 The house (center) behind whichHeinrich Christian Schumacher constructed the original Altona Observatory (photoc. 1890) | |
| Observatory code | 527  |
|---|---|
| Location | Palmaille,Altona,Hamburg,Germany |
| Coordinates | 53°32′42.1″N9°56′35.2″E / 53.545028°N 9.943111°E /53.545028; 9.943111 |
| Established | 1823 |
| Closed | 1871 |
  Location of Altona Observatory | |
 | |
TheAltona Observatory (German:Sternwarte Altona) was anastronomical observatory situated in thePalmaille, inAltona,Hamburg. The observatory was founded byHeinrich Christian Schumacher in 1823 and continued to operate until 1871, 21 years after his death. It closed due to funding being cut off following the cession of the 'Elbe Duchies' ofSchleswig,Holstein, andSaxe-Lauenburg by Denmark to Austria and Prussia following theSecond Schleswig War.
TheAstronomische Nachrichten journal was founded at the observatory by Schumacher and was edited there until the observatory's closure.
In 1815Heinrich Christian Schumacher initiated a large-scalegeodetic survey ofJutland, stretching fromSkagen toLauenberg. To connect the Danish measurements with the greater Europeangeodetic network, Schumacher involvedCarl Friedrich Gauss, who in 1818 began his own survey of theKingdom of Hanover. To connect both networks, afundamental station was needed in Altona.[1]
In 1821 Schumacher acquired a house situated in thePalmaille, inAltona,Hamburg, which was then under Danish administration.[2] In the garden plot behind it, which fell steeply towards theElbe river and allowed a wide view of the area, he erected the Altona Observatory to house the necessary fundamental station. The royal administration agreed to provide the observatory with an annual budget, under the condition that Schumacher would live and work in Altona until his death. From the windows of the house severalsurvey markers in the south, as well as the tower ofSt. Michael's Church in the east, could be sighted. A friend of Schumacher's,Johann Georg Repsold, set up ameridian circle in the observatory.[1][2]
In 1823, at the suggestion of the Danish Prime MinisterJohan Sigismund von Møsting, Schumacher founded theAstronomische Nachrichten journal, one of the firstscientific journals in the field ofastronomy. Contributions by well-respected astronomers such as Carl Friedrich Gauss,Friedrich Bessel, andWilliam Herschel made the journal, which still publishes to this day, the mouthpiece of the astronomical community.[1]
In the 1840s, theAltona-Kiel Railway Company established a 105 km railway line between Altona and the port city ofKiel. It was found, however, that the endpoints of the lines had a time difference in exact astronomical time of about 40 seconds due to their distance. Depending on what time was adopted a train between Altona and Kiel could be considered to have arrived nearly a minute too early or too late, even if it was really on time. To address this problem, the railway, in collaboration with the Altona Observatory and Schumacher, developed an artificial medium time for its timetable, reducing the maximum variation from true geographic time to 20 seconds, which was considerably less noticeable.
This issue appeared with all railways as travel distances and speeds increased, eventually leading to the convening of theInternational Meridian Conference in October 1884 inWashington, D. C., which agreed to adopt a universal day for astronomical purposes, leading to the world being split intotime zones independent of precise astronomical time.
The observatory continued to make observations throughout the 1840s, withJohann Friedrich Julius Schmidt sighting many astronomical objects in theconstellation ofVirgo, and Adolph Cornelius Petersen, who later became director, sightingNGC 2194, among others, in 1849.[3] The comet23P/Brorsen–Metcalf was discovered byTheodor Brorsen at the observatory on 20 July 1847.[4]
During theFirst Schleswig War, the home of Schumacher, who was a royalist Danish official, was surrounded by soldiers and he was placed under house arrest. He died 2 years later, at the end of 1850.[2]
Immediately following Schumacher's death, the financial department of Kiel intended to close the observatory. TheUniversity of Kiel planned to establish its own observatory and theHamburg Observatory already existed nearby, making the Altona Observatory redundant. Furthermore, air pollution from factories that were springing up throughout Altona was affecting observations. A lack of funds saw much of the observatory's equipment being sold to theUniversity of Copenhagen and to the University of Kiel, as well as to the navy. Its library went to a Berlin antiquarian, although some works were later repurchased.[1]
Schumacher's long-time colleague Adolph Cornelius Petersen was appointed as a temporary director while it was being decided what course of action should be taken. Petersen notably lacked any foreign language skills and struggled to deal with the upkeep of theAstronomische Nachrichten journal, which published material from all over Europe. He took language lessons but died shortly after his rise to directorship, in 1854.[1]
Finally, a Danish commission decided that the observatory should continue to operate for the time being. In 1854Christian August Friedrich Peters, who had previous experience working at the Hamburg,Pulkovo, andKönigsberg observatories, was appointed as the new director. He continued to publishAstronomische Nachrichten, with 58 volumes appearing during his time. Its quality, however, dropped significantly. Peters disliked Russian astronomers and frequently quarrelled with his German counterparts, leading to the journal being shunned by the greater astronomical community.[1]
In 1864 the 'Elbe Duchies' ofSchleswig,Holstein, andSaxe-Lauenburg were ceded by Denmark to Austria and Prussia following theSecond Schleswig War. The new rulers cut off financial support to the observatory and it was decided that it should be abandoned in favour of constructing a new observatory at Kiel. In 1871 construction plans and surveys were completed and Peters moved with his family to Kiel. Work began in the spring of 1874 and, following an unusually hasty construction, was completed by October of the same year. Most of the instruments of the Altona Observatory were transferred to the new building.[1]
The home behind which the original observatory was built was destroyed in 1941 during aWorld War II bombing raid.[1] Today, the German Federal Research Center for Fisheries stands in its place.
