The Observatory museum is located on the Observatory Hill as a part of the University of Helsinki Department of Astronomy. It is one of the university museums.

The buildings

The Helsinki astronomical observatory was designed in cooperation by Professor F.W.A. Argelander and architect C.L. Engel. The building was finished in 1834. The instruments and astronomical books that had escaped the great fire in Turku were transferred to Helsinki. The observatory was among the most modern astronomical observatories of its time, and served as a example for several European observatories that were built afterwards.

A separate tower was built in the observatory garden for the telescope designed for astrophotography. This building was finished in 1890.

Daily work in the past and in the present

A part of the observatory rooms served as the official residence for the professor of astronomy until 1969. The professor and his family lived in the rooms facing north. The rooms facing south, the towers, and the meridian and lecture halls were dedicated to research and education.

After Paul Kustaanheimo was nominated as the new professor of astronomy and was moving to the rooms that had been left empty by his predecessor, a group of young astronomers and students prevented this by occupying the observatory. The occupants demanded that the university council should convert the rooms for teaching and research. The demand was accepted.

Meridian Hall in 1980s (photo: Museum of Finnish Architecture)

In 1984 the meridian hall along with its instruments was renovated into a museum to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the observatory. The emergence of a new generation of astronomers has been visible in the addition of a number of new work desks in the museum. Modern astronomy is made in virtual observatories, the astronomers sitting by computers, with monitors blinking in between the old instruments of the hall.

The exhibition

A variety of instruments are exhibited in the observatory meridian hall: telescopes, heliometers, comet seekers, chronometers, quadrants, a passage instrument, sextants, theodolites and a meridian instrument. The proper motion of the solar system in space was determined and even clocks were synchronized with help of the latter. The public can also view observation diaries, almanacs prepared according to a variety of horizons, and some essential Finnish and foreign publications in the area of celestial mechanics

The exhibition shows a cross-section of the instruments and methods with which Finnish astronomy participated in international research efforts for over a century. First during the 1900s, astrophysics brought a change with spectral analysis, nuclear physics and radio technique. Despite of this, certain of the observatory old instruments are still in working condition. The current observations are however made elsewhere, with powerful instruments situated in good conditions.

Links

Historical Tour in the Centre of Helsinki

Museum homepages

Team: Tapio Markkanen (texts), Eva Isaksson (texts, photos, English translation, web pages), Sami Maisala (photos), Ilana Hiilesmaa (web pages), Max Woldhek (Swedish translation).