The Sternwarte Düsseldorf (a.k.a. Sternwarte Bilk, Sternwarte Charlottenruhe; Bilk Observatory or Düsseldorf-Bilk Observatory in English) in Düsseldorf-Bilk was a private observatory founded in 1843 by Johann Friedrich Benzenberg. The observatory's main feature was a

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens as its objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope design was originally used in spyglasses and a ...

with 1800mm focal length. After Benzenberg's death the observatory was bequeathed to the city of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

. It was destroyed by bombing in 1943. Between 1852 and 1890, C. Robert Luther discovered 24 asteroids there, from

Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

, discovered on April 17, 1852, to Glauke, discovered February 20, 1890. These asteroids and planetoids are called ''the 24 Düsseldorf planets''. The asteroid 4425 Bilk is named in honour of the observatory. Near its original location, a benchmark was erected, displaying the observatory's burnt-out telescope. File:bst-close.jpg, Benchmark File:bst-durch.jpg, view through the tube File:bst-dist.jpg, front view File:bst-schild.jpg, information plate

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Astronomical observatories in Germany Buildings and structures in Düsseldorf Tourist attractions in Düsseldorf {{observatory-stub

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