first been principally intended to determine the positions of standard stars, the sun and, planets, and above all to follow the motion of the moon with as little interruption as possible, both on and outside the meridian. Since 1873 spectroscopic obs. and a daily phot. record of sun-spots have been taken. The eighth satellite of Jupiter was discovered photographically in 1908. The obs. is under the direction of the astronomer-royal; and from the time of its first astronomer, Flamsteed, the institution has always maintained its place in the foremost rank of obs. Thus the obs. of Bradley (ob. 1762) form the foundation of modern stellar astronomy; but it was especially during the directorship of Airy (1835–1881) that the obs. rose to its present high state of efficiency. There are now two chief assistants, six assistants, and a staff of computers employed. The principal instruments now in use are: a meridian circle by Simms (and Ransomes and May as engineers), erected in 1850, having a circle of 6-ft. diameter and a telescope of 8-in. ap., Lassell’s 2-ft. refl., erected 1884; 13-in. phot. refr. with 10-in. vis. o.g. by Grubb; 28-in. refr. by Grubb; 26-in. phot. refr. by Grubb, with the old 12·8-in. refr. as guiding telescope; 9-in. phot. refr. by Grubb, and 30-in. s.g. refl. by Common, the last four being on one stand; 8-in. altazimuth by Simms, erected 1896. The 26-in. and the 9-in. were presented by Sir H. Thompson. The standard “motor clock” is the centre of a system of electrically-controlled clocks scattered over the United Kingdom. The magnetic and meteorological department was founded in 1838; it contains a complete set of instruments giving continuous phot. records. The Observations are published with all details from 1750, beginning with 1836 in annual bulky quarto volumes; special results—e.g., Star Catalogues, Reductions of Lunar and Planetary Observations—are published in separate volumes.
South Kensington, Solar physics obs., lat. +51° 29′ 48·0″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 41·5 s. W. Founded 1879, under Sir N. Lockyer; 3-ft. refl. and 30-in. refl. by Common; 10-in. refr. by Cooke, and several siderostats with attachments for spectroscopic and phot. work.
Oxford, Radcliffe obs., lat. +51 ° 45′ 35·4″, long. 0 h. 5 m. 2·6 s. W. Founded in 1771 by the Radcliffe trustees. Obs. were regularly made, but none were published until 1839, when systematic obs. were begun with an 8-ft. transit instrument by Bird (1773) and a 6-ft. mural circle by Jones (1836). Heliometer (71/2 in.) by Repsold (1849); meridian circle by Troughton and Simms, mounted in 1861, formerly belonging to Mr Carrington; 10-in. refr. by Cooke (1887), Grubb refr. with 24-in. phot. and 18-in. vis. o.g. (1902); self-recording meteorological instruments. Besides the annual 8vo vols. of Observations (from 1840), four catalogues of stars have been published.
Oxford, univ. obs., lat. +51° 45′ 34·2″, long. 0 h. 5 m. 0·4 s. W. Finished in 1875; is under the Savilian professor of astronomy; 121/4-in. refr. by Grubb, and a 13-in. refl. made and presented by De La Rue. The former has been used for photometric obs.; the latter for taking lunar photographs, by means of which the late Professor Pritchard investigated the libration of the moon; 13-in. phot. refr. by Grubb attached to the 121/4-in., used for phot. zone work.
Cambridge, lat. +52° 12′ 51·6″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 22·8 s. E. Founded by the univ. senate in 1820. Chiefly devoted to meridian work-up to 1870 with a 5-in. transit by Dollond and a mural circle by Jones; a new meridian circle by Simms, of 8-in. ap. and 3-ft. circles, was then erected. The “Northumberland equatorial” was mounted in the “English” fashion in 1838; the o.g. by Cauchoix is of 111/2-in. ap. R. S. Newall’s 25-in. refr. by Cooke, erected 1891, used for spectrographic work; siderostatic refr. with 12-in. o.g. by Cooke, 1898. In 1908 the instruments of Sir W. Huggins’ obs. were presented by the Royal Society.
Durham, univ. obs., lat. +54° 46′ 6·2″, long. 0 h. 6 m. 19·8 s. W. Founded in 1841; small meridian circle by Simms, refr. by Fraunhofer of 61/2-in. ap., Almucantar of 6-in. ap. by Cooke (1900).
Liverpool (Bidston, Birkenhead), lat. +53° 24′ 4·8″, long. 0 h. 12 m. 17·3 s. W. Founded in 1838 by the municipal council; transferred in 1856 to the Docks and Harbour Board; moved to Birkenhead in 1867. Specially intended for testing the rates of chronometers under different temperatures. Transit instrument by Troughton and Simms, and an 8-in. refr. by Merz.
Kew (Richmond), lat. +51° 28′ 6″, long. 0 h. 1 m. 15·1 s. W. The central meteorological obs. of the United Kingdom, with self-registering meteorological and magnetical instruments. Established in 1842 under the auspices of the British Association, afterwards transferred to the Royal Society. Since 1900 a department of the National Laboratory. A photoheliograph was employed at De La Rue’s expense to take daily sun-pictures from 1863 to 1872.
Edinburgh, royal obs., Blackford Hill, lat. +55° 57′ 28·0″, long. 0 h. 12 m. 44·2 s. W. Founded in 1811 by subscription; the building on Calton Hill erected in 1818. In 1834 the founders handed over the administration to the government, and in 1846 the ownership was similarly transferred. Since 1834 the obs. has been under the direction of the astronomer-royal for Scotland, who is also professor of practical astronomy in the univ. Professor T. Henderson (1833–1845) began extensive meridian obs. of fixed stars with a mural circle of 6-ft. diameter and an 8-ft. transit. A 2-ft. s.g. refl. by Grubb was erected in 1872. New obs. erected on Blackford Hill 1893–1895 for the instruments presented by Lord Crawford; 15-in. refr. by Grubb, transit circle by Simms of 8-in. ap., 12-in. s.g. refl. by Browning, two 6-in. refrs. and a very fine library; also the 2-ft. refl. The old obs. on Calton Hill now belongs to the city and is used for instruction; a 21-in. refr. by Wragge has been erected.
Glasgow, univ. obs., lat. +55° 52′ 42·8″, long. 0 h. 17 m. 10·6 s. W. Organized in 1840 by subscription, aided by subsidies from the univ. and the state. Meridian circle by Ertel of 6-in. ap.; 9-in. refr. by Cooke, 20-in. s.g. refl. by Grubb with spectrograph. Two catalogues of stars were published by the late director, R. Grant.
Dublin, situated about 4 m. N.W. of Dublin at Dunsink, lat. +53° 23′ 13·1″, long. 0 h. 25 m. 21·1 s. W. Belongs to the univ.; erected in 1785; is under the direction of the “Andrews professor of astronomy and royal astronomer of Ireland.” In 1808 a reversible meridian circle by Ramsden and Berge of 8-ft. diameter was put up, with which Brinkley observed assiduously till 1827. In 1868 was erected a refr. of 113/4-in. ap. by Cauchoix (o.g. formerly belonging to and given by Sir J. South), which has been used for researches on stellar parallax. A meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 6·4-in. ap. was mounted in 1873, and a 15-in. s.g. refl. for phot. work in 1889. Astronomical Observations and Researches made at Dunsink in 4to parts.
Armagh, lat. +54° 21′ 12·7″, long. 0 h. 26 m. 35·4 s. W. Founded and endowed by Archbishop R. Robinson in 1790. Possessed very few instruments until the obs. was enlarged by Archbishop Lord John George Beresford in 1827, when a mural circle and a transit by Jones were provided, with which meridian obs. were made till 1883, published in two star catalogues; 10-in. refr. by Grubb (1885) used for micrometer work.
B. Principal Private Observatories in 1908.
Mr W. Coleman’s obs., Buckland, Dover, lat. +51° 8′ 12″, long. 0 h. 5 m. 11 s. E. Cooke 8-in. refr. used for obs. of double stars.
Mr J. Franklin-Adams’s obs., Mervel Hill, Hambledon, Surrey, lat. +51° 8′ 11·6″, long. 0 h. 2 m. 30·2 s. W. Erected 1903; twin equatorial by Cooke with 12-in. and 6-in. lenses, another with 8-in. and 6-in. lenses, used for phot. survey of the heavens with special reference to the Milky Way. The former instrument was used at the Cape in 1903–1904.
Rev. T. E. Espin’s obs., Tow Law, Darlington, lat. +54° 43′ 30″, long. 0 h. 7 m. 14 s. W. 171/4-in. refl. by Calver, used since 1888 for spectroscopy and obs. of double stars.
Mr W. H. Maw’s obs., Kensington, lat. +51° 30′ 2·8″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 49·4 s. W., 6-in. refr. by Cooke (1886). Also at Outwood, Surrey, lat. +51° 11′ 38″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 23·7 s. W., 8-in. refr. by Cooke (1896), both used on double stars.
Sir Wilfrid Peek’s obs., Rousdon, Lyme Regis, lat. +50° 42′ 38″, long. 0 h. 11 m. 59·0 s. W. Erected by the late Sir Cuthbert Peek in 1885; 6·4-in. refr. by Merz used for obs. variable stars.
Earl of Rosse’s obs., Birr Castle, King’s county, Ireland, lat. +53° 5′ 47″, long. 0 h. 31 m. 40·9 s. W. In 1839 the earl made and mounted a refl. of 3-ft. ap. (remounted as equat. in 1876), and in 1845 he completed the celebrated refl. of 6-ft. ap. and 54-ft. focal length. These instruments, particularly the latter, were used from 1848 to 1878 for obs. of nebulae, and revealed many new features in these bodies; results published in the Phil. Trans. and collected systematically in the Trans. Roy. Dubl. Soc. (1879–1880). Experiments were made by the present earl to determine the amount of heat radiated from the moon.
Rugby School (Temple Obs.), lat. +52° 22′ 7″, long. 0 h. 5 m. 2 s. W. Founded in 1872; 81/4-in. refr. by Clark, used for obs. of double stars and of stellar spectra.
Stonyhurst College obs., Lancashire, lat. +53° 50′ 40″, long. 0 h. 9 m. 52·7 s. W. An 8-in. refr. by Troughton and Simms, mounted in 1867, used for spectroscopic and micrometric obs.; 15-in. Perry memorial refr. by Grubb mounted in 1893, used chiefly for solar work.
C. Private Observatories now discontinued.
Mr J. G. Barclay’s obs., Leyton, Essex, lat. +51° 34′ 34″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 0·9 s. W. In activity from 1862 till 1886, 10-in. refr. by Cooke; chiefly devoted to double stars.
Mr G. Bishop’s obs., South Villa, Regent’s Park, London, lat. +51° 31′ 29·9″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 37·1 s. W. In activity from 1836 to 1861, then removed to Twickenham, and discontinued in 1874; had a 7-in. refr. by Dollond, with which Mr J. R. Hind discovered ten minor planets and several comets, and constructed maps of stars near the ecliptic.
Mr R. C. Carrington’s obs., Redhill, lat. +51° 14′ 25·3″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 41·3 s. W. Established in 1854; had a 41/2-in. refr. and transit circle of 5-in. ap. (now at Radcliffe Obs.). With the latter a catalogue of the positions of 3735 stars within 9° of the pole, with the former regular obs. of sun-spots, were made from 1853 to 1861.
​ Mr A. A. Common’s obs., Ealing, London, W. (1876–1903), 18-in. s.g. refl. erected in 1876, s.g. refl. of 36-in. ap. (mirror by Calver, mounting by the owner), erected in 1879; chiefly used for celestial photography, replaced by a refl. of 5-ft. ap. in 1889.
Colonel Cooper’s obs., Markree Castle, Co. Sligo, Ireland, lat. +54° 10′ 31·8, long. 0 h. 33 m. 48·4 s. W. Founded by the late E. J. Cooper, who in 1834 erected a refr. of 13·3-in. ap. (o.g. by Cauchoix This instrument was from 1848 to 1856 used for determining the approximate places of 60,000 stars near the ecliptic. The obs. was restored in 1874, and the refr. was used for double-star obs. till 1883.
Earl of Crawford’s obs., Dunecht, Aberdeenshire, lat. +57° 9′ 36″, long. 0 h. 9 m. 40 s. W. Founded in 1872; 15-in. refr. by Grubb, 12-in. s.g. refl. by Browning, two 6-in. and several smaller refrs. meridian circle by Simms similar to the one at Cambridge, numerous spectroscopes and minor instruments, also a large library and a collection of physical instruments. Chiefly devoted to spectroscopic and cometary obs. Whole equipment presented to Edinburgh obs. in 1888.
Mr E. Crossley’s obs., Bermerside, Halifax, Yorkshire. Equatorial refr. by Cooke of 9·3 in. ap., erected in 1871, chiefly used for obs. of double stars till 1902.
Rev W. R. Dawes’s obs., first at Ormskirk (1830–1839), lat. +53° 43′ 18″, long. 0 h. 11 m. 36 s. W.; afterwards at Cranbrook, Kent (1844–1850), lat. +51° 6′ 31″, long. 0 h. 2 m. 10·8 s. E.; then at Wateringbury, near Maidstone, lat. +51° 15′ 12″, long. 0 h. 1 m. 39·8 s. E., till 1857; and finally at Hopefield, Haddenham, lat. +51° 45′ 54″, long. 0 h. 3 m. 43·4 s. W., till Mr Dawes’s death in 1868. Possessed at first only small instruments, then successively a 6-in. refr. by Merz, a 71/2-in. and an 81/4-in. refr. by Clark, and an 8-in. refr. by Cooke, with all of which a great many measures of double stars were made.
Mr W. De La Rue’s obs., Cranford, Middlesex, lat. +51° 28′ 7·8″, long. 0 h. 1 m. 37·5 s. W. Established in 1857; with 13-in. refl., devoted to solar and lunar photography. The Kew photoheliograph was employed here from 1858 to 1863 to take daily photographs of the sun. The refl. was presented to the Oxford univ. obs. in 1874.
Mr S. Groombridge’s obs., Blackheath, lat. +51° 28′ 2·7″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 0·6 s. E. In 1806 Mr Groombridge obtained a new transit circle of 4-ft. diameter by Troughton, with which he up to 1816 observed stars within 50° of the pole forming a catalogue of 4243 stars.
Sir William and Sir John Herschel’s obs. at Slough near Windsor, lat. +51° 30′ 20″, long. 0 h. 2 m. 24 s. W. William Herschel settled at Datchet in 1782, and at Slough in 1786, and erected several 20-ft. refl. (of 18-in. ap.), and in 1789 his 40-ft. refl. of 4-ft. ap. The latter was comparatively little used (two satellites of Saturn were discovered with it), while the former served to discover about 2500 nebulae and clusters, 800 double stars, and two satellites of Uranus, as also to make the innumerable other obs. which have made the name of Herschel so celebrated. Sir J. Herschel used a 20-ft. refl. at Slough from 1825 to 1833, and from 1834 to 1838 at the Cape of Good Hope, to examine the nebulae and double stars of the whole of the visible heavens, discovering 2100 new nebulae and 5500 new double stars.
Sir William Huggins’s obs., Upper Tulse Hill, London, lat. +51° 26′ 47″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 27·7 s. W. Founded in 1856; furnished with an 8-in. refr. (by Clark and Cooke). In 1870 was erected an equat. mounting with a 15-in. refr. and a Cassegrain refl. of 18-in. ap., both made by Grubb for the Royal Society. With these Sir W. Huggins has made his well-known spectroscopic observations and photographs of stellar spectra. The instruments were transferred to the Cambridge obs. in 1908.
Rev T. J. Hussey’s obs., Hayes, Kent, lat. +51° 22′ 38″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 3·6 s. E. In activity from about 1825 for about twelve years; 61/2-in. refr. by Fraunhofer, used for making one of the star maps published by the Berlin Academy.
Mr G. Knott’s obs., Cuckfield, Sussex (from 1860 to 1873 at Woodcroft, lat. +51° 0′ 41″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 34 s. W., afterwards at Knowles Lodge, Cuckfield); 7·3-in. refr. by Clark, used for observing double stars and variable stars till 1894.
Mr W. Lassell’s obs., from 1840 to 1861 at Starfield near Liverpool, lat. +53° 25′ 28″, long. 0 h. 11 m. 38·7 s. W.; contained refl. of 9- and 24-in. ap.; employed for obs. of the satellites of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and of nebulae. The 2-ft. refl. was used at Malta in 1852–1853. and a 4-ft. refl. was mounted in 1861, also at Malta, and used till 1864 for obs. of satellites and nebulae. The eighth satellite of Saturn., the two inner satellites of Uranus and the satellite of Neptune were discovered at Starfield by Mr Lassell.
Dr J. Lee’s obs., Hartwell, Bucks, lat. +51° 48′ 36″, long. 0 h. 3 m. 24·3 s. W. In 1836 Dr Lee came into possession of Captain Sryth’s 6-in. refr., and mounted it at Hartwell House where it continued to be occasionally employed for double-star obs. and other work up to about 1864.
Mr F. McClean’s obs., Rusthall House, Tunbridge Wells. Phot. 12-m. refr. and o.g. prism by Grubb used for photos. of star spectra, 1895–1904.
Mr R. S. Newall’s obs., Gateshead, Newcastle-on-Tyne. A 25-in. refr. by Cooke was mounted in 1870 but never used; presented to Cambridge obs. in 1891.
Dr Isaac Roberts’s obs., Crowborough, Sussex, lat. +51° 3′ 7″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 37 s. E. 20-in. s.g. refl. by Grubb (with 7-in. refr.) used for phot: of nebulae and clusters 1890–1904.
Captain W. H. Smyth’s obs., Bedford, lat. +52° 8′ 27·6″, long. 0 h. 1 m. 52·0 s. W. In 1830 Captain (afterwards Admiral) Smyth erected a 6-in. refr. by Tulley, and observed the double stars and nebulae contained in his “Bedford Catalogue” (1844).
Sir James South’s obs., from 1816 to 1824 at Blackman Street, Southwark, long. 0 h. 0 m. 21·8 s. W. Here South took transit Obs. of the sun, and he and J. Herschel measured double stars, in 1821–1823. In 1826 South erected an obs. at Campden Hill, Kensington, lat. +51° 30′ 12″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 46·8 s. W., and procured a 12-in. o.g. from Cauchoix. As Troughton, however, failed to make a satisfactory mounting, the glass was never used till after it had been presented to Dublin obs. in 1862.
Colonel Tomline’s obs. at Orwell Park, Ipswich, lat. +52° 0′ 33″, long. 0 h. 4 m. 55·8 s. E. 10-in. refr. by Merz, used for obs. of comets from 1874 to 1889.
Mr W. E. Wilson’s (d. 1908), obs., Daramona, Streete, Co. Westmeath, Ireland, lat. +53° 41′ 12″, long. 0 h. 29 m. 59 s. W. 2-ft. refl. by Grubb, and other instruments for phot. and solar work.
Lord Wrottesley’s obs., from 1829 to 1841 at Blackheath, lat. +51° 28′ 2″, long. 0 h. 0 m. 2·7 s. E., where a catalogue of the right ascensions of 1318 stars was formed from obs. with a transit instrument by Jones. In 1842 a new obs. was built at Wrottesley Hall, lat. +52° 37′ 2·3″, long. 0 h. 8 m. 53·6 s. W., where the transit and a 73/4 in.-refr. by Dollond were mounted. Obs. were here made of double stars.
France
Paris, national obs., lat. +48° 50′ 11·2″, long. 0 h. 9 m. 20·9 s. E. Founded in 1667, when the construction of a large and monumental building was commenced by the architect Claude Perrault. J. D. Cassini’s obs. made the institution for some time the most celebrated obs. existing, but later the activity declined, although several eminent men, as Bouvard and Arago, have held the post of director. Since 1854, when Leverrier assumed the directorship, the obs. have been conducted with regularity, and, together with a number of most important theoretical works, published in the Annals (Observations and Memoirs). The principal instruments now in use are: a meridian circle by Secretan and Eichens, with an o.g. of 9·5-in. ap., another by Eichens (given by M. Bischoffsheim) of 7·5-in. ap., a 15-in. refr. by Lerebours and Brunner, a 12-in. refr. by Secretan and Eichens, a refr. of 9·5-in. ap., an equat. coudée by Henry and Gautier of 101/2-in. ap. (1883), another by the same of 231/2-in. ap., vis. and phot. (1891), phot. refr. of 13 in. by the same. A s.g. refl. of 4-ft. ap. was mounted in 1875, but has never been used.
In addition to this national obs. there were during the latter half of the 18th century several minor obs. in Paris, which only lasted for some years. Among these were the obs. at Collège Mazarin, lat. +48° 51′ 29″, where Lacaille observed from 1746 to 1750, and from 1754 to 1762, and the obs. at the École Militaire, lat. +48° 51′ 5″, built in 1768 and furnished with an 8-ft. mural quadrant by Bird, with which J. L. d’Agelet observed telescopic stars (1782–1785), and which was afterwards (1789–1801), under Lalande’s direction, employed for observing more than 50,000 stars, published in the Histoire Céleste (1801).
Meudon, close to Paris, lat. +48° 48′ 18″, long. 0 h. 8 m. 55·6 s. E. Founded in 1875; devoted to physical astronomy, and especially to celestial photography, under the direction of J. Janssen; 32-in. vis. and 241/2-in. phot. refr. by Henry and Gautier, refl. by the same of 39-in. ap. There is a branch obs. on Mont Blanc, where a polar siderostat with 12-in. o.g. and 20-in. mirror is occasionally used for solar and spectroscopic work (15,780 ft. above sea-level).
Montsouris, situated in the Montsouris Park, south of Paris, lat. +48° 49′ 18″, long. 0 h. 9 m. 20·7 s. E. Founded in 1875 for the training of naval officers.
Juvissy (Seine-et-Oise), private obs. of N. C. Flammarion, lat. +48° 41′ 37″, long. 0 h. 9 m. 29·0 s. E. 91/2-in. refr. used for obs. of planets.
Chevreuse (Seine-et-Oise), private obs. of M. Farman (1903), lat. +48° 42′ 33″, long. 0 h. 8 m. 4·5 s. E.; 8-in. refr. by Mailhat used on double stars.
Besançon, chronometric and meteorol. obs., lat. +47° 14′ 59·0″, long. 0 h. 23 m. 57·1 s. E. Opened 1884; 8-in. refr., 12-in. equat. coudée, 71/2-in. transit circle, all by Gautier.
Lyons, old obs. in lat. 45° 45′ 46″, long. 0 h. 19 m. 18 s. E., at the Jesuit college. A new obs. was erected in 1877 at St Génis-Laval, at some distance from the city, lat. + 45° 41′ 41·0″, long. 0 h. 19 m. 8·5 s. E. Transit circle by Eichens (6-in. o.g.), 12-in. equat. coudée by Gautier, 12-in. siderostat.
Bordeaux, univ. obs. at Floirac, 4 km. N.W. of the city, lat. +44° 50′ 7·3″, long. 0 h. 2 m. 5·5 s. W. Founded 1882; 7-in. transit circle by Eichens, 14-in. refr. by Merz and Gautier, 13-in. phot. refr. by Henry and Gautier.
Marseilles, lat. 43° 18′ 17·5″, long. 0 h. 21 m. 34·6 s. E. Originally belonging to the Jesuits, taken over by the ministry of the navy in 1749. It was here that J. L. Pons made his numerous discoveries of comets. New buildings erected in 1869; 91/2-in. Merz. refr., refl. of 32-in. ap. s.g. by Foucault, 71/2-in. transit circle.
​ Toulouse, lat. 43° 36′ 45·0″, long. 0 h. 5 m. 49·9 s. E. Erected in 1841 (Darquier had observed at the Lyceum towards the end of the 18th century); reorganized 1873; 9‑in. refr. and 13‑in. phot. refr. by Gautier, 13‑in. and 32-in. refl.
Nice, lat. +43° 43′ 16·9″, long. 0 h. 29 m. 12·2 s. E., founded and endowed by R. L. Bischoffsheim for the Bureau de Longitude (1880), situated at Mont Gros, north-east of Nice; a refr. of 30-in. ap. by Henry and Gautier, a meridian circle by Brunner of 8-in. ap., 15‑in. refr. and 153/4-in. equat. coudée by Henry and Gautier.
Abbadia (Basses Pyrénées), lat. +43° 22′ 52·2″, long. 0 h. 7 m. 0·1s. W. Founded by A. d’Abbadie, 1858, belongs now to the Paris Acad. of Science. 6‑in. transit circle.
Germany
Altona, lat. +53° 32′ 45·3″, long. 0 h. 39 m. 46·1 s. E. Founded in 1823 by the Danish government to assist in the geodetic operations in Holstein. A meridian circle by Reichenbach (of 4‑in. ap.) was procured, to which in 1858 was added a 41/2-in. equat. by Repsold. The obs. is best known by the fact that the Astronomische Nachrichten, the principal astronomical journal, was published here from 1821 (by H. C. Schumacher up to 1850, by C. F. W. Peters from 1854). The obs. was moved to Kiel in 1874.
Bamberg, lat. +49° 53′ 6·0″, long. 0 h. 43 m. 33·6 s. E. Founded and endowed by the late Dr K. Remeis, completed 1889; 71/2-in. heliometer by Merz and Repsold, 101/2-in. refr. by Schröder.
Berlin, royal obs., lat. +52° 30′ 16·7″, long. 0 h. 53 m. 34·9 s. E. Was erected in 1705 as part of the building of the Academy of Sciences (lat. +52° 31′ 12·5″, long. 0 h. 53 m. 35 s. E.), a very unsuitable locality. A new obs. was built in the southern part of the city, finished in 1835. Refr. by Utzschneider and Fraunhofer of 9‑in. ap. (used chiefly for obs. of minor planets), a meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 4‑in. ap., another by the same makers of 7-in. ap.
Berlin, obs. of Urania Society for diffusing natural knowledge, lat. +52° 31′ 30·7″, long. 0 h. 53 m. 27·4 s. E. Opened 1889; 12‑in. refr. by Schott. In the Treptow Chaussee is a popular obs. with a 27-in. refr. by Schott and Steinheil.
Bonn, univ. obs., lat. +50° 43′ 45·0″, long. 0 h. 28 m. 23·2 s. E. Finished in 1845; meridian circle by Pistor of 41/2-in. ax., heliometer by Merz of 6-in. ap. The former was .used by F. W. A. Argelander for observing the stars contained in his three great catalogues. The obs. is chiefly known by the zone obs., made from 1852 to 1859, with a small comet-seeker, on which Argelander’s great atlas of 324,198 stars between the north pole and −2° decl. is founded, continued with a 6‑in. refr. from −2° to −31° decl. by Schönfeld. A meridian circle of 6-in. ap. by Repsold was mounted in 1882.
Bothkamp, F. G. von Bülow’s obs., lat. +54° 12′ 9·6″, long. 0 h. 40 m. 31·2 s. E. Situated a few miles from Kiel, founded in 1870. With a refr. of 11-in. ap. by Schröder, Dr K. H. Vogel obtained valuable results in 1871–1874; since then it has only been used occasionally.
Bremen. In the third storey of his house in Sandstrasse, H. W. M. Olbers (d. 1840) had his obs., lat. +53° 4′ 38″, long. 0 h. 35 m. 10 s. E.; though the principal instrument was only a 33/4-in. refr. by Dollond, many comets and the planets Pallas and Vesta were discovered and observed here.
Breslau, univ. obs., lat. +51° 6′ 55·8″, long. 1 h. 8 m. 8·7 s. E. Founded 1790. In a small and unsuitable locality; 8-in. refr. by Clark and Repsold erected 1898.
Dresden, Baron von Engelhardt’s obs., lat. +51° 2′ 16·8″, long. 0 h. 54 m. 54·8 s. E. A 12-in. refr. by Grubb (mounted 1880), used for obs. of comets and double stars, presented to Kasan obs. in 1897.
Düsseldorf (Bilk, originally a suburb, now part of the city), lat. +51° 12′ 25·0″, long. 0 h. 27 m. 5·5 s. E. Founded and endowed by Professor J. F. Benzenberg (d. 1846); best known by the discovery of twenty-one minor planets by K. T. R. Luther; 41/2-in. refr. by Merz, 71/2-in. refr. by Merz and Bamberg.
Gotha.—In 1791 an obs. was founded by Duke Ernest II. at Seeberg, lat. +50° 56′ 5·2″, long. 0 h. 42 m. 55·8 s. E., on a hill a few miles from Gotha, the chief instrument being a large transit instrument by Ramsden. Through the labours, principally theoretical, of F. X. Zach, B. A. von Lindenau, J. F. Encke and P. A. Hansen, the institution ranked with the first obs. A new obs. was built at Gotha in 1857, lat. +50° 56′ 37·5″, long. 0 h. 42 m. 50·4 s. E., which received the instruments from Seeberg, including a small transit circle by Ertel (made in 1824), also a new equat. by Repsold of 41/2-in. ap.
Göttingen, univ. obs., lat. +51° 31′ 48·2″, long. 0 h. 39 m. 46·2 s. E. An obs. had existed here from 1751, where Tobias Mayer worked. In 1811 a new building was constructed. Besides his mathematical works, K. F. Gauss found time to engage in important geodetic and magnetic obs.; meridian circle by Repsold (41/2-in. ap.), another by Reichenbach (41/2-in.), 6-in. heliometer by Repsold (1888).
Hamburg. lat. +53° 33′ 7·0″, long. 0 h. 39 m. 53·6 s. E. Built in the year 1825. With a meridian circle of 4-in. ap. by Repsold, K. L. C. Rümker observed the places of 12,000 stars. A refr. of 10-in. ap. by Merz and Repsold was mounted in 1868. A new obs. is now being built 20 km. south-east of the city, lat. +53° 28′ 46″, long. 0 h. 40 m. 58·5 s. E., with a 231/2-in. refr by Steinheil and Repsold, 71/2-in. transit circle by Repsold, and a 39-in. refl.
Heidelberg, grand ducal obs., lat. +49° 23′ 54·9″, long. 0 h. 34 m. 53·1 s. E. On the Königstuhl hill, 500 ft. above the Neckar; opened 1898. Consists of an astrometric and an astrophysical department. The former has a 13‑in. refr. by Steinheil and Repsold, an 8-in. refr. by Merz and a 61/2-in. transit circle by Repsold. The astrophysical department is chiefly devoted to phot. work with a triple equat. with two 16‑in. lenses and 10-in. guiding telescope, as well as with a 28-in. s.g. refl. by Zeiss.
Jena, univ. obs., lat. +50° 55′ 34·9″, long. 0 h. 46 m. 20·3 s. 7-in. refr. mounted 1891.
Kiel, univ. obs., lat. +54° 20′ 27·6″, long. 0 h. 40 m. 35·6 s. E. Contains the instruments removed from Altona in 1874, also an 8-in refr. by Steinheil and a 9‑in. transit circle by Repsold.
Königsberg, univ. obs., lat. +54° 42′ 50·4″, long. 1 h. 21 m. 59·0 s. E. Built 1813; F. W. Bessel was the director till his death in 1846, and nearly all his celebrated investigations were carried out here, e.g. obs. of fundamental stars, zone obs. of stars, researches on refraction, heliometric obs., by which the annual parallax of the star 61 Cygni was first determined, &c. The instruments are a 4‑in. transit circle by Repsold (1841), a 6‑in. heliometer by Utzschneider (1829), and a 13‑in. refr. by Reinfelder and Repsold (1898).
Landstuhl (Palatinate), private obs. of J. P. H. Fauth, lat. +49° 24′ 42·9″, long. 0 h. 30 m. 16·3 s. E.; 71/2-in. refr.
Leipzig, univ. obs. Erected 1787–1790 on the “Pleissenburg”; lat. +51° 20′ 20·5″, long. 0 h. 49 m. 30·2 s. E.; possessed only small instruments, the largest being a 41/2-in. refr. by Fraunhofer (1830). In 1861 a new obs. was erected, lat. +51° 20′ 5·9″, long. 0 h. 49 m. 33·9 s. E., with a refr. of 81/2-in. ap. by Steinheil, replaced in 1891 by a 12‑in. refr. by Reinfelder and Repsold, a meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 6·3-in. ap. and a 6‑in. heliometer by Repsold.
Lilienthal, near Bremen, lat. +53° 8′ 25″, long. 0 h. 36 m. 1 s. E. J. H. Schröter’s private obs.; from 1779 to 1813. Contained a number of refl. by Herschel and Schrader, the largest being of 27-ft. focal length and 20-in. ap. (movable round the eye-piece), used for physical obs., chiefly of planets. Destroyed during the war in 1813; the instruments (which had been bought by the government in 1800) were, for the greater part, sent to the Göttingen obs.
Mannheim, lat. +49° 29′ 10·9″, long. 0 h. 33 m. 50·5 s. E. Built in 1772; very few obs. were published until the obs. was restored in 1860, when a 6‑in. refr. by Steinheil was procured. In 1879 the obs. was moved to Karlsruhe and later to Heidelberg.
Munich, at Bogenhausen, royal obs., lat. +48° 8′ 45·5″, long. 0 h. 46 m. 26·1 s. E. Founded in 1809; a transit circle by Reichenbach was mounted in 1824, an 11-in. equat. refr. by Fraunhofer in 1835. The former was used from 1840 for zone obs. (about 80,000) of telescopic stars. 6‑in. transit circle by Repsold mounted 1891.
Potsdam, lat. +52° 22′ 56·0″, long. 0 h. 52 m. 15·9 s. E. “Astrophysical obs.,” founded in 1874, devoted to spectroscopic and photographic obs. A refr. by Schröder of 111/2-in. ap., another by Grubb of 8-in. ap., a refr. by Steinheil and Merz with 9-in. vis. and 13‑in. phot. o.g. and a refr. by Steinheil and Repsold with 31‑in. phot. and 191/2-in. vis. o.g., spectroscopes, photometers, &c. Results are published in 4to vols.
Strassburg, univ. obs., lat. +48° 35′ 0·3″, long. 0 h. 31 m. 4·5 s. E. Finished in 1881; an 18-in. refr. by Merz; altazimuth of 51/2-in. ap., meridian circle of 61/2-in. ap., and a 61/2 in. orbit sweeper, all by Repsold.
Wilhelmshaven (Prussia), naval obs., lat. +53° 31′ 52·2″, long. 0 h. 32 m. 35·1 s. E.; situated on the Jahde to the north of Oldenburg. Founded in 1874; meridian circle by Repsold of 41/2-in. ap., and meteorological, magnetical, and tide-registering instruments.
Austria-Hungary
Vienna, imperial and royal obs. On the univ. building an obs. was founded in 1756, lat. +48° 12′ 35·5″, long. 1 h. 5 m. 31·7s. E. Owing to the unsuitable locality and the want of instruments, very few obs. of value were taken until the obs. was rebuilt in 1826, when some better instruments were procured, especially a meridian circle of 4‑in. ap., and a 6‑in. refr. by Fraunhofer (mounted in 1832), used for obs. of planets and comets. From 1874 to 1879 a large and magnificent building (with four domes) was erected at Währing, north-west of the city, lat. +48° 13′ 55·4″, long. 1 h. 5 m. 21·5 s. E. In addition to the old instruments, two refrs. were erected, one by Clark of 113/4-in. ap., another by Grubb of 27-in. ap. (mounted 1882); later a 15‑in. equat. coudée by Gautier and a 13‑in. phot. refr. by Repsold have been mounted.
Vienna (Josephstadt), private obs. of T. von Oppolzer (d. 1886), lat. +48° 12′ 53·8″, long. 1 h. 5 m. 25·3 s. E. Established in 1865; 5‑in. refr. by Merz, 4‑in. meridian circle.
Vienna (Ottakring), private obs. of M. von Kuffner, lat. +48° 12′ 46·7″, long. 1 h. 5 m. 11·0 s. E. Completed 1886; 101/2-in. vis. and 6·3‑in. phot. refr. by Steinheil and Repsold, 8‑in. heliometer and 43/4-in. transit circle by Repsold.
Prague, univ. obs., lat. +50° 5′ 51·8″, long. 0 h. 57 m. 40·3 s. E. Founded in 1751 at the Collegium Clementinum, on a high tower. 6‑in. refr. by Steinheil and a 4‑in. meridian circle.
Senftenberg (in the east of Bohemia), lat. +50° 5′ 55″, long. 1 h. 5 m. 51 s. E. Baron von Senftenberg’s obs.; established in 1844. Obs. of comets and planets made with small instruments till the owner’s death (1858).
​ Olmütz, lat. +49° 35′ 40″, long. 1 h. 9 m. 0 s. E. E. von Unkrechtsberg′s obs.; 5-in. refr. by Merz. J. F. Julius Schmidt observed planets and comets from 1852 to 1858.
Kremsmünster (Upper Austria), lat. +48° 3′ 23·1″, long. 0 h. 56 m. 31·6 s. E. Founded in 1748 at the gymnasium of the Benedictines. 3-in. meridian circle (mounted in 1827); 51/2-in. refr. (mounted in 1856), used for comets and minor planets. Transit circle by Repsold (1907).
Pala (sea-coast, Austria), naval obs., lat. +44° 51′ 48·7″, long. 0 h. 55 m. 23·1 s. E. Founded in 1871; meridian circle of 6-in. ap. by Simms, 6-in. refr. by Steinheil, magnetic and meteorological instruments. Twenty-eight minor planets were discovered here from 1874 to 1880 by J. Palisa.
Cracow, univ. obs., lat. +50° 3′ 50·0″, long. 1 h. 19 m. 51·1 s. E. Possesses only small instruments.
Lussinpiccolo (island of Lussin, Adriatic), private obs. of Madame Manora, lat. +44° 32′ 11·0″, long. 0 h. 57 m. 52·4 s. E. Erected 1894; 7-in. refr. by Reinfelder, used for obs. of planets.
Kis Kartal (north-east of Budapest), private obs. of Baron Podmaniczky, lat. +47° 41′ 54·8″, long. 1 h. 18 m. 11·7 s. E. 71/2-in. refr. by Merz and Cooke.
O’Gyalla (near Komorn, Hungary), lat. +47° 52′ 27·3″, long. 1 h. 12 m. 45·6 s. E. Nicolas de Konkoly′s obs., since 1899 a royal obs. Established in 1871, rebuilt and enlarged in 1876, devoted to astrophysics. A 10-in. s.g. refl. by Browning was in use up to 1881, when it was disposed of and a 10-in. refr. (o.g. by Merz) mounted in its place; also a 6-in. refr. by Merz, and a 6·3 in. phot. refr.
Kalocza (south of Budapest), lat. +46° 31′ 41″, long. 1 h. 15 m. 54 s. E. Obs. of the Jesuit college, founded in 1878 by Cardinal Haynald; 7-in. refr. by Merz, used for solar obs.
Herény (Vas, Hungary), lat. +47° 15′ 47·4″, long. 1 h. 6 m. 24·7 s. E. E. and A. von Gothard′s obs. Founded in 1881; 10-in. refl. by Browning.
Switzerland
Zürich, lat. +47° 22′ 40·0″, long. 0 h. 34 m. 12·3 s. E. An obs. existed since 1759; handed over to the Polytechnic School in 1855; new building erected in 1863. A 6-in. refr. by Merz and Kern with two phot. telescopes, two transit instruments, &c. Sun-spots are regularly observed, but the institution is chiefly devoted to educational purposes.
Neuchâtel, lat. +46° 59′ 51·0″, long. 0 h. 27 m. 49·9 s. E. Erected in 1858; meridian circle of 41/4-in. ap. by Ertel, 61/2-in. refr. by Merz.
Geneva, lat. +46° 11′ 59·3″, long. 0 h. 24 m. 36·6 s. E. Founded in 1773; a new building erected in 1830. The obs. has been the centre of the important geodetic operations carried on in Switzerland since 1861. An 11-in. refr. (o.g. by Merz) was presented by the director E. Plantamour in 1880; 4-in. transit circle.
Spain and Portugal
Madrid, royal obs., lat. +40° 24′ 29·7″, long. 0 h. 14 m. 45·1 s. W. 101/2-in. refr. by Merz, 83/4-in. refr. by Grubb, 6-in. transit circle by Repsold.
Barcelona, obs. of Acad. of Science, lat. +41° 25′ 18″, long. 0 h. 8 m. 28 s. E. Opened 1904; 15-in. refr., phot. and vis. by Mailhat, 73/4-in. transit circle by the same.
Cadiz, naval obs., at San Fernando, lat. +36° 27′ 42·0″, long. 0 h. 24 m. 49·3 s. W. Founded in 1797; 11-in. refr. by Brunner, 13-in. phot. refr. by Henry and Gautier, 8-in. transit circle by Simms.
Lisbon, royal obs., lat. +38° 42′ 31·3″, long. 0 h. 36 m. 44·7 s. W. Founded 1861; 151/2-in. refr. by Merz and Repsold, transit circle by Repsold.
Coimbra, univ. obs., lat. +40° 12′ 25·5″, long. 0 h. 33 m. 43·1 s. W. Founded 1792; 63/4-in. transit circle by Repsold, 16-in. refl. by Secretan.
Italy
Turin, univ. obs., lat. +45° 4′ 7·9″, long. 0 h. 30 m. 47·2 s. E. Founded in 1790 by the Academy of Science; rebuilt in 1820 on a tower of the Palazzo Madama, 41/2-in. transit circle by Reichenbach, 12-in. refr. by Merz; handed over to the univ. in 1865. A new obs. is being erected 6 km. from the city.
Milan, originally obs. of Brera College, now royal obs. of Brera, lat. +45° 27′ 59·2″, long. 0 h. 36 m. 45·9 s. E. Founded in 1763. The publication of an annual ephemeris from 1775 to 1875 and important theoretical works absorbed most of the time of the directors B. Oriani and F. Carlini, and the instruments were rather insuliicient. In 1875 an 8-in. refr. by Merz was mounted, with which CM V. Schiaparelli has made valuable obs. of Mars; 18-in. refr. by Merz.
Padua, univ. obs., lat. +45° 24′ 1·0″, long. 0 h. 47 m. 29·2 s. E. Founded in 1767. In 1837 a meridian circle by Starke of 4-in. ap. was mounted, with which stars from Bessel′s zones were reobserved; the results were published in five catalogues; 41/2-in. refr. by Merz and Starke (1858); Dembowski′s 7-in. refr. mounted in 1881.
Gallarate, near Lago Maggiore, from 1860 to 1879, Baron E. Dembowski′s obs. From 1852 to 1859 Baron Dembowski had observed double stars at Naples with a 5-in. dialyte by Plössl and a small transit circle by Starke. From 1860 he used a 7-in. refr. by Merz.
Bologna, univ. obs., lat. +44° 29′ 47·0″, long. 0 h. 45 m. 24·5 s. E. Founded in 1724 on a tower of the univ. building. Obs. have only been made occasionally. A 31/2-in. meridian circle was mounted in 1846.
Florence.—In 1774 a museum of science and natural history was established, part of which was used as an obs., but very few obs. were made; a new obs., built 1872 at Arcetri, lat. +43° 45′ 14·4″, long 0 h. 45 m. 1·3 s. E. 11-in. and 91/2-in. refrs. by Amici.
Teramo (Abruzzo), private obs. of V. Cerulli, lat. +42° 39′ 27″, long 0 h. 54 m. 56 s. E. 151/2-in. refr. by Cooke.
Rome, obs. of the Roman College, lat. +41° 53′ 53·6″, long. 0 h. 49 m. 55·4 s. E. Established in 1787, taken over by the government 1879. In 1853 a new obs. was erected on the unfinished piles of the church of St Ignatius, and furnished with a 9-in. refr. by Merz, a meridian circle by Ertel of 31/2-in. ap. (in use from 1842). With these instruments, to which were later added powerful spectroscopes, A. Secchi made a great many obs., chiefly relating to spectrum analysis and physical astronomy; 15-in. refr. by Steinheil.
Rome, obs. of the Capitol, lat. +41° 53′ 33·6″, long. 0 h. 49 m. 56·3s. E. Established in 1848; belongs to the univ.; small transit circle and a 41/2-in. refr. by Merz. The latter was used by L. Respighi for obs. of solar prominences.
Rome (Vatican), papal obs., lat. +41 ° 54′ 4·8″, long. 0 h. 49 m. 49·3 s. E. Founded 1890; 101/2-in. refr. by Merz, 13-in. phot. and 8-in. vis. refr. and 51/2-in. photoheliograph by Henry.
Naples, royal obs., situated at Capo di Monte, lat. +40° 51′ 46·3″, long. 0 h. 57 m. 1·7 s. E. Erected in 1812–1819; a 4-in. meridian circle by Reichenbach, a 61/2-in. refr. by Reichenbach and Fraunhofer, 6-in. Merz. refr.
Palermo, royal obs., lat. +38° 6′ 44·5″, long. 0 h. 53 m. 25·9 s. E. Erected in 1790 on a tower of the royal palace. The principal instruments were a reversible vertical circle by Ramsden of 5-ft. diameter with a 65-in. telescope, and a transit instrument of 3-in. ap. With these Piazzi observed the stars contained in his celebrated Catalogue of 7641 Stars (1814); this work led him to the discovery of the first minor planet, Ceres, on the 1st of January 1801. The activity was revived in 1857, when a meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 5-in. ap. was mounted; a 91/2-in. refr. by Merz has been used for spectroscopic work.
Catania, lat. +37° 30′ 13·3″, long. 1 h. 0 m. 20·6 s. E. Founded 1885; 13-in. phot. refr. by Henry and Gautier, and a 13-in. refr. by Merz. The latter is used in summer on a duplicate mounting on Mount Etna, where in 1879–1880 an obs. was built at the “Casa degl’ Inglesi,” 9650 ft. above the sea, for solar obs.
Greece
Athens, lat. +37° 58′ 20″, long. 1 h. 34 m. 55·7 s. E. Erected in 1846; founded by Baron Sina. With a refr. of 61/2-in. ap. Julius Schmidt (d. 1884) made obs. of the physical appearance of the moon, planets and comets. Reorganized 1895; 151/2-in. refr. by Gautier, 61/2-in. transit circle.
Russia
St Petersburg, obs. of the Academy of Sciences, lat. +59° 56′ 29·7″, long. 2 h. 1 m. 13·5 s. E. Founded in 1725, restored in 1803; meridian circle by Ertel. Abolished in 1884. A univ. obs. was founded in 1880, lat. +59° 56′ 32·0″, long. 2 h. 1 m. 11·4 s. E.; 91/2-in. refr. by Reinfelder and Repsold, used on double stars, during the summer at Domkino, lat. +58° 35·6′, long. 1 h. 59 m. 25 s. E.
Pulkavo (Pulkowa), Nicholas Central Obs., lat. +59° 46′ 18·7″, long. 2 h. 1 m. 18·6 s. E. Finished in 1839. Was under the direction of F. G. W. Struve till 1861, then of his son O. Struve till 1889. The staff consists now of the director, five astronomers, six assistants and computers. The principal instruments are: a transit instrument by Ertel of 6-in. ap., a vertical circle by Ertel of 6-in. ap. (the circle of 31/2-ft. diameter has been redivided by Repsold),—these two instruments are for determining standard places of stars; a meridian circle by Repsold (6-in. ap., 4-ft. circles), used since 1841 to observe all stars north of −15° decl. down to the 6th mag., and all others observed by Bradley; a prime vertical transit by Repsold with 61/4-in. ap., used for determining the constant of aberration; a 71/2-in.. heliometer by Merz; a refr. by Merz of 14·9-in. ap. (remounted by Repsold in 1880), which was used by O. Struve to observe double stars; 30-in. refr. by Clark and Repsold, erected 1884, chiefly used for spectrographic work; 13-in. phot. refr. See also Odessa.
Åbo (Finland), univ. obs., lat. +60° 26′ 56·8″, long. 1 h. 29 m. 8·3 s. E. Founded in 1819. With the meridian circle by Reichenbach of 4-in. ap. F. W. A. Argelander observed the 560 stars contained in the Abo catalogue. In consequence of a great fire in 1827 the univ. and obs. were moved to Helsingfors.
Helsingfors (Finland), univ. obs., lat. +60° 9′ 42·6″, long. 1 h. 39 m. 49·1 s. E. Erected in 1832–1835; furnished with a 7-in. refr. and the instruments from Abo, including a transit instrument by Fraunhofer of 51/2-in. ap.; 13-in. phot. refr. erected 1890.
Dorpat (Yuriev), univ. obs., lat. +58° 22′ 46·8″, long. 1 h. 46 m. 53·2 s. E. Founded in 1808; 1814–1839 under the direction of F. G. W. Struve. With a meridian circle by Reichenbach obs. were made from 1822 to 1843, chiefly of double stars, while the 91/2-in. refr. by Fraunhofer was used from 1824 to 1837 for measuring double stars.
​ Warsaw, univ. obs., lat. +52° 13′ 5·7″, long. 1 h. 24 m. 7·3 s. E. Erected in 1820–1824; meridian circle by Reichenbach; 6-in. refr. by Merz.
Moscow, univ. obs., lat. +55° 45′ 19·8″, long. 2 h. 30 m. 17·0 s. E. An obs. was built in 1825–1832; the present building was erected about 1850; 10·7-in. refr by Merz; a meridian circle by Repsold of 5·3-in. ap.; 151/2-in. vis.; and phot. refr. by Henry and Repsold.
Kazan, univ. obs., lat. +55° 47′ 24·2″, long. 3 h. 16 m. 28·9 s. E. Founded in 1814, restored in 1842; 61/2-in. refr. by Merz; meridian circle by Repsold. New obs. built 1899, lat. +55° 50′ 20·0″, long. 3 h. 15 m. 16·5 s. E., for Engelhardt’s instruments (see Dresden).
Kharkov, univ. obs., lat. +50° 0′ 9·6″, long. 2 h. 24 m. 55·8 s. E.; 61/2-in. transit circle by Repsold.
Kiev, univ. obs., lat. +50° 27′ 11·8″, long. 2 h. 2 m. 0·6 s E. Erected in the years 1840–1845; 9-in. refr. by Merz and Repsold; and a meridian circle.
Odessa, univ. obs., lat. +46° 28′ 36·7″, long. 2 h. 3 m. 2·0 s. E.; 61/2 vis. and 6-in. phot. refr.
Odessa, branch of Pulkowa obs., lat. +5·46° 28′ 37·9″, long. 2 h. 3 m. 2·2 s. E. Established 1898 for obs. of more southerly standard stars, with a 4-in. transit by Freiberg and a 4-in. vertical circle by Repsold.
Nikolayev, naval obs., lat. +46° 58′ 21·8″, long. 2 h. 7 m. 53·8 s. E. Erected in 1824; meridian circle by Ertel of 4-in., ap.; 91/2-in. refr. by Repsold.
Sweden, Norway and Denmark
Stockholm, lat. +59° 20′ 33·0″, long. 1 h. 12 m. 14·0 s. E., is under the Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1750. Meridian circle by Ertel of 41/2-in. ap.; 71/2-in. vis. and 61/4-in. phot. refr. by Repsold.
Upsala, univ. obs., lat. +59° 51′ 29·4″, long. 1 h. 10 m. 30·1 s. E. Founded in 1730, but very little was done until the obs. acquired a 9-in. refr. by Steinheil, which was used by Schultz for micrometric obs. of nebulae. 13-in. phot. and 14-in. vis refr. by Steinheil.
Lund, univ. obs., lat. +55° 41′ 52·0″, long. 0 h. 52 m. 45·0 s. E. Built in 1866; 91/2-in. refr., o.g. by Merz; meridian circle by Repsold of 61/2-in ap.
Christiania, univ. obs., lat. +59° 54′ 44·0″, long. 0 h. 42 m. 53·6 s. E. Erected in 1831; meridian circle by Ertel of 4-in. ap.; 7-in. refr. by Merz.
Copenhagen, univ. obs. Founded in 1641 on the top of a high tower, lat. +55° 40′ 53·0″, long. 0 h. 50 m. 19·8 s. E. The locality was so very unsuitable that O. Römer (the inventor of the transit instrument and modern equat., d. 1710) established his own obs. at Vridlösemagle, at some distance from the city. A new obs. was erected in 1861, lat.+55° 41′ 12·9″, long. 0 h. 50 m. 18·7 s. E., furnished with a refr. by Merz of 11-in. ap., with which H. L. d′Arrest made obs. of nebulae, and a meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 41/2-in. ap. Later the refr. was replaced by a 14-in. vis. and 8-in. phot. refr. by Steinheil.
Copenhagen, Urania obs. (private), lat. +55° 41′ 19·2″, long. 0 h. 50 m. 9·1 s. E. Established 1898; 93/4-in. refr. by Cooke.
Holland and Belgium
Leiden, univ. obs., lat. +52° 9′ 20·0″, long. 0 h. 17 m. 56·2 s. E. Founded already in 1632, but the instruments were always very small, and hardly any obs. were taken until F. Kaiser became director in 1837. In 1858–1860 a new obs. was erected and furnished with a 7-in. refr. by Merz, and a meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 6·3-in. ap. Later a 101/2-in. refr. by Clarke and Repsold has been erected.
Groningen, astron. laboratory of the univ., lat. +53° 13′ 19·1″, long. 0 h. 26 m. 15·2 s. E. Established 1896; instruments for measuring celestial photographs.
Utrecht, univ. obs., lat. +52° 5′ 9·5″, long. 0 h. 20 m. 31·0 s. E. Erected in 1855; 10-in. refr. by Steinheil.
Brussels, royal obs., lat. +50° 51′ 10·7″ long. 0 h. 17 m. 28·6 s. E. Erected in 1829–1834. Had a transit instrument by Gambey and a mural circle by Troughton, but the institution was, while under the direction of L. A. J. Quetelet, chiefly devoted to physics and meteorology. In 1877 a 6-in. refr. by Merz was mounted, and a meridian circle by Repsold and a 15-in. refr. by Cooke provided. A new obs. was erected in 1891 at Uccle, lat. +50° 47′ 55·5″, long. 0 h. 17 m. 26·9 s. E., with the instruments from Brussels, a. 9-in. phot. refr. by Grubb, and a 13-in. phot. refr. by Gautier.
Liége, univ. obs., lat. +50° 37′ 6″, long. 0 h. 22 m. 15·4 s. E.; 10-in. refr. and 7-in. transit circle by Cooke.
United States
Albany (New York), Dudley obs. Erected in 1851–1856 by subscription, lat. +42° 39′ 49·5″, long. 4 h. 54 m. 59·2 s. W. Refr. by Fitz of 13-in. ap., meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 8-in. ap. New obs. erected 1893, lat. +42° 39′ 12·7″, long. 4 h. 55 m. 6·8 s. W.; 12-in. refr. by Brashear.
Allegheny (Pa), lat. +40° 27′ 41·6″, long. 5 h. 20 m. 2·9 s. W. Founded in 1859, transferred to the Western Univ. of Penn. (now Univ. of Pittsburgh) in 1867; 13-in. refr. by Fitz (improved by Clark), mounted in 1867; instruments for researches on solar energy.
Amherst (Mass.), lat. +42° 21′ 56·5″, long. h. 50 m. 5·9 s. W. Founded in 1857 as an annex to Amherst College; 71/4-in. refr. by Clark. New building 1903; 18-in. refr. by Clark; 61/2-in. transit circle by Pistor and Martins.
Ann Arbor (Michigan), lat. +42° 16′ 48·8″, long 5 h. 34 m. 55·2 s. W. Detroit obs. of the Univ. of Michigan; erected in 1854; meridian circle by Pistor and Martins of 61/2 in. ap.; 121/2-in. refr. by Fitz.
Berkeley (Cal.), Students’ obs. of Univ. of California, lat. +37° 52′ 23·6″, long. 8 h. 9 m. 2·7 s. W.; 8-in. refr.
Cambridge (Mass.), Harvard College obs., lat. +42° 22′ 47·6″, long. 4 h. 44 m. 31·0 s. W. Erected in 1839. Refr. of 15-in. ap. by Merz, with which W. C. Bond discovered a satellite of Saturn (Hyperion) in 1848, employed by E. C. Pickering for extensive photometric obs. of fixed stars and satellites; a meridian circle by Troughton and Simms of 81/4-in. ap., mounted in 1870; 12-in. horizontal telescope for photometric obs. of faint stars, 11-in. and 8-in. Draper refrs. for phot. work; 15-in. Draper refl.; 24-in. phot. doublet (Bruce telescope) with which the ninth and tenth satellites of Saturn have been discovered by W. H. Pickering. Branch obs. at Arequipa, Peru.
Charlottesville (Va.), obs. of Univ. of Virginia, lat. +38° 2′ 1·2,″ long. 5 h. 14 m. 5·2 s. W. Founded 1882; 26-in. refr. by Clark.
Chicago (Illinois), Dearborn obs., lat. +41° 51′ 1·0″, long. 5 h. 50 m. 26·8 s. W. Attached to North-western Univ., founded in 1862; 181/2-in. refr. by Clark; 6-in. meridian circle by Repsold. Obs. removed to Evanston (Ill.) in 1889, lat. +42° 3′ 33·4″, long. 5 h. 50 m. 42·3 s. W.
Cincinnati (Ohio). In 1842 an obs. was founded by subscription, lat. +39° 6′ 26·5″, long. 5 h. 37 m. 58·9 s. W., and furnished with a refr. of 111/4-in. ap. by Merz. In 1873 the obs. was removed to a distance from the city, to Mount Lookout, lat. +39° 8′ 19·5″, long. 5 h. 37 m. 41·3 s. W.; 5-in. transit circle by Fauth.
Clinton (New York), Litchfield obs. of Hamilton College, lat. +43° 3′ 16·5″, long. 5 h. 1 m. 37·4 s. W. Erected by subscription 1852–1855; refr. of 131/2 in. by Spencer, employed by C. H. F. Peters for construction of celestial charts, in the course of which work he discovered forty-one minor planets.
Columbia (Mo.), Laws obs. of Univ. of Missouri, lat. +38° 56′ 51·7″, long. 6 h. 9 m. 18·3 s. W. Founded 1853; 71/2-in. refr. by Merz.
Columbus (Ohio), State Univ. obs., lat. +40° 0′ 1″, long. 5 h. 32 m. 10 s. W.; 12-in. refr. by Brashear and Warner & Swasey.
Denver (Col.), Univ.of Denver obs., lat. +39° 40′ 36″, long. 6 h. 59 m. 7·6 s. W.; 5400 ft. above sea-level. Founded 1891; 20-in. refr. by Clark; 6-in. refr. by Grubb; 4-in. transit circle by Saegmüller.
Flagstaff (Arizona), private obs. of Percival Lowell, lat. +35° 12′ 30·5″, long. 7 h. 26 m. 44·6 s. W. 7300 ft. above sea-level. Erected 1894; 24-in. refr. by Clark; 6-in. vis. by Clark; and 5-in. phot. refr. by Brashear, all used chiefly on planets.
Georgetown (District of Columbia), Georgetown Univ. 0bs., lat.+38° 54′ 26·7″, long. 5 h. 8 m. 18·3 s. W. Erected in 1844; 12-in. refr. by Clacey and Saegmüller; 9-in. phot. transit instr. (1890) by Saegmüller; 6-in. phot. zenith telescope by Brashear.
Glasgow (Missouri), Morrison obs., lat. +39° 16′ 16·8″, long. 6 h. 11 m. 18·1 s. W. Founded in 1876; attached to Pritchett College; 121/4 in. refr. by Clark; meridian circle by Simms of 6-in. ap.
Hanover (New Hampshire), Shattuck obs. of Dartmouth College, lat. +43° 42′ 15·3″, long. 4 h. 49 m. 7·9 s. W. Founded in 1853; 91/4-in. refr. by Clark; meridian circle by Simms of 4-in. ap.
Hastings (New York), Professor Henry Draper’s obs., lat. +40° 59 25″, long. 4 h. 55 m. 29·7 s. W. Built in 1860; 28-in. refl. by the owner, 11-in. refr. (with photo. lens) by Clark, both used up to the owner’s death (1882) for celestial and spectrum photography.
Haverford (Pa.), Haverford College obs., lat. +40° 0′ 40·1″, long. 5 h. 1 m. 12·7 s. W.; 10-in. refr. by Clark.
Madison (Wisconsin), Washburn obs., lat. +43° 4′ 36·8″, long. 5 h. 57 m. 38·1 s. W. Erected at the expense of Governor Washburn in 1878; belongs to the Univ. of Wisconsin; meridian circle by Repsold of 4·8-in. ap.; 151/2-in. refr. by Clark.
Mount Hamilton (Cal.), Lick obs. of the Univ. of California, lat. +37° 20′ 25·6″, long. 8 h. 6 m. 34·9 s. W., about 4250 ft. above sea-level. Erected in pursuance of the will of James Lick (1796–1876), opened in 1888; 36-in. refr. by Clark with 33-in. phot. lens, 12-in. refr. by Clark, 61/2-in. transit circle by Repsold, 3-ft. s.g. refl. by Common, several phot. telescopes, a second 3-ft. s.g. refl. by Brashear with spectrograph. The 5th satellite of Jupiter was discovered by E. E. Barnard in 1892 with the 36 in., and the 6th and 7th by C. D. Perrine on photos with the refl. in 1904–1905.
Mount Wilson (Cal.). Solar obs. of the Carnegie Institution, lat. +34° 12′ 59·5″, long. 7 h. 52 m. 14·3 s. W. Erected 1904; 60-in. refl.; “Snow telescope” with 30-in. coelostat and 24-in. concave mirror with large spectroheliograph. A 100-in. refl. has been ordered.
New Haven (Connecticut), Winchester obs. of Yale College, lat. +41° 19′ 22·3″, long. 4 h. 51 m. 40·6 s. W. An obs. had existed since 1830, possessing a 9-in. refr. by Clark and a meridian circle by Ertel. In 1881 the obs. was rebuilt, and furnished with a 6-in. heliometer by Repsold, and an 8-in. refr. by Grubb.
New York, L. M. Rutherfurd’s obs., lat. +40° 43′ 48·5″, long. 4 h. 55 m. 56·6 s. W.; 13-in. refr. by Rutherfurd and Fitz, used for celestial photography. Presented to Columbia College in 1884. New obs. (Wilde), lat. +40° 45′ 23·1″, long. 4 h. 55 m. 53·6 s.
Northfield (Minnesota), Goodsell obs. of Carleton College, lat. +44° 27′ 41·6″, long. 6 h; 12 m. 35·8 s. W. Erected in 1878, enlarged 1887; 81/4-in. refr. by Clark with phot. o.g.; 16-in. refr. by Brashear; 43/4-in. transit circle by Repsold.
​ Philadelphia, Flower obs. of Univ. of Pennsylvania, lat. +39° 58′ 2·1″, long. 5h. 1 m. 6·6 s. W. Founded 1895; 18‑in. refr., 4‑in. transit circle and 4‑in. zenith telescope, all by Brashear and Warner & Swasey.
Poughkeepsie (N.Y.), Vassar College obs., lat. +41° 41′ 18″, long. 4h. 55 m. 33·7 s. W. Founded 1865; 12‑in. refr. by Fitz and Clark; small transit circle.
Princeton (New Jersey). Attached to Princeton Univ. are two obs. the “Observatory of Instruction,” lat. +40° 20′ 57·8″, long. 4 h. 58 m. 37·6 s. W., erected in 1877, and furnished with a 91/2-in. refr. by Clark; and the Halsted obs., lat. +40° 20′ 55·8″, long. 4 h. 58 m. 39·4 s. W., in which a 23‑in. refr. by Clark was mounted in 1883.
Rochester (New York), Warner obs., lat. +43° 9′ 16·8″, long. 5 h. 10 m. 21·8 s. W. Erected by H. H. Warner in 1879–1880; 16-in. refr. by Clark. Discontinued 1895.
Washington (D.C.), U.S. naval obs., lat. +38° 53′ 38·8″, long. 5h. 8m. 12·1 s. W. Organized in 1842; obs. begun in 1845 with a mural circle by Troughton & Simms of 4 in., a transit instrument by Ertel of 5·3‑in. ap., and a 9·6‑in. refr. by Merz. A meridian circle by Pistor & Martins of 8·5‑in. ap., mounted in 1865, and used for observing standard stars and planets; a 26‑in. refr. by Clark, mounted in 1873—with this instrument A. Hall discovered the satellites of Mars in 1877. A new obs. on Georgetown Heights was opened in 1893, lat. +38° 55′ 14·0″, long. 5h. 8 m. 15·8 s. W.; in addition to the old instruments there is a 40‑ft. photoheliograph of 5‑in. ap., 6‑in. transit circle built of steel by Warner & Swasey, 5‑in. steel altazimuth by same, 12‑in. refr. by Clark.
Washington (D.C.), astrophysical obs. of the Smithsonian Institution, lat. +38° 53′ 17·3″, long. 5 h. 8 m. 6·2 s. W. Founded 1890 for the study of solar radiation; 20‑in. siderostat, spectrobolometer, &c.
Williams Bay (Wis.).—Yerkes obs. of Univ. of Chicago, lat. +42° 34′ 12·6″, long. 5 h. 54 m. 13·2 s. W. Opened 1897; 40-in. refr. by Clark and Warner & Swasey; also a 12‑in. refr., 24‑in. refl., 10‑in. phot. refr.
Williamstown (Mass), lat. +42° 42′ 49″, long. 4h. 52 m. 33·5s. W. Founded in 1836; 71/2-in. refr. by Clark; meridian circle of 41/2-in. ap. by Repsold, mounted in 1882 in the Field Memorial obs., lat. +42° 40′ 30″, long. 4 h. 52 m. 50 s. W.
Canada
Ottawa, Dominion obs., lat. +45° 23′, long. 5h. 3m. W. Founded 1902; 15‑in. refr. by Brashear; 8‑in. transit circle by Simms; 16‑in. coelostat.
Mexico
Tacubaya.—National obs. erected 1882, lat. +19° 24′ 17·5″, long. 6 h. 36 m. 46·7 s. W., 7600 ft. above sea-level; 15‑in. refr. by Grubb, 13‑in. phot. refr. by Henry & Gautier, 8‑in. transit circle by Simms.
South America
Santiago (Chile), national obs., lat. −33° 26′ 42·0″, long. 4 h. 42 m. 46·2 s. W. In 1849 the U.S. government sent an astronomical expedition to Chile. When the expedition returned in 1852, the government of Chile bought the instruments—a 6‑in. meridian circle by Pistor and Martins, a 61/2-in. refr. by Fitz, &c. New building erected 1860; 91/2-in. refr. by Merz and Repsold, 13‑in. phot. refr. by Gautier.
Arequipa (Peru).—Branch of Harvard College obs., lat. −16° 24′, long. 4 h. 45 m. 30 s. W., 8060 ft. above sea-level; 24‑in. Bruce refr. by Clark; and 13‑in. Boyden telescope for phot. charts and spectra of faint stars; 4‑in. transit photometer extends the Harvard photometry to the south pole.
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), national obs., lat. −22° 54′ 23·7″, long. 2 h. 52 m. 41·4 s. W. Founded in 1845; no work done until 1871. The principal instruments are a meridian circle by Gautier of 73/4-in. ap., an altazimuth, a 91/2-in. refr. by Henry, &c.
Cordoba (Argentina), national obs., lat. −31° 25′ 15·4″, long. 4 h. 16 m. 45·1 s. W. Erected in 1871 under the direction of B. A. Gould till 1883. With a meridian circle by Repsold of 5-in. ap. 105,000 zone obs. of stars between −23° and −80° decl. have been made; 111/2-in. phot. refr. by Clarke; 5‑in. phot. refr. by Henry & Gautier.
La Plata (Argentina), univ. obs., lat. −34° 54′ 30·3″, long. 3 h. 51 m. 37·0 s. W. Founded 1883; 18‑in. equat. coudée, 13-in. phot. refr. and transit circle, all by Henry & Gautier.
Africa
Cape of Good Hope, royal obs., lat. −33° 56′ 3·5″, long. 1 h. 13 m. 54·8 s. E. Founded in 1820; erected in 1825–1829, about 31/2 m. from Cape Town. Obs. were begun in 1829 with a transit instrument by Dollond of 5‑in. ap. and a mural circle by Jones. Thomas Maclear undertook to verify and extend the arc of meridian measured by N. L. de Lacaille in 1751–1753, which work occupied the obs. staff for a number of years. In 1849 a 7‑in. refr. by Merz was mounted, and in 1855 a new meridian circle, a facsimile of the one at Greenwich, superseded the older instruments. Maclear was succeeded by E. J. Stone (1870 to 1879), who devoted himself and the staff to obs. of stars, embodied in a catalogue of 12,441 stars for the epoch 1880. Under Sir David Gill (1879–1906) a 7‑in. heliometer by Repsold has been used since 1887 for researches on solar parallax and annual parallax of stars, while a complete review of the heavens has been made south of −23° decl. with a 6‑in. phot. Dallmeyer lens. A 24‑in. phot. and 18‑in. vis. refr. by Grubb, with 24‑in. o.g. prism, and a 6‑in. transit circle by Simms have also been mounted.
Besides the obs. of Lacaille in Cape Town (lat. −33° 55′ 16·1″, long. 1 h. 13 m. 41 s. E.), another temporary obs. at Feldhausen, lat. −33° 58′ 56·6″, long. 1 h. 13 m. 51 s. E., 6 m. from Cape Town, deserves to be mentioned. It was here that Sir John Herschel observed nebulae and double stars from 1834 to 1838 with a refl. of 181/4-in. ap.
Durban (Natal).—Government obs., lat. −29° 50′ 46·6″, long. 2 h. 4 m. 1·2 s. E. Erected in 1882; 8‑in. refr. by Grubb.
Mauritius.—Royal Alfred obs., lat. −20° 5′ 39″, long. 3 h. 50 m. 12·5 s. E. Chiefly meteorological, but solar photos regularly taken.
Helwân (near Cairo, Egypt), khedivial obs., lat. +29° 51′ 34″, long. 2 h. 5 m. 22 s. E. Erected in 1904; 30‑in. refl. used for photos of southern nebulae.
Algiers (Algeria), national obs., lat. +36° 47′ 50″, long. 0 h. 12 m. 8·4 s. E. Founded 1881; 12·5‑in. equat. coudée and 13‑in. phot. refr. by Gautier; transit circle.
St Helena, lat. −15° 55′ 26·0″, long. 0 h. 22 m. 54·6 s. W. With a transit instrument and mural circle. M. Johnson observed the places of 606 southern stars from 1829 to 1833.
India
Madras, government obs., lat. +13° 4′ 8·0″, long. 5 h. 20 m. 59·6 s. E. In 1831 a transit instrument and a mural circle, both of 3 3/4‑in. ap., by Dollond, were mounted, and with these T. G. Taylor observed 11,000 stars. A meridian circle by Simms was mounted in 1858, and in 1865 an 8‑in. refr., also by Simms, was put up; with the former 5303 stars were observed in 1862–1887. New obs. built in 1899 at Kodaikanal (Palni Hills), lat. +10° 13′ 50″, long. 5 h. 9 m. 52 s. E., 7700 ft. above sea-level; 12‑in. siderostat and phot. vis. of by Cooke, spectroheliograph, &c. To be devoted chiefly to solar physics.
Poona.—Obs. of College of Science. Founded 1888. 12-in. siderostat by Cooke with 9‑in. lens by Grubb; 161/2-in. s.g. refl. by Grubb, with 6‑in. refr. by Cooke; spectroscopes, &c., chiefly for solar work.
Dehra Dûn.—Obs. of Indian Survey, lat. +30°,18′ 51·8″, long. 5 h. 12 m. 13·5 s. E. Regular solar phot. work.
Trivandrum, lat. +8° 30′ 32″, long. 5 h. 7 m. 59 s. E. Founded by the raja of Travancore in 1836. No astronomical work done, but valuable magnetical and meteorological obs. were made by J. A. Broun from 1852 to 1863.
Japan
Tokyo, univ. obs., lat. +35° 39′ 17·5″, long. 9 h. 18 m. 58·0 s. E.; 51/2-in. transit circle by Repsold; 61/2-in. refr.
China
Zo-Se (near Shanghai), jesuit obs., lat. +31° 5′ 47·1″, long. 8 h. 4 m. 44·7 s. E. Erected 1899–1901; 16‑in. vis., and phot. refr. for solar and stellar phot. and spectroscopic work.
Hong Kong, lat. +22° 18′ 13·2″, long. 7 h. 36 m. 41·9 s. E. In 1883 the colonial government established an obs., furnished with a 6-in. refr., a small transit instrument and full equipment of magnetical and meteorological instruments.
Turkestan
Tashkent, lat. +41° 19′ 31·4″, long. 4 h. 37 m. 10·8 s. E. Founded in 1874; 6‑in. refr. and meridian circle by Repsold; 13‑in. phot. refr. by Henry & Repsold.
Australia
Paramatta (New South Wales), lat. −33° 48′ 50″, long. 10 h. 4 m. 6·3 s. E. Erected by Sir Thomas Macdougall Brisbane in 1821; handed over to the New South Wales government in 1826; furnished with a transit instrument and a mural circle by Troughton. From about 1835 no obs. seem to have been made; the obs. was abolished in 1855.
Sydney (New South Wales), lat. −33° 51′ 41·1″, long. 10 h. 4 m. 49·5 s. E. Founded in 1855; furnished with the instruments from Paramatta. In 1861 a 71/4-in. refr. by Merz, and in 1874 an 111/2-in. refr. by Schröder, were mounted; in 1879 a meridian circle by Simms of 6-in. ap. was acquired, and later a 13‑in. phot. refr. by Grubb.
Windsor (New South Wales), lat. −33° 36′ 28·9″, long. 10 h. 3 m. 21·7 s. E. Private obs. of Mr J. Tebbutt, who has devoted himself since 1861 to discoveries and obs. of comets, using a 41/2-in. refr. by Cooke and an 8‑in. refr. by Grubb.
Melbourne (Victoria).—Founded in 1853 at Williamstown, lat. −37° 52′ 7·2″, long. 9 h. 39 m. 38·8 s. E. In 1861 a meridian circle by Simms of 5‑in. ap. was mounted, but in 1863 the obs. was removed to Melbourne, lat. −37° 49′ 53·2″, long. 9 h. 39 m. 54·0 s. E. “The great Melbourne telescope,” a Cassegrain refl., equatorially mounted, of 4‑ft. ap., made by T. Grubb, was erected in 1869, but very little used; there is also an 8‑in. refr. by Cooke and a 13‑in. phot. refr. by Grubb.
Adelaide (South Australia), lat. −34° 55′ 33·8″, long. 9 h. 14 m. 21·3 s. E. In operation since 1861; has been gradually improved, and contains now an 8‑in. refr. by Cooke and a 6‑in. transit circle by Simms.
​Perth (West Australia), lat. −31° 57′ 7·4″, long. 7 h. 43 m. 21·7 s. E. Founded 1897: 13-in. phot. and 10-in. vis. refr. by Grubb; 6-in. transit circle by Simms.
Authorities.—In addition to their Annals or Observations, the leading national obs. (Greenwich, Paris, Washington, &c.) publish annual reports stating the nature of the work and changes in personnel and instruments. Short reports from nearly all British obs. are annually published in the February number of the Monthly Notices R. Astr. Soc., and from most German and some other continental obs. in the Vierteljahrsschrift d. astr. Gesellschaft. Since 1889 much information about American obs. is given in the Publications of the Astr. Soc. of the Pacific. Stroobant’s Les Observatoires astronomiques et les astronomes (Brussels, 1907) gives a convenient summary of the personnel and equipment of all existing obs.  (J. L. E. D.)