The Kapteyn Astronomical Institute is the department of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

of the

University of Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; nl, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is th ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The institute is named after its founder,

Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn Prof Jacobus Cornelius Kapteyn FRS FRSE LLD (19 January 1851 – 18 June 1922) was a Dutch astronomer. He carried out extensive studies of the Milky Way and was the discoverer of evidence for galactic rotation. Kapteyn was also among the f ...

, who lived from 1851 to 1922. Jacobus Kapteyn was appointed professor of astronomy and theoretical mechanics in 1878 at a time when no astronomical tradition, let alone an

observatory An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysical, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed. ...

, existed in

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

. Kapteyn's first "Astronomical Laboratory" was opened in 1896. In 1913, after various relocations, the laboratory moved to the Broerstraat, near the ''Academiegebouw'' in the center of the city. In 1970, the institute relocated to a new building on the campus site to the north of the city. Since 1983, the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute has been located at its present position in the Zernike building, where it shares a building with the Low Energy Astrophysics division of SRON. The research pursued by the institute's astronomers includes asteroids, planetary formation, stars, galaxies and cosmology. From 1965 until 1995, an observatory —also named after Kapteyn— (Dutch: ''Kapteyn Sterrenwacht'') was operated near the town of Roden, some 20 km Southwest of Groningen. The buildings still exist, but are no longer in use as an observatory, nor as an astronomical workshop.

External links

Kapteyn Astronomical Institute Website
{{authority control Research institutes in the Netherlands Astronomy institutes and departments University of Groningen