Urania Sternwarte is a

public observatory A public observatory is an astronomical observatory mainly dedicated to public and educational purposes. It is often supported by a municipality, a school or an astronomical society. The primary purpose of public observatories is to offer exte ...

in the

Lindenhof The Lindenhof, in the old town of Zürich, Switzerland, is the historical site of the Roman castle, and the later Carolingian Kaiserpfalz. It is situated on Lindenhof hill, on the left side of the Limmat at the Schipfe. In 1747, a second-century ...

quarter of

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. Its name ''

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, he ...

'' refers to the

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

of astronomy in

Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

History

Its origins base on a first observatory on the roof of the

Zunfthaus zur Meisen The Zunfthaus zur Meisen is the guild house of the Zunft zur Meisen. It is one of the many historically valuable buildings in the Lindenhof quarter in Zürich, Switzerland, and also housed the porcelain and faience collection of the Swiss National ...

. In 1759, so called «Astronomische Kommission» succeeded from this location for the first time, to define '' Culminatio solis'' and thus calculated the exact global location of the city of Zurich. In later years, astronomical observations were done from the

Grossmünster The Grossmünster (; "great Minster (church), minster") is a Romanesque-style Swiss Reformed Church, Protestant church in Zürich, Switzerland. It is one of the four major churches in the city (the others being the Fraumünster, Predigerkirche Zür ...

's southern "Karl's tower", followed by scientific observations (not for public use by interested enthusiasts) from the Federal observatory, built 1861/64 for

ETH Zürich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

Gottfried Semper Gottfried Semper (; 29 November 1803 – 15 May 1879) was a German architect, art critic, and professor of architecture who designed and built the Semper Opera House in Dresden between 1838 and 1841. In 1849 he took part in the May Uprising in ...

. In 1899, the Zürich merchant Abraham Weill Einstein initiated the oldest observatory in Switzerland, situated near ''Werdmühleplatz'' (''Uraniastrasse''). On June 15, 1907, the observatory was given to operational use. Its tower dominates the western end of Zurich's historic Altstadt.Urania observatory: Building

Telescope

Urania's

refracting telescope A refracting telescope (also called a refractor) is a type of optical telescope that uses a lens (optics), lens as its objective (optics), objective to form an image (also referred to a dioptrics, dioptric telescope). The refracting telescope d ...

is equipped with a ''Fraunhofer'' two-lens system of 30 cm aperture and

focal length The focal length of an optical system is a measure of how strongly the system converges or diverges light; it is the inverse of the system's optical power. A positive focal length indicates that a system converges light, while a negative foca ...

of 5.05 meters, allowing maximal 600-fold magnification (mostly used 150- to 205-fold magnification).Urania observatory: Telescope
The refractor in the dome area is the center of the imposing tower building: The telescope stands on a pillar, contact-free installed through the center of the building to the foundations of the business house Urania, fitted with anti-vibration installations.

Swissinfo SWI swissinfo.ch is a multilingual news and information platform produced by the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG SSR). Its content is Swiss-centred, with top priority given to in-depth information on politics, the economy, the arts, science ...

(September 19, 2004):
«Offener Himmel» an langer Nacht der Sterne
' Its optical telescope measures twelve tons and was designed by

Carl Zeiss AG Carl Zeiss AG (), branded as ZEISS, is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the f ...

in Jena, Germany, considered as a technical masterpiece. Urania's refractor topped technological history as "Urania type". On its centenary anniversary, telescope and dome were fully renewed. The Zeiss telescope, still meeting today's demands, was dismantled in March 2006, and in Jena fully restored. On April 25, 2007, the telescope was hoisted into the observatory's 51 m high dome, on May 4, 2007, its second opening ceremony was celebrated.

Observations and limitations

The observatory offers guided tours –

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

objects, stars,

star cluster Star clusters are large groups of stars. Two main types of star clusters can be distinguished: globular clusters are tight groups of ten thousand to millions of old stars which are gravitationally bound, while open clusters are more loosely clust ...

interstellar clouds An interstellar cloud is generally an accumulation of gas, plasma, and dust in our and other galaxies. Put differently, an interstellar cloud is a denser-than-average region of the interstellar medium, the matter and radiation that exists in t ...

, and galaxies – and special events for a wide audience, as well as individual tours for schools and groups. Paid public tours can be found on clear weather from Tuesday to Friday, starting at 20:00 (8 pm). The central location and the city of Zurich overriding observation tower also provide an unusual view of the city,

Lake Zurich __NOTOC__ Lake Zurich ( Swiss German/Alemannic: ''Zürisee''; German: ''Zürichsee''; rm, Lai da Turitg) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zürich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or ''Zürichsee'' can be used to ...

and Alps. The ''Urania'' house hosts a restaurant and an exclusive Bar, too. At the same time, its location in the middle of the city of Zurich is a serious problem:

light pollution Light pollution is the presence of unwanted, inappropriate, or excessive use of artificial Visible spectrum, lighting. In a descriptive sense, the term ''light pollution'' refers to the effects of any poorly implemented lighting, during the day ...

allows restricted observations of few galaxies and

nebulae A nebula ('cloud' or 'fog' in Latin; pl. nebulae, nebulæ or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming region ...

. Therefore, observations are limited practically to the moon and planets and bright celestial objects.Dark Sky Switzerland

Cultural heritage of national importance

The observatory is, as part of the building ensemble at that area, listed in the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.

References

External links

Urania observatory

Astronomische Gesellschaft Urania Zürich (Astronomical society Urania Zürich AGUZ)
{{Portal bar, Switzerland, Astronomy, Stars, Spaceflight, Outer space, Solar System, Education, Science