 The dome of the "Grand équatorial" at Bordeaux Observatory, 2006 | |
| Observatory code | 999  |
|---|---|
| Location | Floirac, canton of Floirac,arrondissement of Bordeaux,Gironde,Nouvelle-Aquitaine,metropolitan France, France |
| Coordinates | 44°50′06″N0°31′34″W / 44.8349°N 0.526°W /44.8349; -0.526 |
| Established | 1877 |
| Closed | 2016 |
| Telescopes |
|
  Location of Bordeaux Observatory | |
 | |
 Related media on Commons | |
TheBordeaux Observatory is anastronomical observatory affiliated with theUniversity of Bordeaux. Built inFloirac, France in 1893 its lenses were focused between +11 and +17 degrees declination. Until 1970 it had taken over 4,000photographic plates.[1][2] Bordeaux Observatory is home to a large collection of instruments and archives from well over a century of astronomical activities.[3] Until the 2016 it was actively used until the institution moved to a new location at the university.[4] In the French language the name isObservatoire de Bordeaux.[5]
In the late 18th century an attempt to establish Bordeaux Observatory was made after theTransit of Venus.[6] This led to a house being set aside as the Bordeaux Observatory, however, it was not equipped with any instruments.[6] Although it did not really get established, it carried the banner of desire for a real observatory in the area for a century.[6] Finally, in 1876 an agreement between the Government and the city was reached to establish a real observatory.[6] The Government was trying to execute on a national agenda of increased education, and this nexused with city's desire for an Observatory; Bordeaux would contribute 100,000francs for its founding.[6]
It was founded in 1879 on a hill overlooking theGaronne river.[7]
The Bordeaux observatory was established in the late 1870s, and one of its first instruments was aMeridian circle.[8] The instrument was built by Eichens with and glassobjective of 19 cm by Henry.[6] Also, anequatorial mounted refractor (glass lens) with 38 cm lens.[6] The objective lens was made by Merz, and the mounting was done by Gautier and Eichens.[6]Also a 13-inch (32 cm) apertureastrograph in support of theCarte du Ciel project.[9]
On founding, the observatory had the following areas of study:[6]
Early work with the Meridian included updates to the Argelander-Öltzenstar catalog.[6]
In the late 20th century Bordeaux Observatory became active in field ofradio astronomy.[10] In 1967 the construction of millimeter wave interferometer was begun, in conjunction with others.[10]
Between 1983 and 1988, the automatic meridian circle of Bordeaux Observatory was used in support of theHipparcos space observatory.[11] The success of that space mission was on factor leading to demise of the utility of automatic meridian circles, because of the extreme accuracy achieved by Hipparcos for that time period.[11]
In 1990 amicrowave radiometer for measuring ozone was established at the Observatory.[12]
In 1999, Bordeaux Observatory became a site for IVS.[13]
In early 21st century it remained the site for theLaboratoire d'Astrophysique of Bordeaux, but that institution planned to move out from the site.[3]
In 2016, an astronomer of Bordeaux Observatory noted on a possible formation mechanism for "Planet Nine", a hypothesized planet beyond theKuiper belt in the 2010s.[14] In a simulation of solar system formation, they suggested that it could be leftover building block of an earlier time.[14]
As an institution the Bordeaux Observatory became theObservatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l’Univers (OASU).[4] In 2016, the staff moved from Floirac facilities to a new building at theUniversity of Bordeaux inPessac.[4]
{{cite book}}:|last1= has generic name (help){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
