The Kvistaberg Station or Kvistaberg Observatory ( sv, Kvistabergs observatorium, links=no;
obs. code:
049) was a Swedish
astronomical observatory and a station of the
Uppsala Astronomical Observatory
The Uppsala Astronomical Observatory (UAO), Astronomiska observatoriet i Uppsala) is the oldest astronomical observatory in Sweden. It was founded in 1741, though there was a professorial chair of astronomy at the University of Uppsala from 1593 ...
, which both belong to the Department of Physics and Astronomy at
Uppsala University
Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation.
The university rose to significance during ...
. It is located between the Swedish cities of
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019.
Located north of the c ...
and
Stockholm, at almost equal distance. Since 2009, the domes and telescopes of the Kvistaberg Observatory are part of a museum.
The observatory established a 1-meter
Schmidt telescope
Schmidt may refer to:
* Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname
* Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer
* Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater
* Schmidt (Martian crater), a crater on Mars
* ...
in 1963, which is a large size for this type of telescope designed to give a wide field of view.
History
The observatory was the result of a donation in 1944 from Nils Tamm, an artist who had studied astronomy in his youth under
Nils Christoffer Dunér and
Östen Bergstrand in Uppsala and remained an avid amateur astronomer throughout his life.
Through the work of professor
Åke Wallenquist and professor
Gunnar Malmquist at the observatory in Uppsala, the new observatory was fitted out with a large
Schmidt telescope
Schmidt may refer to:
* Schmidt (surname), including list of people with the surname
* Schmidt (singer) (born 1990), German pop and jazz singer
* Schmidt (lunar crater), a small lunar impact crater
* Schmidt (Martian crater), a crater on Mars
* ...
(100/135/300 cm) in 1963. Wallenquist became the first director of the observatory (1948–1970) and was succeeded by
Tarmo Oja
Tarmo Oja (born 21 December 1934 in Tallinn, Estonia) is a professor in astronomy at Uppsala UniversityClaes-Ingvar Lagerkvist
Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist (born 1944) is a Swedish astronomer at the Uppsala Astronomical Observatory. He is known for his work on the shapes and spin properties of minor planets.
He has discovered three comets, P/1996 R2, C/1996 R3 and 308P/L ...
(1999–2007). The asteroid
3331 Kvistaberg, was named for the astronomical observatory, where hundreds of
minor planet
According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...
s had been discovered with the Schmidt telescope between 1975 and 2005.
Around 2004, Uppsala University decided to discontinue active research at the observatory. The property was sold to the municipality of Upplands-Bro, where Kvistaberg is situated. The domes and telescopes are now part of a museum, which was inaugurated in 2009.
Gallery
File:Kvistaberg tamm obs.jpg, The Kvistaberg Station in 1919
See also
*
2744 Birgitta, asteroid
*
5080 Oja
5080 Oja, provisional designation , is a stony Florian asteroid from the inner regions of the asteroid belt, approximately 8 kilometers in diameter. It was discovered on 2 March 1976, by astronomer Claes-Ingvar Lagerkvist at the Kvistaberg Stati ...
, asteroid
*
Uppsala-DLR Asteroid Survey
References
External links
Kvistaberg Observatory- official website
Pictures from the inauguration of the museum{dead link, date=December 2017 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes
Uppsala University
Minor-planet discovering observatories
Astronomical observatories in Sweden
Buildings and structures in Stockholm County