Old Observatory Hötting

Location:

  • Sternwartestraße 13
  • Longitude East: -11° 22' 50.41''
  • lattitude Nord: +47° 16' 05''67
  • Sea Level: 611 m

Prof. Egon of Oppolzer built the observatory in an immediate proximity of his villa in the area Hötting from private means of his own and according to plans of his own. To reach a quick temperature compensation, he used a very easy style for it of ferroconcrete, corrugated sheet metal and glass. The main building consisted of a meridian-room and a dome added in the east. The real workrooms as well as the extensive special library were housed in his villa. Egon von Oppolzer did not have the installation and justification of the instruments perfectly, ashe died just 38 years old in 1907. After long negotiations the observatory was purchased and affiliated 1909 as a university observatory by the state.

 

coude

A mirror telescope of Zeiss 400 / 1000 mm ("Akademie-Reflektor") and the conducting pipe a Plösselscher Dialyt (180 / 2300 mm) in the historical part of the observatory is available since 1905. Numerous historical equipment like two UV Triplets (80 / 800 mm), a 5 prism spectrograph, a Zeiss "Blinkkomparator", a measuring microscope (Abbe type) and especially a zenith telescope (108 / 2000 mm) also built to Oppolzers plans by Gustav Heyde. Further instruments are: Meridiancircle of Schäffler (108 / 1150 mm), which in the past was at the Austrian degree measuring central office in Vienna, a universal of Kammerer & Starke and one refractor of Steinheil (108 / 1600 mm).
A dome is with a Zeiss Coude refractor (150 / 2250 mm) from 1972, which still is used in the astronomical basic training, is located next to the historical observatory.
meridian