# Observatories



## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)




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## Calvin W (Nov 5, 2005)

This is the University of Saskatchewan observatory right in the middle of the campus.


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## Melchisedeck (Jul 29, 2005)

Vatican Observatory in castel Gandolfo (summer Residence of The Pope):


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## Melchisedeck (Jul 29, 2005)

Vatican Observatory on Mount Graham in Arizona


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## SE9 (Apr 26, 2005)

*Greenwich Observatory, London*

*Facts:*

- Commisioned in 1675.

- 0 Longitude.

- Centre for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)


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## Melchisedeck (Jul 29, 2005)

VLT (Very Large Telescope) on the Paranal (Atacama, Cile)


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## Melchisedeck (Jul 29, 2005)

La Silla Observatory


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Hong Kong Observatory*


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## Red_Gravel (Jul 28, 2006)

Griffith Park Observatory in Cali



















James Dean Memorial


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## Bitxofo (Feb 3, 2005)

Observatori Fabra, in Barcelona city, since 1894:


















:wink2:


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## Penhorn (Mar 28, 2006)

Burke-Gaffney observatory on top of a residence tower at St. Mary's University in Halifax:


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## Don Pacho (Oct 26, 2004)

_*Observatory in Bogotá, Colombia*_



*Program:* Scientific
*Location:* Historic district 
*Author: * Fray Domingo de Petrés, José Celestino Mutis (design and construction)
*Date:* 1802-1803 (construction)





















Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting


.


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## Slartibartfas (Aug 15, 2006)

Observatories in Vienna:

Kuffner Sternwarte

















"Urania" located in the inner city


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## Nemo (Jul 5, 2004)

*Leiden University Observatory*










This building on the canal ring (Singel) defining the boundaries of old Leiden positively oozes with history, dating to 1861. This is still a newcomer to astronomy at Leiden University, which can be traced to 1633 (and leaving us to wonder what would have happened if Galileo had accepted that faculty position...)


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

hkskyline said:


>


*Dunlap battle dates back light years *
http://www.yorkregion.com/article/66693
Richmond Hill
Jan 11, 2008 08:21 PM

What began as a gift has become a family feud.

The University of Toronto’s decision to close the David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) was announced in September, but only after 20 years of negotiations with the family that donated the land to them more than 70 years ago.

In 1932, Jessie Donalda Robarts gifted the 190 acres to the school on the condition that they be used for the study of astronomy.

With the facility no longer at the cutting edge of such studies, U of T had long been looking for a way to sell it and put the money to better uses.

Earlier this year, the university signed a deal with the three heirs: David Dunlap III, Moffat Dunlap and Donalda Robarts.

It was the culmination of nearly two decades during which the university tried to negotiate a deal to sell the land, according to Mrs. Robarts.

Things came to a head in 2003 when the school’s governing council went to court to obtain the rights to the lands.

A settlement was reached out of court and the results are sealed.

“I really can’t be nice about it,” she said of her dealings with the school. “It’s a sad state.”

By 2003, Mrs. Robarts’ two brothers were on side with the university. Mrs. Robarts, now in her 70s and living in Windsor, Ont., with her husband, Richard (cousin of late Ontario premier John Robarts) had no interest in beginning a protracted legal proceeding.

The lesson, she said, is anyone considering making a gift or bequest to such an institution should beware of what might happen down the line.

Mrs. Robarts said she visited the site as a young child and while she has no real memories of the visits, she does have pictures of herself among the trees with a small shovel.

David Dunlap III, Mrs. Robarts’ brother, said his grandmother always wanted the facility to be world class and, as time has moved on, the observatory no longer fits that bill.

“I asked myself, if she was alive, what would she do?” Mr. Dunlap said.

“I think she would be absolutely delighted to re-burnish this memorial.”

It was the university’s idea to use the funds from a sale to create a new Dunlap Institute of Astronomy at its downtown campus, Mr. Dunlap said.

“My brother (Moffatt) and I were OK with that some time ago. My sister was less enthusiastic,” he said.

Four independent astronomers conducted a peer review of the idea before it was approved, he said.

While some have suggested the move is nothing more than a cynical money grab by the university, Mr. Dunlap strongly disagreed.

“That is absolutely not the case,” he said.

Since announcing the sale, the university has been adamant a key reason is because of the telescope’s waning capabilities in the face of light pollution and improved technology.

The observatory has been rendered “unsuitable for academic and research purposes for quite some time”, according to a Sept. 10 media release by the university.

It is an argument that has been countered by prominent members of the faculty, including professors Ian Shelton and Tom Bolton.

“They have been deliberately running down the capabilities of the observatory and have not been honest about the real reasons they want to close it down,” Prof. Bolton told The Liberal, despite a gag order from the university.

“It was a shock to me to find out that it still could be useful,” Mrs. Robarts said.

Over the years, she had been led to believe that was no longer the case. Because the university’s control of the land was contingent on the observatory being operational, saying that it is obsolete has been a key part of their argument.

The telescope is unaffected by light pollution and still useful for several kinds of research — just not the kinds in which the university is now interested, Mr. Bolton said.

Indeed, the university apparently began making this argument before Richmond Hill passed a 1995 bylaw that has kept light pollution at 1970s levels and did not acknowledge the town’s effort in its claim.

“It’s fine if they want to shift the purposes of their research,” Mrs. Robarts said. “But that’s not what (the deed) said ... they’re professors but they can’t read.”

Now that the deal is done and the lands are up for sale, Mrs. Robarts said she hopes whatever happens is for the best.

If the observatory can still be used for research — as proposed by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada — that would suit her fine. “I’d like to think my grandmother’s wishes could have been adhered to,” she said.

Mr. Dunlap said parkland will have to be part of any development plan anyway and he would be perfectly happy to see the buildings preserved as designated heritage sites — something the Town of Richmond Hill is now pursuing.

Whether it is realistic to keep the telescope running in some capacity is another matter, however.

“In a perfect world, if it could remain, that would be terrific,” he said. “But is it realistic?”


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## redspork02 (May 7, 2005)

Red_Gravel said:


> Griffith Park Observatory in Cali
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Here are some more of the Griffith Observatory of LOS ANGELES, USA.



























_This is not the James Dean Memorial but the _*Astronomers Memorial*.









_Panorama of Los Angeles and Griffith Observatory viewed from the Hollywood Sign._












_Los Angeles at night, taken from the roof._











_View of the Hollywood Sign on a clear day._
The James Dean memorial is the Small bust on the Center-Left of the image.
The Observatory is Free and has a beutiful view of ALL L.A. and the Pacific Ocean.

Movies you might have seen it in:

-The Terminator 
-The Rocketeer 
-The End of Violence 
-Midnight Madness 
-Bowfinger 
-War of the Colossal Beast 
-Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle 
-House on Haunted Hill (1999 remake) 
-Queen of the Damned 
-Transformers (2007 live-action film)


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## Kailyas (Nov 23, 2007)

La Silla Observatory is nice and in great place


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Work almost done on $3M restoration of Cincinnati Observatory *
24 January 2008










CINCINNATI (AP) - Stargazers soon will be able to peruse the planets in a more historically accurate setting when the last phase of a $3 million restoration of one of the oldest observatories in the United States ends. 

The restoration of the Cincinnati Observatory that began in 1998 will be completed this spring. The first part focused on major structural repairs and restoration of the building, and restoration of the interior of the National Historic Landmark will be finished by May. 

"Because so many of the instruments and artifacts in the observatory are historically significant, we wanted to make everything as close as practicable to a working 19th century astronomical observatory," observatory historian John Ventre said Thursday. "The kids just love coming into the place and using the old telescopes, and as soon as they walk into the door they know they are in a unique spot." 

Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams laid the cornerstone of the original observatory in east Cincinnati in 1843, but concern over smog led officials to relocate the observatory a few miles away to its current site in 1873. 

"There was so much thick oily smog from riverboats and factories that it was difficult -- if not impossible -- to get clear views," said Craig Niemi, observatory executive director. 

The cornerstone laid by Adams was used when the current observatory was constructed in 1873. Adams had a strong interest in astronomy and had been frustrated in his previous attempts to generate interest in the science in the United States, Niemi said. 

"Once this observatory was founded, it helped lay the foundation for American astronomy," Niemi said. 

The observatory is associated with the careers of several famous scientists, including Cleveland Abbe, a meteorologist who directed the observatory from 1868 to 1871. Abbe developed a system of telegraphic weather reports, daily weather maps and weather forecasts and was instrumental in the development of the National Weather Service. 

American astronomer Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, one of the first scientists to attempt to bring astronomy to the masses in the United States, raised the money to build the observatory. 

The final phase of restoration, expected to be completed by early May at a cost of $60,000, includes refinishing wooden floors, restoring the faux-granite appearance of plaster walls and replacing pine bookcases with ones that match the original cherry and mahogany. 

As newer observatories with stronger telescopes and better observation sites developed through the years, the Cincinnati Observatory began to focus more on education. 

"Through the umbrella of astronomy we try to encourage kids as well as adults to pursue the sciences in general," Niemi said. 

About 20,000 people visited the observatory last year to attend educational programs and look through telescopes that include a handmade wooden telescope used since 1845 and a 22-foot telescope added in 1904. 

"Visitors just love looking through the old telescopes and getting such a clear view of the moon or the rings around Saturn," Niemi said. "We get challenged all the time, even by adults, who think we have a picture pasted on the other end of the telescope or that we have created one digitally somehow." 

Tom Burns, director of the Perkins Observatory at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, credits the Cincinnati Observatory and others like it with keeping people "looking to the stars." 

"Places like that were built originally to do research but also as places to inspire and to educate," Burns said. "Now that their time to do science is over, they can concentrate on the mission of teaching people about the universe."


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

*Facts about the Cincinnati Observatory *
24 January 2008
Associated Press Newswires

Facts about the Cincinnati Observatory: 

--Founded in 1842 by Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel at a time when there were a few small telescopes in the country, but no organized observatory with a powerful instrument. 

--Cornerstone laid in 1843 by former U.S. President John Quincy Adams. Adams' interest in astronomy led to his unsuccessful attempt in 1825 to persuade Congress to found a National Observatory. 

--Meteorologist Cleveland Abbe, appointed observatory director in 1868, established a system of daily weather reports and storm predictions and was instrumental in development of the National Weather Service. 

--Moved more toward education in 20th century as larger telescopes were developed at better observation sites. 


Source: Cincinnati Observatory Center.


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## chadw_ (May 25, 2007)

gornergrat observatory zermatt, switzerland.



















sphinx-observatory, jungfraujoch, switzerland




























sternwarte urania, zurich, switzerland


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