 The Old Observatory historic building inaugurated in 1867. | |
| Organization | University of Lund |
|---|---|
| Observatory code | 039 |
| Location | Lund,Sweden |
| Coordinates | 55°41′58″N13°11′16″E / 55.699580°N 13.187850°E /55.699580; 13.187850 |
| Established | 1749 |
| Website | www |
  Location of Lund Observatory | |
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 Related media on Commons | |
Lund Observatory was the official English name for theastronomy department atLund University, and is currently used as a network of researchers within astronomy or other space related research projects, administered by the Department of Physics. Between 1867-2001 "Lund Observatory" was also the name of the Observatory building, which is now referred to as the "Lund Old Observatory". Prior to 2023, Lund Observatory was part of the Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics at Lund University until 2023, when that department was dissolved and its staff mostly transferred to the Department of Physics.[1] It is located inLund,Sweden.
The institution was founded in 1749, but was preceded by an observatory built by astronomy professorAnders Spole (the grandfather ofAnders Celsius) in 1672, which was destroyed at theBattle of Lund in 1676. The now old observatory from 1867 is located in a cultural-heritage protected observatory park just outside the medieval city boundaries. The department left these premises in 2001 for a new building on the northern campus ofLund University, inaugurated in 2001, using the nearby old water tower as their new location for astronomical observations. The history of astronomy in Lund through five centuries is told in the bookLundaögon mot stjärnorna.[2]
Today Lund Observatory research activity focuses on observational and theoretical astrophysics. Areas covered includegalaxy formation and evolution, exoplanet research, laboratory astrophysics,high-energy astrophysics, star clusters, andastrometry (Hipparcos andGaia).
Towards the middle 20th century astronomer professorKnut Lundmark, of the Lund Observatory in Sweden, supervised the two engineers Martin Kesküla and Tatjana Kesküla who painstakingly mapped the positions of about 7000 individual stars to create an unprecedented drawing of theMilky Way. The map took two years to complete (it was completed in 1955), measures 2 m (6.6 ft) by 1 m (3.3 ft), and is known as the Lund Panorama of the Milky Way.[3]
The department runs aplanetarium inVattenhallen Science Center, welcoming about 14000 visitors per year. The original GOTO projector has been replaced with a digital installation, running the Dark Matter simulation software developed by Sky-Skan.
The planetarium first opened in 1978 in what is now called the Old Observatory. This site saw the premiere of the first planetarium version ofAniara, theepic sci-fipoem written by SwedishNobel laureateHarry Martinson, in 1988.[4]
Between 2001 and the inauguration of theVattenhallen in 2010 the planetarium was housed in the city's old water tower.[5]
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